History of the Printing Press - Invention of the Printing Press Invention: printing press Function: noun / printï¿½ing press Definition: A machine that transfers lettering or images by contact with various forms of inked surface onto paper or similar material fed into it in various ways The device is used for printing many copies of a text on paper. Inventor: Johannes Gutenberg (aka Johann Gutenberg) Criteria; First practical. Modern prototype. Entrepreneur. Birth: c1400 in Mainz, Germany Death: February 3, 1468 in Mainz, Germany Nationality: German Milestones: 888 The Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist scripture, was the first dated example of block printing. 1041 Bi Sheng in China invented movable clay type 1423 Europeans use xylography (art of engraving on wood, block printing) to produce books. 1430 Gutenberg moved from his native town of Mainz to Strasburg 1436 Gutenberg begins work on his printing press.

1437 Gutenberg was sued for "breach of promise of marriage" by a young lady of Strasburg 1440 Gutenberg completed his wooden press which used movable metal type. 1440 Laurens Janszoon Koster (Coster) is credited, by some, with inventing movable metal type 1444 Gutenberg returns to Mainz and sets up a printing shop 1446 Gutenberg prints the "Poem of the Last Judgment" 1448 Gutenberg prints the "Calendar for 1448" 1450 Gutenberg' formed a partnership with the wealthy Johann Fust 1450 Gutenberg begins work on a Bible, the first is 40 lines per page. 1452 Gutenberg begins printing the 42-line Bible in two volumes. 1454 Gutenberg prints indulgences (notes sold to Christians by the Pope, pardoning their sins) 1455 First block-printed Bible, the Biblia Pauperum, published in Germany. 1455 Gutenberg completed work on what is estimated to be 200 copies of the Bible 1455 Gutenberg was effectively bankrupt.

Investor Johann Faust gains control of print business 1457 First known color printing, a Psalter (a collection of Psalms for devotional use) by Faust. 1460 Gutenberg reestablished himself in the printing business with the aid of Conrad Humery 1461 Albrecht Pfister printed the first illustrated book Edelstein which featured a number of woodcuts. 1465 Gutenberg is appointed to the court of Archbishop Adolf of Nassau 1476 Two hundred woodcuts were used in a edition of Aesop's Fables 1476 First use of copper engravings instead of woodcuts for illustration 1476 William Caxton sets up his printing press in Westminster, England. 1499 Printing had become established in more than 2500 cities around Europe.

1499 An estimated 15 million books have been press printed, representing thirty thousand book titles CAPs: Johannes Gutenberg, Johann Gutenberg, Bi Sheng, Laurens Janszoon Koster, Johann Faust, Peter Schoffer, Albrecht Pfister, Conrad Humery, Archbishop Adolf of Nassau, William Caxton, Gutenberg Bible, 42-line Bible, Mazarin Bible, Diamond Sutra, Poem of the Last Judgment, Calendar for 1448, Psalter, Aesop's Fables, SIPs: printing press, movable type, xylography, metal type, indulgences, typography, letterpress printing, invention, history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, fascinating facts. The Story: In the mid-15th century Johannes Gutenberg invented a mechanical way of making books. This was the first example of mass book production. Before the invention of printing, multiple copies of a manuscript had to be made by hand, a laborious task that could take many years. Later books were produced by and for the Church using the process of wood engraving. This required the craftsman to cut away the background, leaving the area to be printed raised.

This process applied to both text and illustrations and was extremely time-consuming. When a page was complete, often comprising a number of blocks joined together, it would be inked and a sheet of paper was then pressed over it for an imprint. The susceptibility of wood to the elements gave such blocks a limited lifespan . In the Far East, movable type and printing presses were known but did not replace printing from individually carved wooden blocks, from movable clay type, processes much more efficient than hand copying. The use of movable type in printing was invented in 1041 AD by Bi Sheng in China. Since there are thousands of Chinese characters, the benefit of the technique is not as obvious as in European languages. In China, there were no texts similar to the Bible which could guarantee a printer return on the high capital investment of a printing press, and so the primary form of printing was wood block printing which was more suited for short runs of texts for which the return was uncertain It is not clear whether Gutenberg knew of these existing techniques or invented them independently, though the former is considered unlikely because of the substantial differences in technique.

Europeans use xylography (art of engraving on wood, block printing) to produce books and used by European textile makers to print patterns on fabric. Gutenberg began experimenting with metal typography (letterpress printing) after he had moved from his native town of Mainz to Strassburg around 1430. Knowing that wood-block type involved a great deal of time and expense to reproduce, because it had to be hand carved, Gutenberg concluded that metal type could be reproduced much more quickly once a single mold had been fashioned. When Johannes Gutenberg began building his press in 1436, he was unlikely to have realised that he was giving birth to an art form which would take center stage in the social and industrial revolutions which followed. He was German, his press was wooden, and the most important aspect of his invention was that it was the first form of printing to use movable type. His initial efforts enabled him in 1440 to mass-produce indulgences -- printed slips of paper sold by the Catholic Church to remit temporal punishments in purgatory for sins committed in this life, for those wealthy enough to afford indulgences.

