Johannes Gutenberg is the first European typographer. The German book printer created a way of printing books with movable letters. The invention influenced the culture of Europe.
The method of printing books was proposed in the mid-1440s by Johann Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg. World history changed its course thanks to this invention.
An idea of global importance
Little is known about the biography of the German book printer. He lived in the fifteenth century, only the acts of the most prominent personalities were recorded in documentary sources. Contemporaries were able to appreciate the works of Gutenberg, information about him is periodically found in historical descriptions. It is known that the boy was born in about 1400 in a wealthy family.
The mother of the future activist Elsa Virich descended from cloth merchants, father Frile Gensfleisch belonged to the upper class of burghers. There is no mention of Johann's childhood and adolescence in any source. There are also no records of the baby's baptism. There are suggestions that this is June 24, 1400.
The exact place of birth is also unknown. According to several versions, this could be Mainz or Strasbourg. The boy was the youngest in the family. In addition to the eldest son Frile, the parents raised their daughters Patze and Elsa. After school, Johann began training in the craft. He chose the work of the ancestors on the maternal side. The master received the right to train apprentices. From 1434 Gutenberg lived in Strasbourg.
He took up jewelery, gem polishing, and mirrors. The idea of creating a machine that prints books appeared in the young man's head. In 1438 the organization "Enterprise with Art" was created for implementation with one of the students Andreas Dritzen. The release of the invention was delayed due to the sudden death of a companion.
Printing appeared in 1440. In 1444, under the name of Wildvogel, the typographer tried to raise funds to further improve the design. The machine consisted of convex letters carved in a mirror image. To print on paper, a special press and paint were required.
Major works
In 1448 in Mainz, a deal was made to pay certain amounts to modernize the development. The usurer Fust, who became a new partner, insisted on equal shares of profit. Gutenberg created several new typefaces, printed the first grammar of Elijah Donat, official documents and a couple of Bibles.
Published in about 1455, the book is known as the main work of the typographer. The edition is kept in the Museum of Mainz. The inventor created a typeface resembling a handwritten type, a subspecies of Gothic writing. Since existing inks were not suitable for printing, Gutenberg had to create his own.
He added sulfur, lead, copper to the composition. The letters have acquired a bluish-black color with an unusual brilliance. Red paint was used for rubrication. To match the two tones, the page was passed through the machine twice. In Germany, there are a dozen of almost two hundred copies that were once published. After the death of Dritzen in 1439, his children filed a lawsuit against Gutenberg, insisting on the authorship of their father. The inventor has proven his right.
Some parts of the machine remained with the heirs of Andreas, Gutenberg had to restore them on his own. The new trial fell on 1455. The former partner Fust complained about non-payment of interest. The printing house and its components became the property of the plaintiff. Everything had to be started all over again. The consequences of the two courts had a profound effect on the printer.
Implementation in life
Gutenberg contacted the Goomeri company. In 1460, an edition of Johann Balba was published, and a Latin grammar was printed. In 1465, the service began with the Elector Adolf. The book printer died in 1468, on February 3.
Johann's development has gained worldwide fame. There appeared a lot of people posing as the pioneers of the book-printing device. In one of the reliable documents, the name of Gutenberg was recorded by his apprentice Peter Schefer. After the destruction of the first sample, former employees of the printing house dispersed throughout Europe.
In other countries, they started introducing new technology. Each called Gutenberg his teacher. Very quickly, typography covered Hungary, Italy, Spain. None of the followers of the leader went to France. The Parisians invited the German craftsmen to work on their own.
Due to his popularity, researchers from many countries tried to write works about the famous figure. Disputes about the authorship of the famous invention began during the life of Gutenberg. Mainz and Strasbourg contested fame.
Modern research
For a long time, the pioneer printer was called the apprentice of Schaeffer and Fust. Although Schaeffer himself explained the error, rumors proliferated. The main problem modern researchers call the absence of a colophon, a note about authorship, on printed copies. With her, Gutenberg would not be afraid of new problems.
There was no personal correspondence, no reliable information about the progress of work on the machine. The printer invented unique fonts, and they made it possible to establish the significance of the contribution and the legacy of the figure. Interest in the life of the first printer in Russia manifested itself by the middle of the last century, by the time of the five hundredth anniversary of the invention. Vladimir Lyublinsky was the first to start research.
In total, more than 3000 scientific papers have been created, along with a short biography of Gutenberg. Nothing is known about the developer's personal life. It remains a mystery whether he had a wife or a child.
None of the lifetime images of the inventor have survived. The engraving dated 1584 was written according to the description of the printer's appearance.
The place of the invention of the machine, as well as of the birth of Johann, is still called Mainz. A museum was opened in the city in 1901, a monument was erected. An asteroid and a lunar crater are also named after the inventor.
