The Savannah morning news., 1900-07-04
JOHN GUTENBERG.
THE FIVE HUNDREDTH ANNIVER-
SA1Y OF HIS BIRTHDAY.
Features of His Remarkable Career.
The Harvest of His Labors Reaped

The Harvest of His Labors Renped
by Others.
From the New York Post.
London, June 1O.-Towards the end of
the month there will be celebrated at the
Rhenish city of Mainz the 500th ami
versary of the birth of John Gutenberg.
Festive dongs. pigrimages to spots with
which he was intimately associated, pro-
cessions wherein will be represented
many masters Of early printing-there
and other things are promised to those
who, doubtless in numbers, Will make
their way Mainz-ward in few weeks.
During his lifetime a prophet may have
no honor in his own country, but if his
voice penetrate 30 other lands, soon or
late its sound is caught up and swelled
into a song of eager acclaim by his coun-
trymen, his fellow townsfolk
We will not here enter into the vexed
question as to whether or not Mainz is
the real birthplace of printing. On the
one hand are those who incline to the
opinion that the art was really discov-
cred by Laurens Janszoom. surnamed
Coster, at Haarlem, about 1910 and that
types, fed to Mainz in 1441, there to open
workshop. The nti-Costerians-an
perhaps the main body of opinion has in
recent years veered in this direction
maintain that a now familiar passage in
the Cologne Chronicle of 1899 alludes in
the first prefigurement invented
in Holland" TO block books and not to
movable types For our present pur-
poses we need take no heed of the con-
troVersy but assume that John Guten-
berg was in truth The ,nitiator of per-
haps the most potent change which the
world has seen. Printing has been as the
wind wherein the seeds of knowledge
are carried to remote places; by means
of printing the great Demos has been
awakened 10 a consciousness of life and
of power. 1t has opened wide the doors
of evil and of good. No wonder. then,
that the citizens of Ma.nz are eager 20
do honor to the memory of the supposed
father Of the craft
John Gutenberg took his others name
instead of That Of his father Frelo yum
GaunsGeisch. A patician by b'r.b, ne
a kind were driven out Of Manz in
1920. In all probability. he almost imme-
oiately afterwards settled at Strasbourg
abe ut sixty miles Dis ant On TIE recall
of he mobiles 10 AlainZ, he refuse to stir
acd hence his property seems to have
been c-ntiscated. Gut snberg, described as
a n gh-spirit5d thoughtful devout young
man, seized the opp rtunity in 1874 TO i'm
prison at Strasbourg the town clerk of
Mairz FOR CC6t cue TO him by The cor
Loration Of his native city The senti-
mental may find an explanation of this in
the face that by that time h was af-
famed to Emmeline Zu Isernc -Thure, and
anxious to reas S RI his claims TO his pos
sessions. On the urgent representations
of the Mayor end Councillors of Stras-
bourg however, he released the town
clerk wi bout achieving his aim.
His love affa RS antecedent to his mar
riage are cl udei mys cry, but this is
certain, that few stranger STOKES could
be told According 10 his champions. he
remained tue throughout to his fiancee
Moreover, it was his love OF her alone
that cs used him, a poor man to refuse to
make her his wife But the lady had spir-
it, Unable to bring him to book appar-
emily. by sof, words or appeals to rea-
son, in 1887 she suzd him before ;he &C.
c esiastiC al courts for bresch Of rr0mise
of marriage John Gutenberg had to sur
render the citadel, and the after happiness
Of the two appears to have been complete.
Some chro1i ltrs indeed, wou d have us
believe that 20 Emmeline ard OF to John
belcnes the honor CT haViag thought of
movab tyl es. Dmiag his long sojourn at
StrS soourS, Gutenberg, almost certainly.
calfled on series OF experiments which
led up TO MS HHal ach!tVeEent Perhaps
II Is all a myth about his having excel
ed as a lap dary and having made num-
Ter or improved looking glasses for which
a large 5 ale was expected a the pill
srmage to AiX-la-Chapella. The fabrica-
ton OF mirrors was far more likely mere
cloak for tie printing of s)eculums. the
Latin word sianifying the same thing.
The art of printing, if in truth he had dis
covered it as earlJ As l435. was at this
time secret process for multiplying man
uscripts, ard natural every procaution
~ - az s4t -,
esttott -, l,1't - -eo'NV u Wy
tli.eate .i,,, 9ool'teu
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anu Anu Z"
4'i t,e, te99Tuis 'Iese men were
,ni se't 'S put ieSal
~ s,,t'i, -" l'Y' ,,iiO"S Hsnl
oti me l"eS ndu Jointly agreed
liia. II o'e % tne PdItnerS uleu III me
,'I SO " tngi' ieSedi cneS mas helrs "ouid
ia e 'ne IIent 20 'lalHl no more thah me
amount nv ,'u III tHe Ioer'aklHg' ana
iio no p@ pa elSillP, As II chanced' brltze-
men u'u ue' anu ueSpIte GUTENBERG oIer