Although Laurence Koster (Coster) of Haarlem, Netherlands also laid claim to the invention, scholars have generally accepted Gutenberg as the father of modern printing. Gutenberg left Strasburg, presumably about 1444. He seems to have perfected at enormous expense his invention shortly afterwards, as is shown by the oldest specimens of printing that have come down to us, the "Poem of the Last Judgment", and the "Calendar for 1448"). The fact that Arnolt Gelthuss, a relative of Gutenberg, lent him money in the year 1448 at Mainz points to the same conclusion. Legal documents indicate that Gutenberg probably began printing the Bible around 1450. It was in this year that Gutenberg entered into a partnership with Johann Fust who lent him money to finance the production of a Bible. Gutenberg certainly introduced efficient methods into book production, leading to a boom in the production of texts in Europe -- in large part, owing to the popularity of the Gutenberg Bibles, the first mass-produced work, starting in 1452. Even so, Gutenberg was a poor businessman, and made little money from his printing system.

The earliest dated specimens of printing by Gutenberg are papal indulgences (notes given to Christians by the Pope, pardoning their sins) issued in Mainz in 1454. In 1455, Gutenberg demonstrated the power of the printing press by selling copies of a two-volume Bible for a price that was the equivalent of approximately three years' wages for an average clerk, but it was significantly cheaper than a handwritten Bible that could take a single monk 20 years to transcribe. In 1455, just as the project was nearing completion Johann Fust sued Gutenberg, taking possession of his printing equipment and the almost completed edition of the Bible. Fust subsequently entered into partnership with Peter Schoffer, who had been Gutenberg's assistant, and the project was finally completed in 1456 whereupon Fust undertook the task of marketing the bible. Fust first attempted to sell the Bibles as manuscripts but once potential purchasers observed the uniformity of the volumes, he had to reveal the means by which they were produced.

The mortgage covered the copious stock of type which had evidently been already prepared for the edition of the Psalter, which was printed by Fust and Schoffer in August, 1457. This included new type in two sizes, as well as the world-famous initial letters with their ingenious contrivance for two-color printing. In 1457 Fust and Schoffer published a large Psalter, known as the Mainz Psalter, which featured printed red and blue intitials along with the black text. There is some debate about how these coloured letters were printed. They were either printed from two part metal blocks that were inked separately, re-assembled and then printed with the text, or they were stamped on after the main text was printed. Either way the process was time consuming and expensive so for several years it was more common for such decorative elements to be added by hand. The Mainz Psalter was also the first book to bear a printer's trademark and imprint, a printed date of publication and a colophon.

About 1457 Gutenberg also parted with his earliest-constructed founts of type, which he had made for the 40-line Bible,.Long before this Bible was printed the type had been used in an edition of the "Poem of the Last Judgment", and in the "Calendar for 1448", in editions of Donatus, and various other printed works. Most of this type fell into the possession of Albrecht Pfister in Bamberg.1460 The first person to print illustrated books was Albrecht Pfister. Around 1460 he published a book titled Der Ackermann von Bohmen (The Farmer from Bohmen). The only surviving copy of the first edition contains no illustrations but space has been left for them. A second edition printed in 1463 does include images. In 1461 Pfister printed an edition of Der Edelstein (a series of fables in German) which contained 101 woodcut illustrations. The woodcuts were in simple outline and were probably intended to be hand colored.

(Most surviving copies have in fact been colored.) Gutenberg next manufactured a new printer's outfit with the assistance he received from Conrad Humery, a distinguished and wealthy doctor of law, leader of the popular party, and chancellor of the council. This outfit comprised a set of small types fashioned after the round cursive handwriting used in books at that time and ornamented with an extraordinary number of ligatures. The type was used in the so-called "Catholicon" (grammar and alphabetic lexicon) in the year 1460, and also in several small books printed in Eltville down to the year 1472 by the brothers Echtermï¿½nze, relatives of Gutenberg. The Elector of Mainz, Archbishop Adolf of Nassau, presented him with a benefice (an ecclesiastical office in 1465) yielding an income and various privileges. Gutenberg's invention spread rapidly after his death in 1468.. It met in general with a ready, and an enthusiastic reception in the centers of culture. The names of more than 1000 printers, mostly of German origin, have come down to us from the fifteenth century.

In Italy we find well over 100 German printers, in France 30, in Spain 26. Many of the earliest printers outside of Germany had learned their art in Mainz, where they were known as "goldsmiths". Among those who were undeniably pupils of Gutenberg, and who probably were also assistants in the Gutenberg-Fust printing house were (besides Schoffer), Numeister, Keffer, and Ruppel; Mentel in Strasburg (before 1460), Pfister in Bamberg (1461), Sweynheim in Subiaco and Rome (1464), and Johann von Speyer in Venice (1469). The blocks used to illustrate early printed books were small and the images were often generic. There is evidence that printers exchanged blocks, with the same images being used in different editions of books. For example, two hundred woodcuts were used in a 1476 edition of Aesop's Fables and appear again in an edition by a different printer in 1480. There are also examples where the same image has been used to represent different subjects.

