Back to Lexicon Search

Incunable

A printed book produced before 1501, that is, when the process of printing from movable type was in its infancy (pl. incunabula).

From the Latin in cunabula ('in the cradle' or 'origins'), an incunable is a printed book produced before 1501, that is, when the process of printing from movable type was in its infancy (pl. incunabula). See also Xylograph.

  • Armenian:
    հնատիպ
  • German:
    Inkunabel; Wiegendruck
  • Portuguese:
    incunábulo

Michelle Brown, Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts (Malibu, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum in association with the British Library, c1994).