Noble Fragments : the maverick who broke up the world's greatest book - Michael Visontay

Noble Fragments

the maverick who broke up the world's greatest book

By: Michael Visontay

Paperback | 29 October 2024

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $36.99

$33.25

10%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $8.31 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 5 to 10 business days

One hundred years ago, Gabriel Wells, a New York bookseller, committed a crime against history. He broke up the world's greatest book, the Gutenberg Bible, and sold it off in individual pages. This is the story of an Australian man's hunt for those fragments and his family's debt to an act of literary vandalism.

In 1921, Well's audacity scandalised the rare-book world. The Gutenberg was the first substantial book in Europe to have been printed on a printing press. It represented the democratisation of knowledge and was the Holy Grail of rare books.

Was the break-up a sacrilege or a canny deal? New Yorkers were divided. For every frown of disapproval, there was a lick of the lips. It was the Roaring Twenties, the Gatsby era of fabulous wealth. Tycoons were in a feeding frenzy to acquire items that would demonstrate their refinement. Wells marketed the pages as 'Noble Fragments', they sold like hot cakes, and he died a rich man.

Half a century later, Sydney journalist Michael Visontay stumbled upon a mysterious legal document that linked Wells to his own family. He became obsessed by the Gutenberg's invisible imprint on his life, and set out to track down the pages of the broken bible.

Part detective story and part memoir, Noble Fragments is an expedition into the arcane world of book collectors and their eccentric passions, and a journey of discovery about how Wells's gamble set off a chain of events that changed a family's destiny.


'A brilliant writer discovers a gripping personal story. Serendipity at its best.'
-Jane Caro

'A riveting hunt for the mysterious leaves of a book perched in the branches of a family tree. Proof that epic sagas are rooted in life's most intimate details. I was hooked from the start.'
-Marc Fennell

More in Bibles

NRSV Catholic Bible Gift Edition [White] : Holy Bible - Thomas Nelson

RRP $39.99

$35.35

12%
OFF
Arabian Sinai : Nabonidus and the Exodus - Janet Tyson

RRP $109.99

$76.80

30%
OFF
ESV Study Bible, Personal Size - Crossway Bibles

RRP $89.99

$41.50

54%
OFF
NIV Holy Bible Soft Touch Edition [Black] - Zondervan

RRP $22.99

$21.90

KJV Bible 1611 Edition - Hendrickson Publishers

RRP $71.99

$46.90

35%
OFF
NLT Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition, Paperback - Tyndale
Nourishing Narratives : The Power of Story to Shape Our Faith - Jennifer L. Holberg
The Message Deluxe Gift Bible, Denim Leather-Look - Eugene H. Peterson

RRP $35.99

$34.25

The Illustrated Bible Story by Story - DK

RRP $75.00

$50.50

33%
OFF
The Gospel of Matthew : Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture - Edward Sri
The Gospel of Mark : Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture - Mary Healy
ESV Expository Commentary : Ephesians-Philemon (Volume 11) - Iain M. Duguid
The Psalms, ESV (TruTone over Board, Brown/Walnut, Timeless Design) - Crossway Bibles
Premium Gift Bible - Tyndale

Leather Bound Book

RRP $32.99

$31.35

ESV Illuminated (TM) Bible, Art Journaling Edition - Dana Tanamachi