Gutenberg's many contributions to printing include the invention of a process formass-producing movable type; the use of oil-basedink for printing books;[4] adjustable molds;[5] mechanical movable type; and the invention of a wooden printing press similar to the agriculturalscrew presses of the period.[6] Gutenberg's method for making type is traditionally considered to have included atype metalalloy and ahand mould for casting type. The alloy was a mixture of lead,tin, andantimony that melted at a relatively low temperature for faster and more economical casting, cast well, and created a durable type.[7] His major work, theGutenberg Bible, was the first printed version of the Bible and has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality.
Gutenberg is often cited as among the most influential figures inhuman history and has been commemorated around the world. To celebrate the 500th anniversary of his birth, theGutenberg Museum was founded in his hometown ofMainz in 1900. In 1997,Time Life picked Gutenberg's invention as the most important of the second millennium.[8]
Life and career
Early life
Coat of arms of the Gensfleisch family, from theRegister of Fiefs of Frederick I (1461)[9]
Johannes Gutenberg was born inMainz (in modern-day Germany), a wealthy city along theRhine, between the 14th and 15th centuries.[1][10] His exact year of birth is unknown; on the basis of a later document indicating that he came of age by 1420, scholarly estimates have ranged from 1393 to 1406.[11][c] The year 1400 is commonly assigned to Gutenberg, "for the sake of convenience".[13] Tradition also holds his birthdate to be on thefeast day of Saint John the Baptist, 24 June, since children of the time were often named after their birthday'spatron saint.[15] There is no verification for this assumption, since the name "Johannes"—and variants such as "Johann", "Henne", "Hengin" and "Henchen"—was widely popular at the time.[11] In full, Johannes Gutenberg's name was 'Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg', with "Laden" and "Gutenberg" being adopted from the family's residences in Mainz.[13] The latter refers to theHof zum Gutenberg, a large and now destroyedGothic-style residence inherited by Gutenberg's father.[16] Gutenberg probably spent his earliest years at the manor, which existed besideSt. Christoph's.[1][d]
His father Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden was apatrician and merchant, likely in thecloth trade.[15] Friele later served among the "master of the accounts" for the city and was aMünzerhausgenossenschaft (lit.'minting house cooperative'), a part of themint's companionship.[18][e] In 1386 Friele married his second wife, Else Wyrich, the daughter of a shopkeeper; Johannes was probably the youngest of the couple's three children, after his brother Friele (b.c. 1387) and sister Else (b.c. 1390–1397).[19][f] Scholars commonly assume that the marriage of Friele to Else, who was not of patrician lineage, complicated Gutenberg's future.[20] Because of his mother's commoner status, Gutenberg would never be able to succeed his father at the mint;[21] according to the historianFerdinand Geldner [de] this disconnect may have disillusioned him from high society and encouraged his unusual career as an inventor.[22][g]
The patrician (Patrizier) class of Mainz—the Gutenbergs included—held a privileged socioeconomic status, and their efforts to preserve this put them into frequent conflict with the younger generations ofguild (Zünfte) craftsmen.[24][25] A particularly violent conflict arose in February 1411 amid an election dispute, and at least 117 patricians fled the conflict in August.[15][26] Friele left, presumably with the Gutenberg family, and probably stayed in the nearbyEltville since Else had inherited a house on the town walls there.[27][26] Thearchbishop mediated a peace between the rival parties, allowing the family to return to Mainz later that Autumn.[28] The situation remained unstable and the rise of hunger riots forced the Gutenberg family to leave in January 1413 for Eltville.[28]
Education
No documents survive concerning Gutenberg's childhood or youth.[20] The biographerAlbert Kapr [de] remarked that "most books on Gutenberg pass over this period with the remark that not a single fact is known".[29] As the son of a patrician, education in reading and arithmetic would have been expected.[30] A knowledge ofLatin—a prerequisite for universities—is also probable, though it is unknown whether he attended a Mainz parish school, was educated inEltville or had a private tutor.[31] Gutenberg may have initially pursued a religious career, as was common with the youngest sons of patricians, since the proximity of many churches and monasteries made it a safe prospect.[30] It has been speculated that he attended theSt. Victor's [de] south of Mainz (nearWeisenau [de]), as he would later join their brotherhood.[15] It was the site of a well-regarded school and his family had connections there, though his actual attendance remains speculative.[32]
He is assumed to have studied at theUniversity of Erfurt, where there is a record of the enrollment of a student called Johannes de Altavilla in 1418—Altavilla is the Latin form of Eltville am Rhein.[33]
Nothing is now known of Gutenberg's life for the next fifteen years, but in March 1434, a letter by him indicates that he was living in Strasbourg, where he had some relatives on his mother's side. He also appears to have been a goldsmith member enrolled in the Strasbourgmilitia. In 1437, there is evidence that he was instructing a wealthy tradesman on polishing gems, but where he had acquired this knowledge is unknown. In 1436/37 his name also comes up in court in connection with a broken promise of marriage to a woman from Strasbourg, Ennelin.[34] Whether the marriage actually took place is not recorded. Following his father's death in 1419, he is mentioned in the inheritance proceedings.
