Any book printed before 1500 (or within 50 years of the invention of the printing press) is referred to as an “incunable” book. Book printing started around 870 A.D.. but the limitation of literate people who could read and write restricted books from being mass produced until Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440. Books before 1500 are considered incredibly rare and expensive because they are one of a kind and essentially artwork, pieces which only the very wealthy could afford during the period of their introduction. Incunable means “in the cradle” in Latin which refers to the infancy period of book prints