Elvis Presley fanatics only need to take a short one-day journey to Graceland in Memphis, Tenn., to realize their dreams.
For a newspaperman/printer like myself, the ultimate pilgrimage is not that close. It’s over 4,500 miles away in Mainz, Germany.
That is the hometown of Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg. Last week, Connie and I made that trip to tour the Gutenberg Museum.
Gutenberg is credited with inventing the movable-type printing press around 1436 — known as the letterpress. As described in Wikipedia, “His many contributions to printing include the invention of a process for mass-producing movable type; the use of oil-based ink for printing books; adjustable molds; mechanical movable type; and the invention of a wooden printing press similar to the agricultural screw presses of the period.”
Newspapers were still printed using this basic method until the introduction of offset printing. If my memory serves me correct, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch didn’t make the switch until the 1980s.
Before Gutenberg’s inventions, books had to be copied by hand. It could take a scribe up to four years to copy the Bible, working 14 hours a day. Gutenberg printed 180 Bibles in three to five years.
Twenty-six complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible have survived. The museum in Mainz possesses two of them. Also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible, or the B42, each page contained two columns of justified type 42 lines deep on 1,300 pages.
This began the “Gutenberg Revolution” and the age of the printed book and newspapers. Before this, only the wealthy could afford books. After Gutenberg, history saw an increase in authors, literacy rates, the spread of ideas concerning religion, history, science, poetry, art, and the creation of libraries.
The Gutenberg press ushered in a new age of information similar to what we have experienced with the Internet and computers because knowledge is power. Until Gutenberg, knowledge was unavailable to society in general.
We spent close to three hours in the museum learning about Gutenberg and the history of printing.
An exhibition of printing presses included an Original Heidelberg Platen Press. I remember watching my father, Don, print envelopes on one as a boy. The Heidelberg Windmill, as it is often referred to, was manufactured from 1923 to 1985.
Also on display was a Linotype machine, similar to what my grandfather Ralph Warden operated.
According to History.com, here are some ways the printing press changed the world.
A global news network was launched
The Renaissance kicked into high gear
Martin Luther became the first best-selling author, facilitating the Protestant Reformation.
Printing powers the scientific revolution
Fringe voices received a platform
Public opinion leads to popular revolution
I’m sure you can list many inventions that have changed the world. Inventions like electricity, airplanes, automobiles, computers, the Internet, television, telephones, radio and robots come to mind. Other innovations that may be overlooked include the transistor, antibiotics, x-rays, the refrigerator, email and credit cards.
Mojo.com’s top ten inventions are (counting down from 10): paper, the compass, refrigeration, the printing press, plumbing, medicine, engines, the wheel, communication (radio, telephones and telegraph) and electricity.
I would have to argue with mojo.com and place the printing press much higher on the list. You see, the only inventions older than the movable-type printing press on their list is paper (105AD), the compass (around 206BC), plumbing (4,000BC), and the wheel (???).
Without Gutenberg’s contribution to society, most of the inventions we take for granted would not have been possible.
In fact, movable type created the means for mass consumption and distribution of ideas that enabled the scientific revolution.
This pilgrimage allowed this writer — who grew up with ink in his blood — to appreciate better what we do week in and week out.
