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Bibles and Religion


Evangelist at writing desk

At the Lilly Library, you’ll find one of the world’s foremost collections of printed versions of the Bible, from the Gutenberg new testament to important editions of the 20th century.

Highlights include:

  • The first New Testament printed in Greek (Complutensian Polygot, Alcala, six volumes, 1514-1517)
  • The first complete Bible printed in English (Coverdale Bible, Cologne, 1535)
  • First and second editions of the Eliot Bible in Algonquian
  • First Bible printed in America (Cambridge, 1663, 1685)
Close up view of decorative intial "P"

Gutenberg New Testament

The Gutenberg Bible is the first major European printed book, produced in Mainz, Germany in the mid-1450s, by Johannes Gutenberg. Our copy of the New Testament is the Lilly Library's most famous book.

View the digitized version
Close up of print depicting the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse

Dürer's Apocalypse

Albrecht Dürer's Apocalypse (1498) is a monument of fifteenth-century printing. The beauty and technical accomplishment of its images have captivated viewers since its first publication.

View the digitized version
Detail view of a page of music, Handel's Messiah

The Bible Through Music

Religious texts have been interpreted through music for centuries. This online exhibition examines selected musical settings of biblical texts from the Baroque through the twentieth-century.

View the online exhibition
  • Resources
  • Exhibitions

Resources

  • Detail view of illuminated manuscript page, showing the Visit of the Magi

    The Bible in the Lilly Library

    Learn about 65 bibles in the Lilly Library collections, including both printed and manuscript bibles, in multiple languages.

    Type: Exhibition catalogue

  • Image of Father Francisco Colín, with a halo, bearing a cross

    The Bernardo Mendel Collection

    Explore highlights of the vast collection built by Bernardo Mendel in this exhibition catalogue from the early days of the Lilly Library.

    Type: Exhibition catalogue

Exhibitions

  • Detail of view of printed music

    Online Only

    The Bible Through Music

    Online exhibition focusing on the interpretation of the Bible through music, using examples from the collections of the Lilly Library and the Cook Music Library.

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Find books in
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Find digitized images in
Image Collections Online

We have millions of resources. Many are not yet digitized.

If you are having trouble finding what you are looking for, contact us.

Need Help?

Helpful finding aids like our manuscripts index, card catalog, and special card files are not online. We can help you navigate these resources.

Learn more about finding aids that are not online

We can make PDFs, digital images, and other reproductions of Lilly Library materials to meet your needs. Fees help us pay for this service.

Learn more ordering PDFs and digital images

If you plan to use Lilly Library materials in a book, article, or other publication, we ask that you fill out our Permission to Publish form. We do not own reproduction rights to most of the material in the collection, so you may also need to secure permission from copyright holders.

Learn more asking for permission to publish

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The Lilly Library Bloomington

1200 E. Seventh Street
Bloomington, IN
47405-5500
Tel: 812-855-2452
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