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LET'S MEET GOOSEFLESH GUTENBERG!!
Gooseflesh ?
Yes, sir !
Johann Gensfleisch zum
Gutenberg !
And "Gensfleisch", translated from the
German into English, means "Gooseflesh"!! (1)
Actually, Gensfleisch was
the family name . His father was Frilo Gensfleisch, General Accountant of the
City of Mainz, Germany. But young
Johann adopted his mother's name – Gutenberg.
The meaning of that name was "Good Mountain", and may well
have saved him from a few nasty nick-names…and punch-ups… during his school
years!!. Besides which, Elsen Gutenberg, his mother, was the last of her family
line…and it was local custom to perpetuate the name in such a case.
* * * * * * * *
We also know that he was born in Mainz, one of the most
important cities in Germany, with 90,000 people living inside her walls. Mainz
is just south of Frankfurt where the Main and Rhine Rivers meet. The exact date of his birth is unknown –
even the year ranges from 1397 A..D. in some books to 1410 in others. It is ironic that the world of printing
which records so many inventions by others, tells us so little concerning this
one who has been immortalised as its birth-giver.
We know nothing of his boyhood … except that his father
was apparently wealthy…and a member of the nobility . When the townsfolk of
Mainz rebelled against the ruling classes in 1420, the Gensfleisch family found
it necessary to take refuge in Strasbourg.
A year or two later the
situation returned to normal and it was
possible for them to return to their home-town. They decided, however, not to
do so.
It is in 1434
the first of a number of legal documents referring to Johann Gutenberg
surfaces. It is a record of some
financial dealings with the Mainz authorities…..as a matter of fact Gutenberg
“seized and imprisoned the town clerk of Mainz for a debt due to him”. (2).
Shortly after this he finds himself once more embroiled in a legal wrangle…a
‘breach of promise’ suit with a certain Emmeline zu Ierne-Thure ! According to Cassell’s Romance of Famous
Lives, Gutenberg solved the problem by marrying the lady. But according to M. Davies in The Gutenberg Bible…the
irate female was a certain Anna…and, so
he says, Gutenberg never married ! There is, however, a later document that speaks of Gutenberg’s wife paying taxes in his name.
A
FORTUNATE DISAPPOINTMENT
Young Johann, during those youthful years in Strasbourg
, began making mirrors and even induced
a wealthy citizen, Andrew Dritzehn, to back his venture. But
"a lucky accident" diverted his mirror-making into the
work for which he is now
remembered. A pilgrimage was to take
place to Aix-la-Chapelle, the magnificent bascilica erected by the Emperor
Charlemagne. Gutenberg stockpiled
mirrors ready to sell … but, alas, the pilgrimage was postponed.
Alas ??
Hardly! For now
he joined forces with two brothers, Andrew and Anton Heilmann, and turned his
attention to the printing business.
Andrew Dritzehn, the financial backer, still had faith in young Johann
and continued as a partner in the firm.
PRE-GUTENBERG PRINTING
Of course, when we refer to the "printing
business", it was far removed from what we now envisage. Before Gutenberg's day "printing"
was carried out, not using
"moveable type", but by carving the letters on wood and
impressing them onto the paper. This
"block printing" can be compared to the use of ancient signet rings,
though on a vaster scale. But the
principle is the same.
The learned Isaac D'Israeli, in his "Curiosities of Literature" (1834), speaks of
having seen "Roman stereotypes, or immoveable types with which they
stamped their pottery." (3). And
he is "astonished" that they did not come up with the idea of
printing books. One reason that has
been suggested is simply "the lack of paper" with which to make use
of such an invention at that time. (4)
. D’Israeli incidentally was the father of Benjamin Disraeli, England’s Prime
minister during the Victorian era. Nor is it a misprint when we notice that the
son left out the ’ when spelling his name.
Most writers tell us that the Chinese had experimented
with the printing art centuries previous.
During the 11th
century a Chinese philosopher, Pi-Cheng, had even used moveable type,
but the intricacies of the Chinese language with its eighty thousand individual characters made this impracticable. Carving each of these on wooden blocks
would even test the endurance of the hardiest of printers !! Pi-Cheng, we are told, kept a stock of common words made out of
baked clay and formed any unusual
ones as the occasion demanded. (5)
The earliest
printed book known to mankind was discovered by Sir Mark Aurel Stein, a British
archaeologist. It was 1901. In a monastery called "The Cave of a
Thousand Buddhas", near Peking, he discovered a scroll – 16 feet long by 1
foot wide … and it had been printed! It
even bears the date – the Chinese equivalent of 16 May, 868 A.D.!! The Diamond
Sutra…..as this scroll is known…is now in the British Museum in London.
(6)
Likewise in Korea around the beginning of the Fifteenth
century, King T’ai Tsung had his
workmen employed in making metal type in which each character represented a
given word. Nevertheless “history records that the King ordered his printers to
make a 100,000 piece set” !! (7)
BREAKTHROUGH !!
