Johannes Gutenberg and the Invention of the Printing Press

Introduction: Gutenberg's Place in Printing History

Johannes Gutenberg was initially a goldsmith and a businessman from Mainz, Germany (Bellis). In 1436, Gutenberg solicited investments for an invention that involved replaceable — movable or modular — letters for the purposes of printing. Gutenberg recognized the need for a more efficient method of reproducing text, one that did not require producing a one-off woodcut or similar stamping device, or involve painstaking and time-consuming calligraphy. Using his new invention, it became possible to operate an actual printing press that could be used again and again to publish multiple copies of diverse texts.

Gutenberg certainly did not invent the first method of printing. Printing has been around for thousands of years, and likely originated with the Chinese. What Gutenberg did was revolutionize the method, medium, and procedure of printing. His invention is heralded more for its impact on society and the evolution of ideas than for its purely scientific or technical merits.

Early Life, Family Background, and Social Status

The exact date of Gutenberg's birth is not known. It was some time in the last decade of the fourteenth century, presumably between 1394 and 1399, and is generally assumed to be 1400 (Wallau). Likewise, the exact date of his death is generally stipulated as 1468, though it may have been 1467 (Wallau). Vander Hook and Romano note that Johannes was most likely born in the month of June. Had the printing press already existed, it is likely that birth and death dates would have been more meticulously recorded in church records.

Johannes was born to Friele (Friedrich) Gänsfleisch and Else Wyrich. The surname Gutenberg was derived from the name of the house in which he was born: Hof zum Gutenberg, which was itself the ancestral house "zu Laden, zu Gutenberg" of his father's family (Wallau). His father's family traced their heritage in the town of Mainz back to the thirteenth century. The Gänsfleisch were a prominent patrician family (Wallau). By the fifteenth century, the family had inherited the title of Hausgenossen — retainers of the household — which entitled them to the archiepiscopal mint (Wallau). Goldsmithing and minting were therefore family enterprises. Johannes's mother, Else Wyrich, was the daughter of a burgher of Mainz, and she and Friele married in 1386.

As a patrician family, the Gutenbergs were driven out of Mainz during a general revolt of guild members. Patricians held an unusual position in the city's social order. On the one hand, they were not considered part of the nobility and did not have noble blood. On the other hand, they contributed money to the city in lieu of taxes and were granted a special status that allowed them to control a certain guild. Patricians could also participate in city council discussions and were exempt from paying taxes (Vander Hook and Romano). Moreover, the city paid the patricians a yearly annuity based on their guild revenues — viewed as a return on the patrician investment into the guild organization (Vander Hook and Romano). This annuity was, of course, paid by the guild members themselves: the workers. As union-like organizations, the guilds staged periodic revolts against the patricians over unfair labor laws and practices. The struggle between the guilds and the patricians was a constant source of conflict for Johannes and his family (Vander Hook and Romano).

Wallau characterizes the situation simply as "political problems" faced by the Gutenberg household. In any case, Johannes and his family fled Mainz for Strasbourg by 1434. There, Johannes resumed his goldsmith occupation, joined the local guild, and expanded his skills by learning to work with gems and in looking-glass manufacturing (Wallau). He also entered a business partnership to produce metal hand mirrors used by pilgrims visiting holy sites, and it is highly likely that the metalwork involved in that endeavor influenced his later method of making metal type for printing ("Johann Gutenberg, ca. 1400–1468"). It was therefore in Strasbourg where Johannes first learned about the art of printing (Wallau).

Years in Strasbourg and Experiments in Printing

Klooster notes that in Strasbourg, Johannes learned not only about European printing processes but also Far Eastern ones. His budding interest in printing as a business is highlighted in a lawsuit brought against him by Georg and Klaus Dritzen — a suit that Gutenberg ultimately won. The German word drucken appears in the lawsuit documents, along with mention of specific items such as screws and other "printing requisites" (Klooster, p. 6). The suit was therefore obviously concerned with experiments in typography, though no printed matter traceable to those experiments has come to light (Wallau).

In Avignon, a silversmith named Waldvogel possessed steel alphabets, a press with iron screws, and other contrivances, and there may have been some connection or communication between Gutenberg and Waldvogel (Wallau). In 1444, Gutenberg left Strasbourg, apparently after being sued by a woman who claimed breach of promise of marriage — that is, breaking off an engagement (Wallau).

By this point, Gutenberg's interests were wholly consumed by his evolving invention, which now required substantial venture capital. He had begun producing prototypes, including a German poem on the Last Judgment called Weltgerichtsgedicht and a calendar (Wallau). A relative lent Gutenberg money, and in 1450 he formed a partnership with a wealthy burgher, Johann Fust of Mainz, "for the purpose of completing his contrivance and of printing the so-called 42-line Bible, a task which was finished in the years 1453–1455 at the Hof zum Humbrecht" (Wallau). The term "42 lines" refers to the number of lines per page.