What was written to me about that marvelous man [Gutenberg] seen at Frankfurt [sic] entirely true. I have not seen complete bibles but only a number ofquires of various books [of the Bible]. The script is extremely neat and legible, not at all difficult to follow [You] would be able to read it without effort, and indeed without glasses
Around 1439, Gutenberg was involved in a financial misadventure making polished metal mirrors (which were believed to capture holy light from religious relics) for sale to pilgrims toAachen: in 1439 the city was planning to exhibit its collection of relics fromEmperor Charlemagne but the event was delayed by one year due to a severe flood and the capital already spent could not be repaid.
Until at least 1444 Gutenberg lived inStrasbourg, most likely in theSt. Arbogast parish. It was in Strasbourg in 1440 that he is said to have perfected and unveiled the secret of printing based on his research, mysteriously entitledAventur und Kunst (enterprise and art). It is not clear what work he was engaged in, or whether some early trials with printing from movable type were conducted there. After this, there is a gap of four years in the record. In 1448, he was back in Mainz, where he took out a loan from his brother-in-law Arnold Gelthus, possibly for a printing press or related paraphernalia. By this date, Gutenberg may have been familiar withintaglio printing; it is claimed that he had worked on copperengravings with an artist known as theMaster of Playing Cards.[36]
By 1450, the press was in operation, and a German poem had been printed, possibly the first item to be printed there.[37] Gutenberg was able to convince the wealthy moneylenderJohann Fust for a loan of 800guilders.Peter Schöffer, who became Fust's son-in-law, also joined the enterprise. Schöffer had worked as ascribe in Paris and is believed to have designed some of the firsttypefaces.
Gutenberg's workshop was set up atHumbrechthof, a property belonging to a distant relative. It is not clear when Gutenberg conceived the Bible project, but for this, he borrowed another 800 guilders from Fust, and work commenced in 1452. At the same time, the press was also printing other, more lucrative texts (possiblyLatin grammars). There is also some speculation that there were two presses: one for the pedestrian texts and one for the Bible. One of the profit-making enterprises of the new press was the printing of thousands ofindulgences for the church, documented from 1454 to 1455.[38]
In 1455, Gutenberg completed his42-line Bible, known as theGutenberg Bible. About 180 copies were printed, three quarters on paper, and the rest onvellum.[39][40]
Court case
Some time in 1456, there was a dispute between Gutenberg and Fust, in which Fust demanded his money back, and accused Gutenberg of misusing the funds. Gutenberg's two rounds of financing from Fust, totaling 1,600 guilders at 6% interest, now amounted to 2,026 guilders.[41] Fust sued at the archbishop's court. A legal document, from November 1455, records that there was a partnership for a "project of the books," the funds for which Gutenberg had used for other purposes, according to Fust. The court decided in favor of Fust, giving him control over the Bible printing workshop.[42]
Thus, Gutenberg was effectively bankrupt, but it appears he retained, or restarted, a printing shop and participated in the printing of a Bible in the town ofBamberg around 1459, for which he seems at least to have supplied the type. But since his printed books never carry his name or a date, it is difficult to be certain. It is possible the largeCatholicon dictionary, printed in Mainz in 1460 or later, was executed in his workshop, but there has been considerable scholarly debate.[43]
Meanwhile, the Fust–Schöffer shop was the first in Europe to bring out a book with the printer's name and date, theMainz Psalter of August 1457, and while proclaiming the mechanical process by which it had been produced, it made no mention of Gutenberg.
