For many centuries, books were made to order: at the request of a prince or high-ranking clergyman, a monk sat daily in the “scriptorium” with a template beside him and a sheet of parchment before him, writing text with a quill and ink. A complete Bible took about two years to produce and was accordingly expensive. Illustrations were rare, as it was a matter of luck whether the scribe was also a skilled artist – and hiring a dedicated miniature painter only made the book even pricier.
But times were changing. By the end of the 14th century, a wealthy bourgeoisie emerged – people who could read and write, hungry for education and entertainment. For the first time, a portion of the population enjoyed “leisure time.” The traditional made-to-order production was too expensive and too slow to meet the demands of this growing middle class.
Books in Continuous Production
Shortly after 1400, the first book manufactories appeared in Southern Germany, solving these problems with advanced production methods. The workshop of Diebold Lauber in Hagenau, Alsace, was the most successful of its time. Diebold practiced an efficient, highly organized form of bookmaking: he outsourced work to paid scribes and maintained a permanent staff of over a dozen illustrators. Over nearly 50 years, he established his manufactory with serially produced manuscripts. They were richly illustrated, but unlike the illuminated masterpieces of the past, the drawings were somewhat coarse and hastily executed. However, he could offer them at a much lower price.
To sell his wares, he maintained a distribution network, selling books at fairs and markets that he had produced in advance for stock. He even had a remarkably modern marketing idea: self-advertisements within the books that told readers exactly where to find more. His catalog was advertised in detail or, as seen here, quite briefly:
„Item zuo Hagenowe vil hübscher bücher geistlich oder weltlich gemolt by diebold louber schriber vnd guote latinische büchere“ – Also in Hagenau, many beautiful books, spiritual or secular, illustrated by Diebold Lauber, scribe, and good Latin books.
Lauber listed about 45 titles from nearly all branches of literature. Most were long-beloved classics; he took no risks with “modern literature.” Many were in German, such as Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival or Konrad von Megenberg’s Buch der Natur.
The “Hagenau Style” as a Brand
The typical, colorful illustrations in the books from the Hagenau manufactory were intentionally kept simple. Faces were drawn quickly yet remained expressive. One could immediately recognize where the works came from; they were part of a “Corporate Design.” A buyer would instantly know: “Ah, a genuine Lauber!”
A specialty of the Hagenau workshop was the Historienbibel (History Bible) – free adaptations of biblical material in vernacular prose, specifically the Alsatian dialect. These were still expensive works made to order, produced more carefully than his “mass-market” items. They offered great prestige, often given as wedding gifts or purchased as self-rewards.
The History Bible – The Tesla of the Renaissance
One such “educated citizen” at the dawn of the modern era was Hans vom Staal
(c. 1419–1499), a city clerk from Solothurn and a skilled diplomat. Around 1460, he commissioned a massive Historienbibel from Lauber, naturally equipped with elaborately colored images. It depicted biblical stories but also classical tales from the life of Alexander the Great – just as Mr. vom Staal requested.
A Look Ahead
Diebold’s book manufactory operated in Hagenau, just about 30 kilometers from Strasbourg. Around 1440, Johannes Gutenberg lived there and certainly heard of Lauber’s thriving business. Gutenberg was likely already contemplating his own unique solution to the ever-increasing demand for books. Only ten years later, in Mainz, he would become Lauber’s greatest competitor. His invention would soon bring the era of manuscript manufactories to an end forever.Text: Gerhard Groebe | Motifs from the Historienbibel created for Hans vom Staal,
c. 1460, Public domain