In early illustrated books the text and illustrations were printed in separate operations, possibly because the type and the wood blocks were of different heights, but later examples were printed in one impression. The first use of copper engravings for illustration occurred in 1476. Early experiments in using engraving for illustrations were not successful because the two different methods of printing not only required two operations; they required different types of equipment. As a result registration problems occurred. The solution was to print the images on separate sheets of paper and bind them into the book or to print on thin paper and cut out and paste the images in place. William Caxton learned the printing trade in Europe and set up his press in Westminster, England. 1476 Many early printing types were calligraphic - they imitated handwriting. Caxton used and was famed for his Black Letter type which imitated the writing of the Haarlem monks. Artistically, he was perhaps the finest printer of his day although, as a man of politics and letters, he was an amateur. The new printing presses had spread like brushfire through Europe. By 1499 print-houses had become established in more than 2500 cities in Europe.

Fifteen million books had been flung into a world where scholars would travel miles to visit a library stocked with twenty hand-written volumes. Scholars argue about the number. It could've been as few as eight million or as many as twenty four. But the output of new books had been staggering by any reasonable estimate. The people had suddenly come into possession of some thirty thousand new book titles. While the Gutenberg press was much more efficient than manual copying, the Industrial Revolution and the introduction of the steam powered rotary press allowed thousands of copies of a page in a single day. Mass production of printed works flourished after the transition to rolled paper, as continuous feed allowed the presses to run at a much faster pace. Gutenberg's invention did not make him rich, but it laid the foundation for the commercial mass production of books. The success of printing meant that books soon became cheaper, and ever wider parts of the population could afford them. More than ever before, it enabled people to follow debates and take part in discussions of matters that concerned them. As a consequence, the printed book also led to more stringent attempts at censorship. This was a sign that it was felt by those in authority to be dangerous and challenging to their position.

Gutenberg's Movable Metal Type In the Far East, movable type and printing presses were known but did not replace printing from individually carved wooden blocks, from movable clay type, processes much more efficient than hand copying. The use of movable type in printing was invented in 1041 AD by Bi Sheng in China. Since there are thousands of Chinese characters, the benefit of the technique is not as obvious as in European languages. It is not clear whether Gutenberg knew of these existing techniques or invented them independently, though the former is considered unlikely because of the substantial differences in technique.The print technology that produced the Gutenberg Bible marks the beginning of a cultural revolution unlike any that followed the development of print culture in Asia. Gutenberg was a goldsmith, a worker in metals, and a lapidary, and his invention both in conception and execution shows the worker in metals. Gutenberg multiplied the separate types in metal molds. The types thus produced he built in such a way that they might be aligned like the manuscript he was copying. His aim, technically and ï¿½sthetically so extremely difficult, was the mechanical reproduction of the characters used in the manuscripts, i.e. the hand lettered books of the time.

The works printed by Gutenberg plainly prove that the types used in them were made by a casting process where the letter-patterns were cut on small steel rods termed patrices, and the dies thus made were impressed on some soft metal, such as copper, producing the matrices, which were cast in the mold in such a manner as to form the "face" and "body" of the type at one operation. The printing type represents therefore a multiplicity of cast reproductions of the original die, or patrix. In addition to this technical process of type-setting, Gutenberg found himself confronted with a problem hardly less difficult, namely, the copying of the beautiful calligraphy found in the books of the fifteenth century, constantly bearing in mind that it must be possible to engrave and to cast the individual forms, since the types, when set, must be substantially replicas of the model. The genius of Gutenberg found a brilliant solution to this problem in all its complicated details. Even in the earliest types he made (e.g. in the Calendar for 1448), it can recognize not only the splendid reproduction of the actual forms of the original handwriting, but also the extremely artistic remodeling of individual letters necessitated by technical requirements.

The type reproductions were the work of a calligraphic artist of the highest order. He applied the well-tested rules of the calligraphist's art to the casting of types, observing in particular the rudimentary principle of always leaving the same space between the vertical columns of the text. Consequently Gutenberg prepared two markedly different forms of each letter, the normal separate form, and the compound or linked form which, being joined closely to the type next to it, avoids gaps. It is significant that this unique kind of letter is to be found in only four types, and these four are associated with Gutenberg. No typographer in the fifteenth century was able to follow the ideal of the original inventor, and consequently research attributes to Gutenberg types of this character, namely, the two Bible and the two Psalter types. Especially in the magnificent design and in the technical preparation of the Psalter of 1457 do we recognize the pure, ever-soaring inventive genius of Gutenberg. Gutenberg's Printing Press The spread of literacy and the development of universities meant that by the 15th century, despite an assembly line approach to the production of books, supply was no longer able to meet demand.

