Frost fair souvenir

The Gutenberg Bible

This Treasure is paired with: The Gutenberg Bible (Gutenberg's invention)

This souvenir was printed on the Thames, after it froze on Christmas Day 1739. A fair on the ice offered an ox roast, bear-baiting, skating, a children’s roundabout, toyshop, goldsmiths, turners, milliners, a gaming table, and at least four presses for printing keepsakes such as this, celebrating Gutenberg’s invention nearly 300 years earlier. The river has frozen some 23 times since 1309, but not since changes were made to London Bridge in 1831.

This Treasure isn’t currently on display in the Weston Library.