Celebration medal byFriedrich Anton König in 1840, the 400th anniversary of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press invention,obverse
Thereverse of the medal: Johannes Gutenberg in his workshop, sitting in front of his printing press
A 17th-century copper engraving depiction of Gutenberg
Later life
In 1462, during the devastatingMainz Diocesan Feud, Mainz was sacked byArchbishopAdolph von Nassau. On 18 January 1465, Gutenberg's achievements were recognized by Archbishop von Nassau.[44] He was given the titleHofmann (gentleman of the court). This honor included astipend and an annual court outfit, as well as 2,180 litres of grain and 2,000 litres of wine tax-free.[45]
Gutenberg died in 1468 and was buried likely as atertiary in theFranciscan church at Mainz.[46] This church and the cemetery were later destroyed, and Gutenberg's grave is now lost.[45]
In 1504, he was mentioned as the inventor oftypography in a book by Professor Ivo Wittig. It was not until 1567 that the first portrait of Gutenberg, almost certainly an imaginary reconstruction, appeared in Heinrich Pantaleon's biography of famous Germans.[45]
Printing
Printing method
An early wooden printing press, depicted in 1568. Such presses could produce up to 240 impressions per hour.[47]
Gutenberg's early printing process, and what texts he printed withmovable type, are not known in great detail. His later Bibles were printed in such a way as to have required large quantities of type, some estimates suggesting as many as 100,000 individual sorts.[48] Setting each page would take, perhaps, half a day, and considering all the work in loading the press, inking the type, pulling the impressions, hanging up the sheets, distributing the type etc., the Gutenberg–Fust shop may have employed many craftsmen.
Gutenberg's technique of making movable type remains unclear. In the following decades,punches and copper matrices became standardized in the rapidly disseminating printing presses across Europe. Whether Gutenberg used this sophisticated technique or a somewhat primitive version has been the subject of considerable debate.
In the standard process of making type, a hard metal punch (made bypunchcutting, with the letter carved back to front) is hammered into a softer copper bar, creating amatrix. This is then placed into ahand-held mould and a piece of type, or "sort", is cast by filling the mould with molten type-metal; this cools almost at once, and the resulting piece of type can be removed from the mould. The matrix can be reused to create hundreds, or thousands, of identical sorts so that the same character appearing anywhere within the book will appear very uniform, giving rise, over time, to the development of distinct styles of typefaces orfonts. After casting, the sorts are arranged into type cases, and used to make up pages which are inked and printed, a procedure which can be repeated hundreds, or thousands, of times. The sorts can be reused in any combination, earning the process the name of "movable type".[49]
The invention of the making of types with punch, matrix and mold has been widely attributed to Gutenberg. However, recent evidence suggests that Gutenberg's process was somewhat different. If he used the punch and matrix approach, all his letters should have been nearly identical, with some variation due to miscasting and inking. However, the type used in Gutenberg's earliest work shows other variations.[50]
European output of books printed with movable types from Gutenberg to 1800
In 2001, the physicistBlaise Agüera y Arcas andPrinceton librarianPaul Needham, used digital scans of aPapal bull in theScheide Library, Princeton, to carefully compare the same letters (types) appearing in different parts of the printed text.[50][51] Gutenberg's type had irregularities, particularly in simple characters like the hyphen. These variations could not have been caused by ink smears or wear on the metal pieces. Detailed image analysis suggests the variations could not have come from the same matrix. Examination of transmitted light pictures of the page revealed substructures, in the type, that could not have been made using traditional punchcutting techniques.
Based on these observations, researchers hypothesized that Gutenberg's method involved impressing simple shapes in a "cuneiform" style onto a matrix made of a soft material, such as sand. Casting the type would then destroy the mold, necessitating the recreation of the matrix for each additional sort. This hypothesis could potentially explain both the variations in the type and the substructures observed in the printed images.
