The Huntington Reunites Rare 15th-Century Print with Gutenberg Bible

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens has acquired the exceptionally rare 15th-century devotional print Christ on the Mount of Olives, reuniting it with the institution’s prized Gutenberg Bible. Printed in the late 1450s or early 1460s, the illustration was bound within The Huntington’s copy of the Bible by an early owner shortly after the book was finished. The Bible and the print remained together for nearly four centuries before being separated in 1825 by an auctioneer. This acquisition brings together one of the world’s most influential books with its early pictorial insert for the first time in 200 years. The print will be on public display from March 12 through May 26, 2025, in the Library Exhibition Hall, alongside the Gutenberg Bible—a landmark in printing history that revolutionized the spread of knowledge.

Henry E. Huntington acquired the Gutenberg Bible at a 1911 auction for $55,000—equivalent to more than $1.8 million today. The record-breaking purchase cemented his reputation as a premier collector of rare books. Today, the Bible remains a highlight of The Huntington’s core collections.

“Designed to mimic a traditional handwritten manuscript, The Huntington’s Gutenberg Bible combines innovative printed text with exquisite hand-illuminated initials and border decorations, and now we know our Bible also had printed illustrations pasted in,” said Sandra Brooke Gordon, Avery Director of the Library. “Reuniting the print with The Huntington’s Bible deepens our understanding of this landmark of printing—how it was used and valued—enriching both scholarship and public appreciation.”

Rare and Remarkable

The devotional print depicts Christ in prayer on the night before his crucifixion. Latin inscriptions, like modern-day speech bubbles, convey the scene’s dramatic tension. In the upper right, Judas, holding a money bag, leads soldiers to arrest Christ, saying, “He whom I shall kiss, He is the one; seize Him” (Matthew 26:48). In the upper left, an angel urges Christ to remain steadfast as he prays: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). Meanwhile, his disciples sleep nearby, and at the bottom of the print, an inscription reads: “And His sweat became like drops of blood running onto the ground” (Luke 22:44).

Christ on the Mount of Olives is one of three prints originally affixed inside the covers of The Huntington’s Gutenberg Bible, likely placed there by an early owner of the book. Created using the Schrotschnitt or “dotted metal cut” technique—an early metal plate printing method with hand-applied color—the print is a rare and remarkable example of this antiquated printing style.

Renewed Scholarly Interest