Gutenberg

by Stephan Füssel, Peter Lewis (Translator)

Named “Man of the Millennium” in 1999, Johannes Gutenberg was the creator of one of the most influential and revolutionary inventions in Europe’s a printing press with mechanical movable type. This development sparked the printing revolution, which is regarded as the milestone of the second millennium and represents one of the central contributions in the turn to modernity. His printing press came to play a key role in the development of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Age of Enlightenment, providing the material foundation for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses. His invention revolutionized the way that information is shared and broadened the boundaries of who has access to written knowledge. Paving the way for bibliophiles of today, the Gutenberg Bible of 1454 remains one of the most famous books in history.Gutenberg’s technical innovations remained unrivalled for almost 350 years, until industrialization of the printing industry and the digital revolution built on the advances that he began, increasing the rate at which information is spread. Despite his significance in forming the world as we know it, there has not yet been a rigorous and accessible biography of Gutenberg published in English. Written by the leading expert on Gutenberg, Füssel’s biography brings together high academic standards and thorough historical details in a highly readable text that conveys everything you need to know about the man who changed printing forever. 

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2020

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prompted by the praise of the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz by Bernard Levin in his book about the Rhine and hiking down the Rhine myself, I decided to drop in on the museum. Unfortunately, like so much else in Germany, it was under renovation but the main exhibits have been move to an annex to the science museum and it was in the museum shop that I found this book. Anyway, enough autobiographical detail, the book is a short but very informative history of Gutenberg and the early years of printing by the world's leading authority on the great man.

Gutenberg was as much a businessman as anything else, one of his first ventures was manufacturing mirrors for pilgrims to absorb the holy rays of relics, but a plague that led to the cancellation of the pilgrimage put paid to that. By 1445 he had published his masterpiece, the Bible in Latin. 180 copies were published of which the majority were paper and a small minority 'deluxe editions!' were vellum. The Mainz museum holds volume 2 of the Solms Laubach copy and the 2 volume Shuckburgh copy, purchased in 1978. They are wonders to behold.

Fussel describes the printing process, the additional work for a complete text (rubrication and illustration), the demise of Gutenburg's business partnership, Gutenberg's other works, the major printers and works that came after Gutenberg up to 1500, the modern status of the remaining copies and many more aspects of the topic that will fascinate anyone interested in the history of this man, his invention and his time and place.

Two interesting things I learned are that the precise location of his grave was lost long ago and that even though he is always depicted with a beard and furry hat, it's highly unlikely a man of his status would have been bearded or worn such a hat.

[Jack Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but brief

I was looking for a hook that would explain in some mechanical detail, how Gutenberg invented his printing type and how it worked. This book was good, and was a good historical account....but if you want a really involved account of the Gutenberg invention, you must look elsewhere.