As a result there was widespread interest in finding an alternative means of producing books.Before books could be mass produced, several developments were necessary. A ready supply of suitable material that could be printed on was required. Manuscript books were written on vellum and this material was used for some early printed books, but vellum was expensive and not available in sufficient quantity for the mass production of books. The introduction of the technique of making paper and the subsequent development of a European papermaking industry was a necessary condition for the widespread adoption of print technology. Although a number of people had previously attempted to make metal type or had experimented with individual woodcut letters, it was not until a technique was devised for producing metal type in large quantities that printing with moveable type became economically feasible. Gutenberg, who had initially trained as a goldsmith, was to devise a means of producing metal type in sufficient quantities at a reasonable cost. This involved the design of a type-face and the production of molds used for making the individual pieces of type, as well as the development of an alloy that was soft enough to cast yet hard enough to use for printing. It was also necessary to develop suitable inks for printing with the new type.

The water-based inks used for hand lettering and for block printing will not stick to metal type, therefore a viscous oil based ink was required. Finally, a press was needed for transferring the image from type to paper. Precedents existed in the presses used for making wine, cheese and paper and one of Johannes Gutenberg's innovations was to adapt these presses for the printing process. An operator worked a lever to increase and decrease the pressure of the block against the paper. The invention of the printing press, in turn, set off a social revolution that is still in progress. TO LEARN MORE e popular term, refers to a fictional book of between 20,000 and 50,000 words? Novella Who wrote the famous 1855 poem The Charge of the Light Brigade?... Sign up View the step-by-step solution to: e popular term, refers to a fictional book of between 20,000 and 50,000 words? Novella Who wrote the famous 1855 poem The Charge of the Light Brigade?...

Part 1 What word, extended from a more popular term, refers to a fictional book of between 20,000 and 50,000 words? Novella Who wrote the famous 1855 poem The Charge of the Light Brigade? Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-92) In 1960 the UK publishing ban was lifted on what 1928 book? Lady Chatterley's Lover (by D H Lawrence) In bookmaking how many times would an quarto sheet be folded? Twice (to create four leaves) Who wrote the seminal 1936 self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People? Dale Carnegie Who in 1450 invented movable type, thus revolutionising printing? Johannes Gutenberg Which Polish-born naturalised British novelist's real surname was Korzeniowski? Joseph Conrad (1857-1924, full name Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) Which short-lived dramatist is regarded as the first great exponent of blank verse?

Christopher Marlowe (1564-93 - Blank verse traditionally is unrhymed, comprising ten syllables per line, stressing every second syllable.) Who wrote the maxim 'Cogito, ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am)? René Descartes (1596-1650, French philosopher and mathematician, in his work Discours de la Méthode, 1637.) Who was the youngest of the three Brontë writing sisters? Anne Brontë (1820-49 - other sisters were Emily, 1818-48, and Charlotte, 1816-55, plus a brother, Branwell, 1817-48. The two oldest sisters, Maria and Elizabeth died in childhood.) What is the Old English heroic poem, surviving in a single copy dated around the year 1000, featuring its eponymous 6th century warrior from Geatland in Sweden? Beowulf What relatively modern school of philosophy, popular in literature since the mid 1900s, broadly embodies the notion of individual freedom of choice within a disorded and inexplicable universe?

Existentialism What was the pen-name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson? Lewis Carroll (1832-98) Who wrote Dr Zhivago? Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890-1960) What term and type of comedy is derived from the French word for stuffing? Farce or farcical (from the French farcir, to stuff, based on analogy between stuffing in cookery and the insertion of frivolous material into medieval plays.) What term originally meaning 'storehouse' referred, and still refers, to a periodical of various content and imaginative writing? Magazine Who wrote the significant scientific book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687? Isaac Newton (1642-1727) What 16th century establishment in London's Bread Street was a notable writers' haunt? The Mermaid Tavern Who wrote the 1845 poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin? Robert Browning (1812-89) Which American poet and humanist wrote and continually revised a collection of poems called Leaves of Grass?

Walt Whitman (1819-92 - the title is apparently a self-effacing pun, since grass was publishing slang for work of little value, and leaves are pages.) kiakarosiyahtera44 posted a question · Apr 22, 2015 at 1:28pm What word extended from a more popular term, English What word extended from a more popular term Course:- English What word, extended from a more popular term, refers to a fictional book of between 20,000 and 50,000 words? Novella Who wrote the famous 1855 poem The Charge of the Light Brigade? Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-92) In 1960 the UK publishing ban was lifted on what 1928 book? Lady Chatterley's Lover (by D H Lawrence) In bookmaking how many times would an quarto sheet be folded? Twice (to create four leaves) Who wrote the seminal 1936 self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People? Dale Carnegie Who in 1450 invented movable type, thus revolutionising printing?

