This classification applies to any printed material produced in Europe during the earliest era of movable metal type. These works represent the transition from handwritten manuscripts to mass production, often featuring heavy black-letter typefaces, hand-illuminated initials, and rag paper. Printers study them to understand the foundational techniques of matrix casting and layout.
Heard on the job
The university library just acquired an incunabulum that shows how early pressmen handled uneven paper thickness.
Also heard as
- incunable