It is generally understood that Johannes Gutenberg is the father of movable type and the inventor of the European printing press. There is, however, some controversy as to the true inventor of the European movable type printing press. There are many Dutch scholars who propose that Laurens Coster of Haarlem invented movable type in 1440 (Steinberg 1959). This myth has lost much of its power with scholars today, but it was once believed that Gutenberg actually sole the idea from the printing press from Coster, whose helpers had stolen the press and ran off to Germany—and Gutenberg’s waiting arms—with it (Steffens 1990).
The truth was much less exciting: Johannes Gutenberg was simply a goldsmith and coin maker who—unlike many people of his time—was literate, thanks to the wealth and position of his family. At that time, the business of copying books was growing by leaps and bounds, a fact that was not missed by the enterprising Gutenberg. He and his three partners began their business dealings by selling mirrors, but by 1438 their enterprise had expanded to include printing (Armour 1976).
The block printing of the time (mostly confined to playing cards and some books) didn’t interest Gutenberg. He wanted to be able to produce books in a quicker manner than the labor-intensive block printing method. Although unfamiliar with the specifics of Pi Sheng’s movable type, Gutenberg was definitely knowledgeable about the various methods of block printing, and his metallurgical work had trained him in working with metal punches. He cast his type from a single mold, so that each row would be uniform when the paper was pressed and all of this type would be nearly identical (Steffens 1990).
Gutenberg’s time of triumph, however, quickly ended when one of his partners, Andrew Dritzehen, died. Dritzenhen’s brothers wanted to take his place in the partnership, but Gutenberg refused, which led the brothers to sue. Gutenberg finally won the case after a lengthy and expensive court battle.
Money—or the lack thereof—was a constant demon in Gutenberg’s life. Constantly seeking financial help, in 1450 he finally turned to a lawyer in Mainz, Germany named John Fust. Fust agreed to loan him 800 guldens to set up shop and another 800 guldens in 1452. Many believe that Fust believed in Gutenberg’s ability to repay the loans solely on his proposed plan to print the Bible (Harris 1972).
Known as “the 42-line Bible” for the simple fact that each page contained two columns of type, each with 42 lines, this became Gutenberg’s masterpiece and legacy. It is believed that 180 copies of the Bible were printed on paper, and another 30 copies were printed on vellum (Man 2002). It was at that point that Fust suddenly demanded that Gutenberg repay all of the money loaned to him, plus interest (a total of approximately 2000 guldens). Gutenberg obviously could not repay that amount and lost control of his own printing business. Fust wrested control of the press by simply showing up at the court appointed spot (a monastery at which Fust was expected to swear before God that he had been paying interest on the money advanced to Gutenberg). Gutenberg didn’t show up, sending two friends instead, and the court advanced the verdict that the press belonged to Fust (Harris 1972).
Fust entered into partnership with Peter Schoeffer (who also became his son-in-law) and Gutenberg began the decline into bankruptcy. Johannes Gutenberg, the man responsible for one of the greatest catalysts in the evolution of society, died a failure in his own time.
Armour, Richard.The Happy Booker. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1976.
Harris, Brayton. Johannes Gutenberg and the Invention of the Printing Press. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1972.
Man, John. Gutenberg: How One Man Remade the World with Words. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
Steffans, Brandley. Printing Press: Ideas Into Type. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 1990.
Steinberg, S.H. Five Hundred Years of Printing. London: Faber and Faber, 1959.
This page was developed on assigment for Dr. Gretchen Whitney's SIS 490 class as part of the Dead Germans Project.
Created by Rebecca Brock, Fall semester, 2004
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