Johannes Gutenberg Which Polish-born naturalised British novelist's real surname was Korzeniowski? Joseph Conrad (1857-1924, full name Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) Which short-lived dramatist is regarded as the first great exponent of blank verse? Christopher Marlowe (1564-93 - Blank verse traditionally is unrhymed, comprising ten syllables per line, stressing every second syllable.) Who wrote the maxim 'Cogito, ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am)? René Descartes (1596-1650, French philosopher and mathematician, in his work Discours de la Méthode, 1637.) Who was the youngest of the three Brontë writing sisters? Anne Brontë (1820-49 - other sisters were Emily, 1818-48, and Charlotte, 1816-55, plus a brother, Branwell, 1817-48.

The two oldest sisters, Maria and Elizabeth died in childhood.) What is the Old English heroic poem, surviving in a single copy dated around the year 1000, featuring its eponymous 6th century warrior from Geatland in Sweden? Beowulf What relatively modern school of philosophy, popular in literature since the mid 1900s, broadly embodies the notion of individual freedom of choice within a disorded and inexplicable universe? Existentialism What was the pen-name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson? Lewis Carroll (1832-98) Who wrote Dr Zhivago? Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890-1960) What term and type of comedy is derived from the French word for stuffing? Farce or farcical (from the French farcir, to stuff, based on analogy between stuffing in cookery and the insertion of frivolous material into medieval plays.) What term originally meaning 'storehouse' referred, and still refers, to a periodical of various content and imaginative writing? Magazine Who wrote the significant scientific book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687?

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) What 16th century establishment in London's Bread Street was a notable writers' haunt? The Mermaid Tavern Who wrote the 1845 poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin? Robert Browning (1812-89) Which American poet and humanist wrote and continually revised a collection of poems called Leaves of Grass? Walt Whitman (1819-92 - the title is apparently a self-effacing pun, since grass was publishing slang for work of little value, and leaves are pages.) Johannes Gutenberg - Printing Press Share By Mary Bellis The earliest dated printed book known is the "Diamond Sutra", printed in China in 868 CE. However, it is suspected that book printing may have occurred long before this date. In 1041, movable clay type was first invented in China. Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith and businessman from the mining town of Mainz in southern Germany, borrowed money to invent a technology that changed the world of printing. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable/moveable wooden or metal letters in 1436 (completed by 1440).

This method of printing can be credited not only for a revolution in the production of books, but also for fostering rapid development in the sciences, arts and religion through the transmission of texts. Gutenberg Press The Gutenberg press with its wooden and later metal movable type printing brought down the price of printed materials and made such materials available for the masses. It remained the standard until the 20th century. continue reading below our video Profile of Johannes Gutenberg The Gutenberg printing press developed from the technology of the screw-type wine presses of the Rhine Valley. It was there in 1440 that Johannes Gutenberg created his printing press, a hand press, in which ink was rolled over the raised surfaces of moveable hand-set block letters held within a wooden form and the form was then pressed against a sheet of paper. Gutenberg Bible Johannes Gutenberg is also accredited with printing the world's first book using movable type, the 42-line (the number of lines per page) Gutenberg Bible . During the centuries, many newer printing technologies were developed based on Gutenberg's printing machine e.g. offset printing. Brief Biography - Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gutenberg was a German goldsmith and inventor best known for the Gutenberg press, an innovative printing machine that used movable type.

Gutenberg was born between 1394 and 1400 and died in 1468. In 1438, Gutenberg began a business arrangement with Andreas Dritzehn, who funded his experiments in printing. In 1450, Gutenberg began a second arrangement with German businessman Johannes Fust. Fust lent Gutenberg the money to start a printing business and build a large Gutenberg Press, their printing projects included the now famous Gutenberg Bible. On September 30, 1452, Johann Guttenberg's Bible was published becoming the first book to be published in volume. BRIA 24 3 b Gutenberg and the Printing Revolution in Europe - Constitutional Rights Foundation BRIA 24 3 b Gutenberg and the Printing Revolution in Europe CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION Bill of Rights in Action WINTER 2009 (Volume 24, No. 3) Herodotus and Thucydides: Inventing History | Gutenberg and the Printing Revolution in Europe | Henry Clay: Compromise and Union Gutenberg and the Printing Revolution in Europe Johann Gutenberg’s invention of movable-type printing quickened the spread of knowledge, discoveries, and literacy in Renaissance Europe.

The printing revolution also contributed mightily to the Protestant Reformation that split apart the Catholic Church. During the Middle Ages in Europe, most people lived in small, isolated villages. If people traveled at all, they typically ventured only a few miles from where they were born. For most people, the only source of both religious and worldly information was the village Catholic priest in the pulpit. News passed from one person to another, often in the form of rumor. Written documents were rare and often doubted by the common people as forgeries. What counted in important matters was oral testimony based on oaths taken in the name of God to tell the truth. Almost no one could read or write the language they spoke. Those few who were literate usually went on to master Latin, the universal language of scholarship, the law, and the Roman Catholic Church. Books, all hand-copied, were rare, expensive, and almost always in Latin. They were so valuable that universities chained them to reading tables. Most people passed their lifetime without ever gazing at a book, a calendar, a map, or written work of any sort. Memory and memorization ruled daily life and learning.

