Mainz Bibles Grace Congress' Library WASHINGTON. DC—The his toric city of Mainz on the Rhine River is doubly commemorated at the Library of Congress this year. In a large showcase stand the two volumes of the Great Bible of ' Mainz. It is the only Bible manu j script made in that city which has ■ come down the centuries complete ly preserved Directly opposite is the Guten berg Bible, the first book to be i printed with movable metal type i The Gutenberg Bible is believed to have been made in Mainz and at about the same time as t e Great Bible. Both are Vulgate Bibles, the Lat in version of St Jerome. Their Gothic lettering is similar. Both are on fine vellum—the Great Bible on 459 pages made from 250 goat skins. The manuscript was care fully written with a crow-quill pen, while the Gutenberg Bible was printed with meal type painstaking ly cast and set The Great Bible was begun on April 8, 1452, 500 years ago. The i scribe carefully noted the date as ! he finished each of the bor s. It took 15 months to complete the ' text.

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