• by Philip Wilde, Information and Research, Central Library

Incunabula is the term given to any book that was printed before 31st December in the year 1500. Leeds Central Library holds thirteen books of this category, according to the British Library Incunabula Short-Title Catalogue.

All our Incunabula are in Latin and were printed in European cities. These were Paris, Nuremberg, Venice, Basel, Cologne, Augsburg, Tübingen and Deventer. They include books written by such notable writers of the medieval period as Aquinas, Boethius, Balbus and Biel, Celtis, Fenestella, Popes Gregorius the First and Ninth, Herolt and Shedel.

Shown above is a page from one of our Incunabula. It is  Johannes Herolt’s Sermones Discipuli de Tempore, printed by Anton Koberger in Nurember in 1481, two years before King Richard III ascended the throne.

To view the Incunabula, please visit the Local and Family History department on the 2nd Floor of the Central Library. Two forms of ID (one with your name and another with your address) and at least 24-hours notice will be required to view items from the Treasures or Collections. Please call 0113 378 6982 for further details and to book an appointment.