Poets, actors, and storytellers relied on rhyming lines to remember vast amounts of material. Craftsmen memorized the secrets of their trades to pass on orally to apprentices. Merchants kept their accounts in their heads. Even scholars literate in Latin used memory devices to remember what they had learned. One device involved visualizing a building with various rooms and architectural features, each representing a different store of knowledge. A university scholar imagined walking through this virtual building along a certain pathway to recall the contents of entire books for his lectures. Scribes, often monks living in monasteries, each labored for up to a year to copy a single book, usually in Latin. The scribes copied books on processed calfskin called vellum and later on paper. Specialists or the scribes themselves “illuminated” (painted) large capital letters and the margins of many books with colorful designs and even miniature scenes. These books were beautiful works of art. But they took a long time to make and were very costly. Movable-Type Printing An invention changed how books were made and dramatically changed people’s lives.

“ Movable-type printing ” is a way to reproduce written material, usually on paper, by first forming upraised letters or other figures on small blocks called types. A printer arranges the types within a frame on a press to form words and then prints a page of writing. The types can be broken apart, moved around, and set to print other pages of writing. This process was first developed in China about A.D. 1040 when Pi Sheng made Chinese language characters on ceramic types. The Chinese language, however, consists of tens of thousands of characters that alone or together represent things or concepts. Movable type did not catch on in China because it took too long to reproduce multiple copies of the many thousands of characters needed for printing. The old method of artistic handwriting, called calligraphy, was often faster and more economical. In the Middle Ages, Europeans knew nothing about Chinese moveable-type printing. But by 1450, European technology had all the components in place for a movable-type printing revolution. This included paper, oil-based ink, metal alloys, casting methods, and presses used for centuries to make wine and olive oil. The Europeans had one key advantage over the Chinese in making movable-type printing preferable to hand copying.

Latin, Greek, and all the other European languages were alphabet-based. They did not have tens of thousands of characters like Chinese. The Europeans only had to produce types for a limited number of letters (26 in the case of English). To print an entire book, printers would have to make hundreds of precisely identical types for each letter. Someone had to invent a way to do this quickly. Gutenberg’s Secret Johann Gutenberg was born around 1400 into one of the leading families of Mainz, Germany. Mainz was a busy commercial port on the Rhine River. Johann’s father worked as an official in the town’s mint, which produced coins for the Holy Roman Empire. Nothing is known about Johann’s education, but he probably attended a university because he knew Latin well. Some historians think that he learned how to make gold coins at the Mainz mint. This involved a “punch,” a chisel-like tool used to engrave small letters and designs on a metal mold for casting coins. In his mid-30s, Gutenberg decided to look for better prospects upriver in the German town of Strasburg (today Strasbourg, France).

In Strasburg, he borrowed money from three men who became his partners in manufacturing and selling metal mirrors to religious pilgrims. The pilgrims traveled to religious sites and used mirrors supposedly to capture the healing powers of holy objects. Outbreaks of the plague, however, were still occurring. Known as the Black Death , it had killed about a third of Europe’s population in the 14th century. A new outbreak interrupted the pilgrimages, and the mirror business failed. Gutenberg’s partners then discovered that he was working on “another secret art.” They sued him to uncover his secret, but Gutenberg won the suit and kept his secret secure. Apparently, Gutenberg had spent most of his years in Strasburg experimenting with a method of using movable type to print books. With no knowledge of printing from China and no one else in Europe to help him, Gutenberg worked alone to invent a unique movable-type printing process. Gutenberg used trial and error to adapt a coin-maker’s punch to make a mold for casting types, using just the right alloy of metals. This mold enabled him to mass-produce identical types for each letter of the Latin alphabet plus punctuation marks and symbols. He could reuse the types numerous times for different jobs.

Gutenberg also experimented with ink and paper. He needed ink that dried quickly and did not smear. After trying numerous ingredients, he found the perfect ink by combining linseed oil and lampblack. He also discovered that paper had to be a certain thickness and slightly dampened for the ink to stick properly. Finally, be built a press that applied the exact pressure needed to print words clearly from the types onto paper. By 1448, Gutenberg was back in Mainz. He borrowed money again to set up a printing workshop. In 1450, he printed his first book, a brief Latin grammar for students. He may have printed a few other things such as church “ indulgences .” These standard forms often called for Christians to donate money to the Catholic Church. In exchange, the church forgave their sins, assuring admission into Heaven. Gutenberg, however, had a much bigger project in mind. He knew that the Catholic Church wanted uniform Latin Bibles to standardize worship in Europe. Gutenberg could supply many identical copies of these Bibles by printing them. But he needed more money to set up a second print shop.

