Early Printed Books

Actual copies of the first Armenian Bible printed in 1666 in Amsterdam are on display, in addition to many books printed prior to 1799.  The earliest books printed in the Armenian language were produced in Europe and imported eastward to regions where there were large Armenian communities. The first printed book in Armenian, Urbat'agirk (The Book of Friday), was published in Venice in 1511 or 1512.

The gallery of early printed books is a representative sample of books  produced not only for the clergy but also for lay people who privately owned and used them, over a period of five hundred years.