Book Talk: Michael Visontay on "Noble Fragments"

One hundred years ago a New York bookseller committed a sacrilege: he broke up a Gutenberg Bible, the Holy Grail of rare books, sold it off in individual pages which he called “Noble Fragments," and made a fortune. Many years later, a chance discovery revealed that the bookseller was distantly related to journalist Michael Visontay's family in Australia and that his gambit changed their destiny.

Visontay became obsessed by the Gutenberg’s invisible imprint on his life, and decided to tell the story of the maverick who scandalized the bibliophile world. His forthcoming book Noble Fragments (Scribe Publications, March 2025) opens the door onto a remarkable gallery of tycoons, collectors and institutions who snapped up the pages of the bible that had been dispersed throughout America and around the world. As he traced their mysterious journeys, he discovered each one had a colorful new life of its own.

About the speaker

In a career spanning forty years, Australian journalist Michael Visontay has worked as a reporter and senior editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian, and taught journalism at university. He is the author of several nonfiction books, including Welcome to Wanderland, Who Gave You Permission? (with Manny Waks), and Undies to Equities: the Remarkable Life of Henri Aram. Currently he works as Commissioning Editor of The Jewish Independent.