By the early 15th century this
"block" system of printing was used to some extent in Europe. But carving letters on wood had the major
drawback of being useful for only one page.
It is Gutenberg who pioneers the use of moveable type. With
this major breakthrough individual letters could be set to form a page, clamped
together, used to print numerous copies, and then re-assembled and used
again. And again!
THE COSTER STORY
Another early contender for the introduction of moveable
type was a Dutchman, Laurens Janszoon Coster.
(c.1370-1440). Some writers are
quick to state - "It is certain that Coster was the first man to lay hold
of the idea (of moveable type), and turn it into practical use." (8)
But no, it is not so 'certain'. According to the Concise Universal
Biography the story that Coster developed moveable type and that his
assistant "carried the secret to Germany and revealved it to
Gutenberg" is merely a legend, which first surfaced a century after the
supposed event. Coster's claims were
exposed by A. van der Linde, author of "The Haarlem Legend of the
Invention of Printing by Coster" - published in 1871.
In his massive and definitive work on the history of
printing, An Introduction to Historical
Bibliography, Norman Binns devotes nine pages to this matter, examining all
the shreds of rather minute evidence. He admits that there is some evidence for
movable type being used in Holland prior to the days of Gutenberg but adds
“there is little evidence to support the theory” that Coster was responsible
for it. (9)
Nor is there any evidence that these early Europeans had
any knowledge of experiments with movable type that had taken place in the Far
East.
LAWSUITS !
But let us return to Gutenberg. More troubles came his way when Andrew
Dritzehin, his financial backer, died!
And one of Dritzehn's brothers
took Gutenberg to court demanding that he become a partner in this newborn
printing business. But Gutenberg was quick
to present a counter-claim that Dritzehin had served him as an apprentice…and
it was he who was owed money , not vice-versa ! It seems that his years of
legal wrangling had educated him in the ways of the legal system! The court ruled in his favour. This,
according to a certain Daniel Schopflin, all took place in 1493…but the actual
court records were destroyed in a fire and we only have the word of this
sometimes “dishonest” story teller.(10). Which all goes to show how difficult
it is for modern day historians to unravel the truth behind these pioneering
days in the print shops of Europe. What
we can say with certainty is that Andrew Dritzehin’s brother disappears from
history whilst Gutenberg begins to shine the more brightly.
THE NEW BACKER !
Back in Mainz, in March, 1444, Gutenberg seeks another
financial backer for his printing business.
And he finds one in Johann Fust (sometimes spelt "Faust"). A
skilled metal worker named Peter Schoeffer also joins Gutenberg's work
force. Gutenberg, it seems, had
experimented with moveable type , but carved each letter out of wood. This process was not only slow, but
unsatisfactory in its result.
Schoeffer, however, with his background as a metal worker, devised the
making of moulds whereby individual letters, in metal, could be quickly
made. An oil-based printing ink was
also perfected.
Editor John
Canning was far inside the mark when he selected this moment for a chapter in
his volume, "100 Great Events that Changed the World" (11). And as
recently as October 1997 Life Magazine listed Gutenberg’s
achievement as “the most important event in the past 1000 years.”(12 ) Now, in 1455 A .D. , for the first time in human history, books could be
mass produced !!
This is
Gutenberg's claim to fame.
Others had struggled previously to print books
from carved wooden blocks. But moveable
type that could be used again and again was something revolutionary. And the first print run could be corrected
more easily if errors had crept in.
Four hundred years hence, Lord Lytton, famed English literary giant,
would write, "The pen is mightier than the sword!" But had not books been mass produced, it
could never have been said. It is
Gutenberg's invention, or his perfecting of that invention as the case may
be, that has disseminated knowledge -
be it for good or evil - into the mind and heart of mankind. A Dutchman, 180 years later, would improve
on the actual printing press. But for more
than 4 centuries Gutenberg's 'moveable type' ruled the day in this newly discovered
art.
THE FIRST BOOK
His first major accomplishment was to print the Bible,
42 lines to each page, double columned.
The text was in Latin - a translation of the original Hebrew and Greek
that had been made by Saint Jerome around the end of the 4th century. This "Vulgate" version of Holy
Scripture became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church for over 1000
years.
Gutenberg’s
volume is usually referred to as the ‘Mazarin’ Bible due to a copy being
discovered in the library of Cardinal Mazarin in France, in 1763.
COLLECTOR'S ITEMS
In comparatively recent years Gutenberg Bibles have
found mention in the news media. A
report, 12 December, 1993, tells of a Gutenberg Bible being "discovered in
a locked safe in the State Library of Moscow." It is said to be "in
excellent condition" (13). Another news item (14), in 1988, informed us
that Marzuen Co. Ltd., Japan's largest bookseller, had just paid $5.39 million
for a Gutenberg Bible. Of the 185
originally believed to have been printed, only 48 are known to exist today.
