Spotlight: Johann Gutenberg

Photo I snapped at the

Library of Congress in Washington, DC

Today I have decided to do a spotlight on Johann Gutenberg.  He is the guy who invented the printing press, which was a crucial piece to mass printing as we know it today.  This spring I visited the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and sure enough a copy of one of his famous works (Gutenberg Bible) was there.  Okay, to you this may not be interesting, but needless to say I was a tad bit excited.  I studied about him extensively at the schools I've attended so I've included a paper (more or less) I wrote about him.  Hope you like biographies, haha.  (Its actually pretty interesting, and I'm not much of a history buff).

Born in the late 14th century, Johann Gutenberg was from Mainz, Germany.  He was the son of a wealthy nobleman.  Gutenburg apprenticed as a goldsmith, which is how he developed metalworking and engraving skills.  However, life was not simple for him in Mainz.  In 1428 Gutenberg was exiled because he played a key role in a power struggle between noblemen and the citizens of the trade guilds.  He then moved to Strasbourg, where he became a successful and prosperous gem cutter and metalworker.

In early 1438, he formed a contract with two other men, in which he taught them a secret process for making mirrors (which were difficult to manufacture in those times).  In late 1438, one of the partners died and his brothers sued Gutenberg for either admittance into the partnership or for a refund of joining the partnership.  The court ruled in Gutenberg’s favour as it stated in the contract that only one hundred florins of the partnership would be given to the heirs.

Wooden blocks

(Taken from http://theweekendedition.com.au/)

Along with metalworking, engraving, and gem cutting, Gutenberg became involved in printing.  In the 1440s, he moved back to Mainz to resolve all of the technical, organizational, and production problems that hindered earlier typographic printing efforts.  This is when he developed the printing press.  Gutenberg first tried wooden blocks, which were moveable; however, the ink did not always stick, which made printing difficult.  Also,Gutenberg found that the wood was too fragile.  Next, he tried making the type mold out of metal.  With metal type, he was able to print text material out of independent, movable, and reusable type, which was greatly desired in the West.  Also, because Gutenberg was a metalsmith he knew the properties of metal.  He knew he needed to create a type mold made of metal that neither expanded nor contracted while in use.  This is when he formulated a successfully unique alloy of eighty percent lead, five percent tin, and fifteen percent antimony.  He also had to experiment with inks to determine which one would stick best to both paper and metal.  Boiled linseed oil coloured with lampblack was the ink of choice, as it was thick and tacky and could be smoothly applied.  Gutenberg’s press was based on an adaptation of presses that were used to make wine, cheese, and paper  (ooooh la la!).  The press was faster and more consistent in quality than early European block letters.  It was used for 400 years with only moderate improvements.  However, in order to fund the press and to initially start production, it was necessary for Gutenberg to borrow eight hundred guilders from a lawyer named Johannes Fust.  Fust would play an integral role in Gutenberg’s downfall in the future.

Gutenberg Bible (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

In 1450, Gutenberg was the first person to bring together complex systems, which were necessary in printing a typographic book.  This book was the Gutenberg Bible.  The Gutenberg Bible is one of the finest examples of printer’s art.  Decorative initials, drawn by a scribe, mark each page.

In 1455, near the completion of the Bible, Johannes Fust (the man Gutenberg borrowed 800 guilders from) sued Gutenberg (scum bag!) for 2026 guilders in payment of loans and interest.  The courts ruled in favour of Fust and he seized possession of Gutenberg’s printing equipment and all work in progress.  The night before completion of the forty-two-line Bible, which would have let him pay off all his debts, Gutenberg was locked out of his printing shop.  Fust took the Bible and sold it all over Europe (again! scum bag!).

During the time that Fust was delivering Bibles, Gutenberg drifted into bankruptcy.  Although he was at a complete low, he had perfected his craft.  It is believed that he was able to establish a new print shop with financial assistance from a Mainz citizen Dr. Conrad Homery.  As he rebuilt his life he created the Catholicon (an encyclopedic dictionary) in 1460.  On January 17, 1465 Gutenberg was appointed courtier with the rank of nobleman.  The honorable Master Johann Gutenberg died February 3, 1468.

There you have it!