Chorley’s Auctioneers Sell 570‑Year‑Old Gutenberg Bible Leaf for £39,000

In the early 1920s, American antiquarian Gabriel Wells dismantled a damaged Gutenberg Bible and sold its leaves to collectors—one of those fragments later changed hands for a modest £25 in the 1930s.

The leaf remained hidden in a locked box in a Bromsgrove attic for more than 50 years, only catching the eye of a local historian in 2024 when the family decided to have the contents examined.

Chorley’s Auctioneers authenticated the page by cross‑referencing the 1921 essay "A Noble Fragment" and noting its 39.2×28.6 cm dimensions, 42 lines of two‑column Gothic text, and a faint foxed central fold, yet the page still bears a missing corner and marginal browning.

Although the sale price exceeded the £20,000‑£30,000 estimate, the transaction underscores a rising appetite for incunabula and may prompt museums to pursue similar fragments, especially given that no complete Gutenberg Bible has sold at auction since 1978.