Already in debt to a Mainz businessman, Johann Fust, Gutenberg turned to him again for another loan. This time, however, Fust demanded that Gutenberg make him a partner and promise to repay all he owed in five years. Gutenberg hired craftsmen to make the Latin letter types, construct six presses, and manufacture the ink. He also purchased paper for printing most of the Bibles and vellum for a small, more expensive edition. In addition, he trained a team of men who, along with him, became Europe’s first movable-type printers. He passed on the secrets of his invention to his master printer, Peter Schoffer . He had been a scribe and was Fust’s adopted son. Gutenberg took at least five years to manufacture the types and equipment and print nearly 200 Bibles. He used a type font called “black letter gothic,” which attempted to duplicate the look of the hand-copied Bibles. He grew obsessed with printing Bibles that would equal or exceed in accuracy and beauty those copied by scribes. The Gutenberg Bible consists of two columns of print on more than 1,000 pages.

Unlike copies made by scribes, both columns are justified, aligned in a straight edge at the left and right margins, like the column of print you are reading right now. Gutenberg printed one page of the Bible before going on to the next. After page 10, he shifted from 40 to 42 lines of print per page. He was experimenting for ease of reading. Gutenberg printed most of the letters in black ink but some in red, which required pressing a page two times. After the pages were printed, artists decorated large-sized letters and added colorful designs on the borders of certain pages. Skilled workers then sewed the pages of each Bible together into two volumes with covers. The Gutenberg Bible was a work of art and a wonder of technology. Up to 75 complete and partial copies still exist today, mainly in libraries and museums. You can view paper and vellum copies at the British Library web site . When Gutenberg was completing the Bibles in 1455, Fust, his partner and creditor, demanded full payment of his loans. Gutenberg had all his money tied up in printing the Bibles and could not repay Fust right away. Fust sued.

Winning the lawsuit, Fust took possession of the second print shop and finished printing the Bibles, which he sold. Fust and master printer Schoffer continued operating Gutenberg’s second print shop. In a book that Fust and Schoffer later printed, they wrote a notice, taking credit for the “ingenious discovery of imprinting.” Gutenberg borrowed more money and continued printing. Around 1460, he printed a Bible with 36 lines per page. But he never got out of debt, never married, and was never acclaimed for his astounding invention during his lifetime. He died a poor and forgotten man in Mainz in 1468. The Printing Revolution Fust and Schoffer tried to hide the secret of movable-type printing. But the workers Gutenberg had trained spread knowledge of his invention throughout Europe. Schoffer married Fust’s daughter and inherited the printing business in Mainz when her father died of the Black Plague in 1466. Schoffer died rich and famous 37 years later. Less than 50 years after Gutenberg printed the Bible, over 1,000 print shops had sprung up in more than 200 European cities and towns.

They turned out more than 10 million copies of books in Latin and other European languages. Books became cheaper in price and available to anyone who could read them. Books were no longer chained in libraries. The spread of knowledge, both factual and not, exploded throughout Europe. Books began to appear for the first time with the author’s name on a title page. This made writers responsible for the content of their books, thus improving their accuracy. It also gave rise to the first copyright laws, protecting authors from having others publish their works without permission. By the 1400s, the Renaissance had already begun in Italy, and this cultural revival was spreading to other parts of Europe. Scholars wanted more copies of the recently rediscovered writings of Aristotle, St. Augustine, Cicero, and other ancient authors. The scribes, however, could not work fast enough to meet the demand. Printing presses were soon producing great numbers of books translated into Latin from Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and other classic languages. These books dealt with many subjects such as literature, the law, philosophy, architecture, and geography. By 1500, Renaissance Venice was Europe’s printing capital with 150 presses at work. Printing was a highly competitive business.

Printers were always trying to outdo each other with new ways to make their books more readable, attractive, and profitable. They produced books with title pages, tables of contents, numbered pages, indexes, and engravings of pictures, maps, and diagrams. They also began to use standard punctuation marks and broke down text into paragraphs. Printers soon expanded their lists of books from those in Latin to those in Europe’s vernacular languages. These were the everyday spoken languages such as German, Italian, and English. The books covered all kinds of subjects such as astrology, folklore, history, and fashions. “How to” books, such as mastering the skills of a craft, were common. The first novels appeared. “Polyglot Bibles” written in multiple languages side-by-side were popular. The increasing supply of books and other printed materials in vernacular languages spurred more people to learn how to read. Printers began to publish newspapers to meet the demand of readers for more information about national and world affairs. William Caxton, an English trade diplomat in Belgium, learned about the new printing method while visiting Germany. He printed the first book in English, a collection of legends about the ancient city of Troy that he translated from Latin.

The printing probably took place in Bruges, Belgium about 1471. In 1476, Caxton returned to England with his types and set up the country’s first printing press in London. Eventually, he printed 100 different books in English, including the Canterbury Tales . Caxton also recognized the need to standardize the inconsistent vocabulary and spelling of English. Caxton wrote about his concern in the prologue to one of the books he printed: And certaynly our language now used varyeth ferre [far] from that whyche was used & spoken when I was borne. . . . And that comyn Englysshe that is spoken in one shyre [shire] varyeth from another. The printing revolution also helped develop modern science in Europe. For example, in 1543, the Polish scholar, Copernicus , took advantage of printed works on astronomy and tables of data on planet movements to print his own book, arguing that the earth revolved around the sun. Later, the Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe, installed a printing press and paper mill near his observatory in order to print books on his discoveries.