Thus, they speculated that "the decisive factor for the birth of typography", the use of reusable moulds for casting type, was a more progressive process than was previously thought.[52] They suggested that the additional step of using the punch to create a mould that could be reused many times was not taken until twenty years later, in the 1470s. Others have not accepted some or all of their suggestions, and have interpreted the evidence in other ways, and the truth of the matter remains uncertain.[53]
A 1568 bookBatavia byHadrianus Junius fromHolland claims the idea of the movable type came to Gutenberg fromLaurens Janszoon Coster via Fust, who was apprenticed to Coster in the 1430s and may have brought some of his equipment fromHaarlem to Mainz. While Coster appears to have experimented with moulds and castable metal type, there is no evidence that he had actually printed anything with this technology. He was an inventor and a goldsmith. However, there is one indirect supporter of the claim that Coster might be the inventor. The author of theCologne Chronicle of 1499 quotesUlrich Zell, the first printer ofCologne, that printing was performed inMainz in 1450, but that some type of printing of lower quality had previously occurred in the Netherlands. However, the chronicle does not mention the name of Coster,[54][55] while it actually credits Gutenberg as the "first inventor of printing" in the very same passage (fol. 312). The first securely dated book by Dutch printers is from 1471,[55] and the Coster connection is today regarded as a mere legend.[56]
The 19th-century printer and typefounderFournier Le Jeune suggested that Gutenberg was not using type cast with a reusable matrix, but wooden types that were carved individually. A similar suggestion was made by Nash in 2004.[53]
Between 1450 and 1455, Gutenberg printed several texts, some of which remain unidentified; his texts did not bear the printer's name or date, so attribution is possible only from typographical evidence and external references. Certainly church documents including a papal letter and twoindulgences were printed, one of which was issued in Mainz. In view of the value of printing in quantity, seven editions in two styles were ordered, resulting in several thousand copies being printed.[57] Some printed editions ofArs Minor, a schoolbook on Latin grammar byAelius Donatus,may have been printed by Gutenberg; these have been dated either 1451–52, or 1455. Every copy of printed books were identical; this was a significant departure from handwritten manuscripts, which left room for possible human error.[58]
In 1455,Gutenberg completed copies of a well-executed folio Bible (Biblia Sacra), with 42 lines on each page. Copies sold for 30florins each,[59] roughly three years' wages for a clerk. Nonetheless, it was much cheaper than a manuscript Bible that could take a single scribe over a year to prepare. After printing, some copies wererubricated orhand-illuminated in the same elegant way as manuscript Bibles from the same period.
48 substantially complete copies are known to survive, including two at theBritish Library that can be viewed and compared online.[60] The text lacks modern features such as page numbers,indentations, andparagraph breaks.
An undated36-line edition of the Bible was printed, probably inBamberg in 1458–60, possibly by Gutenberg. A large part of it was shown to have been set from a copy of Gutenberg's Bible, thus disproving earlier speculation that it was the earlier of the two.[54]
Legacy
Influence
What the world is today, good and bad, it owes to Gutenberg. Everything can be traced to this source, but we are bound to bring him homage, … for the bad that his colossal invention has brought about is overshadowed a thousand times by the good with which mankind has been favored.
Gutenberg's invention had an enormous impact on subsequenthuman history, both on cultural and social matters.[63] His design directly impacted the mass spread of books across Europe, causing aninformation revolution.[64] As a result, Venzke describes the inauguration of theRenaissance,Reformation andhumanist movement as "unthinkable" without Gutenberg's influence.[65] Described as "one of the most recognized names in the world",[63] a team of US journalists voted Gutenberg as the "man of the millennium" in 1999.[3][66][67] Similarly, in 1999 theA&E Network ranked Gutenberg the No. 1 most influential person of the second millennium on their "Biographies of the Millennium" countdown,[68] whileTime–Life magazine picked Gutenberg's invention as the most important of the second millennium in 1997.[69] The scholar of paper history,Thomas Francis Carter, drew parallels betweenCai Lun, the traditional inventor of paper during theEastern Han dynasty, and Gutenberg, calling them "spiritual father and son" respectively.[70] In his 1978 book,The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History,Michael H. Hart ranked him 8th, below Cai but above figures such asChristopher Columbus,Albert Einstein andCharles Darwin.[71]
The capital of printing in Europe shifted toVenice, where printers likeAldus Manutius ensured widespread availability of the majorGreek and Latin texts. The claims of an Italian origin for movable type have focused on this rapid rise of Italy in movable-type printing. This may perhaps be explained by the prior eminence of Italy in the paper and printing trade. Italy's economy was growing rapidly at the time, facilitating the spread of literacy. Christopher Columbus had a geography book printed with movable type, bought by his father; it is now in theBiblioteca Colombina inSeville. Finally, the city of Mainz was sacked in 1462, driving many printers into exile.[72]
Printing was also a factor in theReformation.Martin Luther'sNinety-five Theses were printed and circulated widely; subsequently he issuedbroadsheets outlining his anti-indulgences position (certificates of indulgences were one of the first items Gutenberg had printed). Due to this, Gutenberg would also be viewed as a proto-Protestant.[73] The broadsheet contributed to the development of the newspaper.
