Johannes Gutenberg invented a letterpress, in which there was a mold for each letter or character. (Johannes Guttenberg II) He invented up to three hundred, which was representative of those found on an ornate scroll or handwritten letters. (Johannes Gutenberg I) Each letter had a mold, which was made out of equal amounts of metal alloys. The letters would be arranged in words, and sort of locked together in place to form a page. This would then be placed into a printing press, which would cover the letters in ink, and then onto many papers, so that many copies of the same page would be produced in which a shorter amount of time, compared to older methods, which would take a very long time. Also the letter molds could be re-used to make new words, and form new pages. This invention saved much time and money. (Johannes Gutenberg II)
However, Johannes Gutenberg had some problems with running his business. He had a printing plant in the 1450s, during which he borrowed 800 guilders (money) from Johann Fust, a rich financer, allowing him to manufacture tools and equipment. When Gutenberg was required to pay of his debt in December of 1452, he was unable to pay it. So, Fust came up with a new contract, giving Gutenberg another loan, and Fust as his partner in this enterprise. However Gutenberg and Fust’s attitude towards each other disintegrated, so that Fust sued Gutenberg for two thousand guilders. In 1445 their partnership fell apart. Johann Fust won in court, and all of Gutenberg’s materials and equipment went to Fust, who than partnered with Peter Schoeffer, one of Gutenbergs important assistants in his work. (Johann Gutenberg) Schoeffer was actually Johann Fusts son-in-law. (Johannes Gutenberg I) Fust continued to use his equipment, while Gutenberg had to start all over again. (Johann Gutenberg)
John Gutenberg was most known for creating “letters of indulgences” and a new version of the Bible. Both were printed in Mainz in 1454, and are the earlist known products of this new art. (Hayes) Gutenberg is most famous for his printing of Bibles, especially for the Catholic Church. Actually, his first goal was to mass-produce indulgences, which were printed slips given out by the Catholic Church, which would take away temporal punishments in purgatory for sins committed in this life; however these were extremely expensive, and only the wealthy could afford them. In 1455 he produced and sold copies of a two-volume Bible, also known as Biblia Sacra, for up to 300 florins each. However, it was much cheaper than the previously handwritten Bibles that took monks up to 20 each year to write. (Johann Gutenberg II) The most famous Bible is called the Bible of 42 Lines, more commonly called the Gutenberg Bible. This Bible is the oldest Bible in the western world, and was completed in 1446. However, he wasn’t the one who finished printing it, due to Fust and the lawsuit against him. Instead Johann Fust finished it. Guttenberg also printed Türkenkalender, a warning against the Turkish invasion, and the Catholicon of Johannes de Janua, which was a 700-page encyclopedia. (Johannes Gutenberg I)
Johannes Gutenberg became an assistant to the Archbishop of Mainz on January 14, 1965, a position in which he stayed until his death. He was also known to spend any money he received, on alcohol, so that he was mostly paid with food and a place to stay. (Johann Gutenberg II) Supposedly Guttenberg was blind for the last months of his life. He died at St. Victor’s parish in Mainz, on February 3, 1468. Statues of him stand in both Mainz, and Strassburg. Also, the Gutenberg museum was established in Mainz in 1990. (Johann Gutenberg)
As of 2003, known Gutenberg Bibles number as followes: 11 complete copies on vellum, 1 copy of the New Testament on vellum, and 48 Bibles, almost complete copies, on paper, but the Bibles do not have pagination, word spacing, indentations, and paragraph breaks. Although Gutenberg wasn’t very successfully financially, his invention was very useful, and spread quickly. Books became more popular across Europe. Even the common people would be able to read. His works actually started a cultural revolution. (Johann Gutenberg II) Today, 48 Bibles remain in the world, though180 Bibles were originally produced. (New findings…)
Work Cited
"Johannes Gutenberg I." Science and Its Times, Vol. 3: 1450 - 1699. Gale Group, 2001.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
"Johannes Gutenberg II." World of Invention, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
"Johann Gutenberg." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
"Johann Gutenberg II." Wikipedia, . 19 Dec 2005, 16:47 UTC. 23 Dec 2005, 04:11 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Johann_Gutenberg&oldid=31981482>.
"New Findings May Help Preserve Rare Gutenberg Bibles." The All I Need. 2005. 22 Dec. 2005 <http://www.theallineed.com/science/05052402.htm>.
Hayes, Carlton J. H. Modern Europe to 1870. 10th ed. New York: Macmillan Company , 1953.