Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1940-11-07
PRINTING INVENTED 500 YEARS AGO


ing by Johann Gutenberg is being celebrated
during the present year. 1t was about the year
1440 that Gutenberg invented printing-the very
process that makes possible the modern newspa-
pers, magazines, books circulars and many other
things that enter so largely in every day
lives He was born at Mainz, Germany, about the
year 1400
The relatively few books in existence before
Gutenberg's invention were lettered by hand by
scrbes who spent many months pennlng book
the size of a modern novel. The first printing he
did to speak of after inventng printing with type
was little Latin grammar. Later he produced
the Gutenberg Bible which had 1882 pages.
1t is estimated that about $50 copies of this first
important book printed, and only Al rea-
sonab1y complete copies are in existence today.
They are known as the 42-line Bible because
there are AZ lines on each double page. 1t is stat
ed that should copy of this Bible come up
for public sale it would command a price some
place around quarter of a million dollars.
The worlds first printed newspaper was pub
1ished in Germany in about 1872; the first printed
in England was in 1922; the first one in France
1881 The first printed sheet to be published as
a newspaper in America appeared in Boston,
Sept Is. 1890 1t was Benjamin Harris Public
Occurrences" Because it did not have the prop
er license the sheet suppressed by the British
colonial government the first edition
appeared. Americas regularly published news
paper was the Boston News Letter." which be-
gan as weekly April "a, 1704, and continued un-
til January, 1776 On January a. 1775, Benja-
min Towne converted his Philadelphia Evening
post and Daily Advertiser into Americas first
daily newspaper
The first printed magazine was originated by
Edward Cave in London in 1871, which was
known as the "Gentlemens Magazine" The first
magazine published in what is now the United
States was the american Magazine Month
ly Review of the Political State of the British
Colonies" and was published by VIM. Bradford
in Philadelphia, Pa, making its first appearance
in 1741.
The Chinese invented paper about the year
105 A. D., and that country held monopoly on
it for some 600 years. Paper making was not in
troduced into England, the American colonial
source of supply, until the end of the 18th cen.
tury. Americas first colonial paper mill begar
operations in 1890, on the banks of stream, five
miles from Philadelphia, on the present site o.
Germantown Pa. It was built by William Rit
tenhouse and his son Nicholas, emigrant pape,
makers from Holland.
The foregoing is but brief summary of his
tory of printing which has become as common
place in our lives the rising and setting of the
sun, and yet it plays tremendous role in the
lives of everyone of us. Just imagine what chaos
there would be if every piece of printing used ir
industry and commerce, were suddenly taker
away, and all newspapers and magazines ceased
publication. Every practical invention has beer
dependent on the printing press to further it:
adoption and success. Thus it is fitting that dur
ing the current year 1910 homage be paid to Gut
enberg, the inventor of printing-the person who
gave mankind his choicest gift-the man who
made it possible for you to read this paper
When we think of printing the name of Benja
min Franklin to mind. After but tive
years of schooling he entered a print shop, ane
was SO to speak educated on the printing press
We are all more less familiar with the life o.
the great Franklin--his political activities, his
scientific work, his diplomatic career; signel
of the Declaration etc. yet he asked that there bt
placed on his monument at his grave a single
word that of printer"