In 1952, theUnited States Postal Service issued a five hundredth anniversary stamp commemorating Johannes Gutenberg invention of the movable-type printing press. In space, he is commemorated in the name of theasteroid777 Gutemberga. Two operas based on Gutenberg areG, Being the Confession and Last Testament of Johannes Gensfleisch, also known as Gutenberg, Master Printer, formerly of Strasbourg and Mainz, from 2001, with music byGavin Bryars;[74] andLa Nuit de Gutenberg, with music byPhilippe Manoury, premiered in 2011 in Strasbourg.[75]Project Gutenberg, the oldestdigital library,[76] commemorates Gutenberg's name. The MainzJohannisnacht (St. John's Night), has commemorated Gutenberg in his native city since 1968.
^Due to minimal extant documentation, identifying Gutenberg's exact year of birth is impossible.[12] Most modern scholars give a range of slightly differing dates for Gutenberg's birth year, including 1394–1406,[13] 1394–1404,[10] 1394–1406,[12] and 1393–1403.[14]
^Local tradition holds that Gutenberg's baptism took place atSt. Christoph's, albeit without documentary evidence.[17]
^The extent of Friele's actual involvement in the city's finances and trade ofprecious metal is unknown; the roles may have been largely ceremonial.[18]
^Gutenberg had a half sister, Patze, from his father's earlier marriage to an otherwise unknown woman.[18]
^The historian Sabina Wagner notes that Geldner's theory is "the opinion of many Gutenberg biographers", though not all.[20] The biographerAndreas Venzke [de] has instead suggested that the disconnect inaugurated a life-long sense of determination.[23] Wagner herself consider's the fact that Gutenberg was the youngest son as more impactful than his social standing.[20]
Chinese paper was suitable only for calligraphy or block-printing; there were no screw-based presses in the east, because they were not wine-drinkers, didn't have olives, and used other means to dry their paper.
^International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (2010).Early printed books as material objects. Bettina Wagner, Marcia Reed, IFLA Rare Books and Manuscripts section. Berlin: De Gruyter.ISBN978-3-11-025530-0.OCLC732957497.
^abAgüera y Arcas, Blaise; Needham, Paul (November 2002). "Computational analytical bibliography".Proceedings Bibliopolis ConferenceThe future history of the book.The Hague (Netherlands):Koninklijke Bibliotheek.
Juchhoff, Rudolf (1950). "Was bleibt von den holländischen Ansprüchen auf die Erfindung der Typographie?" [What remains of the Dutch claims to the invention of typography?].Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German). Mainz: Verlag der Gutenberg-Gesellschaft:128–133.ISSN0072-9094.OCLC819006182.
Nash, Paul W. (Summer 2004). "The 'first' type of Gutenberg: a note on recent research".The Private Library.7 (2). Leeds: W.S. Maney & Son Ltd.:86–96.doi:10.17613/2nyd-gy45.ISSN0032-8898.OCLC963827459.
Venzke, Andreas[in German] (1993).Johannes Gutenberg: Der Erfinder des Buchdrucks [Johannes Gutenberg: The Inventor of the Printing Press] (in German). Zürich: Benziger.ISBN978-3-545-34099-2.
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