The German Johann Gutenberg, whose biography is described in this article, had a tremendous impact on the entire surrounding world. His invention truly turned the tide of history.
Ancestors of Johannes Gutenberg
Since the famous inventor was born and lived in the fifteenth century, very little information has been preserved about him. In those days, only prominent political and church figures were honored to be listed in documentary sources. However, Johann was lucky. Contemporaries evaluated his work, information about him is found in various historical descriptions of that time.
It is known for certain that Johannes Gutenberg was born into the well-to-do family of Friel Gensfleisch and Elsa Virich. This happened around the year 1400.
His parents married in 1386. Mother came from a family of cloth merchants, so their union was considered unequal. For centuries, there has been a struggle between the patricians (the upper strata of burgherism, the father's family) and the workshops (artisans, mother's family). When the confrontation in Mainz escalated, the family had to leave, so as not to endanger the children.
In Mainz, the family had an estate named after the father of Gensfleish, and the compound of Gutenberghof.
Perhaps the inventor had a knighthood, although the origin of his mother and his own activities contradicted this. However, there is an ordinance signed by the French king Charles the Seventh, in which the name of Gutenberg appears.
Childhood and youth
A brief biography of Johann is not contained in any of the ancient sources. You can restore it solely on fragmentary data. That is why reliable information about the first years of his life simply does not exist.
There are no records of his baptism. However, some researchers believe that his birthday is June 24, 1400 (the day of John the Baptist). There is also no exact information about the place of his birth. It can be both Mainz and Strasbourg.
Johann was the youngest child in the family. The eldest son was called Frile, there were also two girls - Elsa and Patze.
After leaving school, the young man studied crafts, deciding to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors from his mother. It is known that he achieved the highest skill and received the title of master, since he subsequently studied apprenticeships.
Life in Strasbourg
Johannes Gutenberg has lived in Strasbourg since 1434. He was engaged in jewelry, polished precious stones and made mirrors. It was there that the idea of creating a machine tool that would print books arose in his head. In 1438, he even created an organization under the mysterious name "Enterprise with Art". The cover was the manufacture of mirrors. This partnership was organized together with his student Andreas Dritsen.
Around this time, Gutenberg and his team were on the verge of a brilliant discovery, but the death of a companion delayed the publication of his invention.
The invention of printing
The starting point of modern printing is considered to be the year 1440, although there are no printed documents, books and sources of that time. There is only indirect evidence according to which a certain Waldfogel, since 1444, has been selling the secret of "artificial writing." It is believed that it was John Gutenberg himself. Thus, he tried to get funds for the further development of his machine. So far, it was only convex letters created from metal and carved in its mirror image. In order for the inscription to appear on paper, it was necessary to use special paint and a press.
In 1448, the German returned to Mainz, where he made a deal with the usurer I. Fust, who paid him eight hundred guilders annually. The profits from the printing house should have been divided as a percentage. But in the end, this arrangement began to work against Gutenberg. He stopped receiving the promised money for technical support, but he still shared the profit.
Despite all the troubles, Johannes Gutenberg's machine tool acquired several different fonts by 1456 (a total of five). At that time, the first grammar of Elijah Donatus was printed, several official documents and, finally, two Bibles, which became historical monuments for printing.
Gutenberg's 42-line Bible, published no later than 1455, is considered Johann's main work. It has survived to this day and is kept in the Museum of Mainz.
For this book, the inventor created a special font, a type of Gothic writing. It turned out pretty similar to handwritten and due to the many ligatures and abbreviations that it was customary to use among scribes.
Since existing paints were not suitable for printing, Gutenberg had to create his own. Due to the addition of copper, lead and sulfur, the text in the book turned out to be blue-black, with an unusual gloss, red paint was used for the rubrication. To combine two colors, it was necessary to pass one page twice through the machine.
The book was published in a circulation of 180 copies, but has survived to this day. The largest number is in Germany (twelve pieces). There was one copy of the first printed Bible in Russia, however, after the revolution, the Soviet government sold it at an auction in London.
In the fifteenth century, this Bible was sold for 30 florins (3 grams of gold in one coin). Today, one page from a book is estimated at 80 thousand dollars. There are 1,272 pages in the Bible.
Litigation
Johannes Gutenberg was twice called to justice. This first happened in 1439, after the death of his friend and companion A. Dritzen. His children claimed that the machine was actually an invention of their father.
Gutenberg won the case without difficulty. And thanks to his materials, researchers learned at what stage of readiness the invention was. The documents contained words such as “embossing,” “printing,” “press,” “this work.” This clearly testified to the readiness of the machine.
It is known for certain that the process stopped due to the lack of some details that remained with Andreas. Johann had to rebuild them on his own.
The second trial took place in 1455, when I. Fust filed a lawsuit against the inventor for non-payment of interest. The court ruled that the printing house and all its components are transferred to the plaintiff. Johannes Gutenberg invented typography in 1440, and after fifteen years he needed to start from scratch.
Last years
Having hardly survived the consequences of the trial, Gutenberg decided not to give up. He joined the company of C. Gumeri and in 1460 released the work of Johann Balba, as well as Latin grammar with a dictionary.
In 1465, he went to the service of Elector Adolf.
At the age of 68, the typographer died. He was buried in Mainz, but the whereabouts of his grave are currently unknown.
Typography Distribution
What Johannes Gutenberg became famous for attracted many. Easy money everyone wanted. So there were a lot of people posing as inventors of book printing in Europe.
Gutenberg's name was recorded in one of his documents by Peter Schaeffer, his apprentice. After the destruction of the first printing house, its employees dispersed throughout Europe, introducing new technologies in other countries. Their teacher was Johannes Gutenberg. Typography quickly spread to Hungary (A. Hess), Italy (Sweynheim), and Spain. Oddly enough, not one of Gutenberg's students went to France. The Parisians independently invited German printers to work in their country.
The final point in the history of printing was put in his work by Anthony van der Lind in 1878.
Gutenberg studies
The personality of the European first printer has always been popular. Researchers in many countries did not miss the opportunity to write any work about his biography or activity. Even during his lifetime, disputes began about the authorship of the invention and the place (Mainz or Strasbourg).
Some experts called Gutenberg an apprentice of Fust and Schaeffer. And despite the fact that Schaeffer himself called Johann the inventor of typography, these rumors did not subside for a long time.
Modern researchers call the main problem that the first printed books do not have a colophon, that is, a mark of authorship. Having done this, Gutenberg could have avoided many problems and would not have allowed his legacy to vegetate.
Little is known about the personality of the inventor also because his personal correspondence and reliable image do not exist. The amount of documentary evidence is insufficient.
Johannes Gutenberg invented unique fonts, thanks to which he was able to establish and confirm his legacy.
In Russia, interest in studying the life of the first printer appeared only in the middle of the twentieth century. Then marked the fiftieth anniversary of the invention of typography. The first researcher was Vladimir Lublinsky, a representative of the scientific community of Leningrad.
In total, more than 3,000 scientific works have been written and published in the world (including a short biography of Gutenberg).
Memory
Unfortunately, the intravital portraits of Johann did not survive. The first engraving dating from 1584 was written in Paris according to the description of the appearance of the inventor.
Mainz is considered not only the hometown of Johann, but also the place of invention of the printing press. Therefore, there is a monument to Gutenberg, its museum (opened in 1901).
His name is called an asteroid and a crater on the moon.