Printing enabled scientists scattered throughout Europe to use the discoveries of others to speed their own investigations. Printed tables, charts, diagrams, and formulas eliminated the need for scientists to duplicate tiresome calculations. Along with the many gains in European learning and culture stimulated by the printing revolution, there were some losses as well. Scribes tried to continue their craft, sometimes even copying printed books, but most surrendered to the printing press by the late 1400s. This may have been an early indicator of the industrial revolution, which replaced many occupations with machines hundreds of years later. Another loss was a decline in the use of Latin, the universal language of religion and scholarship in the Middle Ages. With greater demand for books in the vernacular, more and more books were printed in vernacular languages. Fewer were printed in Latin. After Gutenberg, scholars had to seek out translations of works printed in numerous vernacular languages in order to learn about the work of others. Memorization also began to fade as a way to remember large quantities of information.

Almost 2,000 years earlier, the Greek philosopher Socrates had worried that replacing memory with writing “will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls.” Printing and the Reformation The end of Christian unity in Europe was one of the most significant changes that the printing revolution helped to bring about. At first, the Roman Catholic Church welcomed printing as the “divine art.” Church leaders assumed that the widespread printing of uniform Bibles and manuals for priests would strengthen and standardize Christian worship in Europe. They did not expect Martin Luther to become the world’s first best-selling author. A Catholic priest from Wittenberg, Germany, Luther despised the Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences to assure a sinner’s place in Heaven. In 1517, he wrote an argument for scholarly debate against indulgences, known as the “ Ninety-Five Theses .” Copies of this document quickly fell into the hands of printers, who distributed copies all over Europe. Before long, Luther’s sermons, pamphlets, and books, calling for Christians to reform the church, were streaming off the printing presses. Between 1517 and 1520, printers published hundreds of thousands of copies of his writings.

The church put Luther on trial and excommunicated him in 1521. He went into hiding for a number of years, and translated the Bible from Latin into German. Luther’s printed vernacular Bible enabled anyone who could read German to study the scriptures at home. Printed vernacular Bibles in other languages soon swept the rest of Europe. In 1526, the son of Peter Schoffer printed the New Testament in English, which was smuggled from Germany to England. The Catholic Church tried to defend its domination of religion in Western Europe by declaring that only the Latin Bible and Latin mass were appropriate for Christian worship. The church also attempted to ban books by those who contradicted its religious teachings. Many printers, however, used the church’s banned book lists as guides for publishing works that sold well. By the middle of the 1500s, the Christian church in Western Europe had split apart. Called the Reformation, this religious division set Catholics, Lutherans, and other Protestants against one another because of their different Christian beliefs and worship practices. The printing revolution did not cause the Reformation.

But the movable-type printing press produced many more copies of religious writings critical of the Catholic Church than would have been possible before Gutenberg’s invention. In addition, printed copies of vernacular Bibles aided Luther’s insistence that Christians must read the scriptures silently on their own rather than depend on church officials for their salvation. Thus, the Protestant Reformation and the printing revolution combined to encourage reading literacy among the common people in Europe and later in America. * * * * * For centuries, Europe had lagged far behind the Muslim world in the arts, sciences, and literature. The Muslims also possessed all the components for a printing revolution, including an alphabetic language. Religious authorities, however, considered Arabic sacred since it was the language of God in the Koran. Muslims believed that only handwritten copies of books were appropriate. As a result, most Muslim countries prohibited printing until the 1800s. Muslim learning stalled, due in part to the resistance to printing. Meanwhile, Europe made rapid advances in all fields of knowledge. Movable-type printing facilitated the spread of Renaissance ideas, modern science, and the Reformation with its emphasis on literacy and propelled Europe into a much different future. For Discussion and Writing 1.

Why do you think the Gutenberg Bible has been called a work of art and a wonder of technology? 2. Why do you think the printing revolution in Europe was a unifying force in science but a dividing one in religion? 3. What gains and losses did the printing revolution help bring about in European society between 1450 and 1550? A C T I V I T Y The Internet Revolution More than 500 years after Gutenberg started the printing revolution, we are in the midst of an “Internet revolution.” What gains and losses for our own society is the Internet causing today? 1. Meet in small groups to make a list of gains and losses caused by the Internet. 2. The groups should then contribute their ideas to create a class master list of gains and losses caused by the Internet. 3. Discuss why each item is a gain or loss. Should any items be switched from gain to loss or vice versa? 4. Discuss whether books, newspapers, magazines, and other print materials will eventually fade away like the books hand-copied by scribes in the Middle Ages. For Further Information

Question: Who in 1450 invented movable type, thus revolutionising printing?
Answer: Johannes Gutenberg