When Paul Daley made inquiries, in early 1997,
concerning the purchase of any of Gutenberg’s works he was informed that one
page of the Mazarin Bible would
only cost $100, 000 !!
MORE TROUBLES
How Gutenberg would have relished such profits from his
work. Instead of which - in the
midst of his hour of triumph - misfortune dogged his steps. A "single vellum sheet", now in
the University of Gottingen, reveals the tragic tale.
When Lawyer Fust had advanced 1600 guilders to
Gutenberg, the contract promised that the amount would be repaid by a certain
date. The existing document, 6
November, 1455, reveals that the printer had failed to meet this obligation ...
and Lawyer Fust was out for blood. This
time Gutenberg did not win the case!
His printing press was confiscated and given to Herr Fust. And to make matters worse, Peter Schoeffer
threw in his lot with this wealthy lawyer.
Gutenberg "watched in disgust as Fust and Schoeffer carried his
invention from success to success...." (15).
There even seems some question as to whether the first
Bibles were printed by Gutenberg himself, or by Fust and Schoeffer using
Gutenberg's presses and type setting!! (16).
A CURIOUS TRADITION
Another interesting sidelight to this episode is
suggested by Isaac D'Israeli in "Curiosities of Literature" (Volume
1, p.108), published 1834. Herr Fust began selling his mass produced Bibles at 60 crowns whilst other scribes demanded 500 crowns. It was suggested that he "was a
magician" - perhaps in league with the Devil!
On one occasion "he was actually arrested as one
who multiplied books by some secret supernatural forces!". And "Fust's red ink is peculiarly
brilliant, which embellished his copies, was said to be his blood...".
(17)
"BURN HIM"
Another story of John Fust relates that he visited King
Charles VII of France to sell him a copy of the printed Volume. Because the script used was the same as that
of monastery scribes the King did not realise that it had been printed and mass produced.
For a small fortune he purchased what he believed to be
"the most magnificent copy of the Scriptures in existence." (18) Imagine his chagrin to discover a few days
later that his Archbishop had a copy almost identical. Then more copies are discovered among his
courtiers.
"This is the work of the Devil", was the
outcry. "Fust has sold himself to
Satan!" Arrested, and condemned to
a fiery death, Fust divulged the secret.
Hence, according to the learned I.D’Israeli, arises the legend of Fust (or Faust) and the Devil .
(19).
THE CATHOLICON
And Gutenberg?
For another decade or so he persevered with his
newly discovered art. The
"Catholicon" was printed 'presumably' by him in Mainz, in 1460. It is an encyclopaedia, a third smaller than
his Bible, and therefore more economical.
But most important is the personal note on the
title page: "This book has been
printed and accomplished without the help of reed, stylus or pen, but by the
wondrous agreement, proportion and harmony of punches and types, in the year of
our Lord's incarnation 1460, in the noble city of Mainz... Therefore, all praise and honour be offered
to thee, Holy Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God in three persons..." Whilst Gutenberg's name nowhere appears, it
is the consensus of scholars that he is the author of these words.
LAST DAYS
In 1465 a document tells of Gutenberg receiving a
pension from the Archbishop of Mainz.
Why? We do not know. The suggestion has been made that he had
been employed as printer by the Archbishop.
There is but one final historical record - dated 16
February, 1468 - that indicates he was continuing in the printing profession. A
certain Dr. Humery claims the return of certain printing appliances after
Gutenberg’s death claiming “these were and still are mine”. (20) And it is in a
book “of uncertain authority”, and printed some years later, that gives the
date of Gutenberg's death as 3rd.
February, 1468.
His burial took place in the Franciscan Church in his
home town ... a Church that was later destroyed. Some 400 years later the citizens of Mainz erected a monument to
their most famous son. But Gutenberg's
real monument is the printed page we see before us ... the mass production of
literature due to the use of moveable type.
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REFERENCES
(1) The Gutenberg Bible by M. Davies p.
8-9
(2) Romance of Famous Lives. (Cassells) p. 589
(3) Printing Press and The Gospel by E.
Palmer p.
13
Curiosities of Literature, Volume 1, by I. D'Israeli p. 106
( 4)
Palmer
p. 13.
(5 ) Inventions that Changed the World. (Readers Digest. Pub.) p.216-217)
(6) Intro. To Historical Bibliography by N.
Binns p. 221
(7) Inventions….. p. 217.
(8) Palmer.
P.16
(9) Binns
p. 44
(10) Binns
p. 40
(11) 100 Great Events…Edited by J. Canning. P 206
(12) Sun Herald Newspaper October 1st 1997.
(13) Sun Herald Newspaper December 12th 1993
(14) Australian Baptist March 2nd.
1988
(15) 100 Great Events
p. 209
(16) Ibid.
p. 209
M. Davies
p. 21
(17) Stories behind Every-day Things (Readers
Digest Pub. ) p. 255
(18) D’Israeli
p. 109
(19) Palmer.
P. 18
(20) Palmer
p. 21
D’Israeli
p. 108
(21) Binns
p. 41
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