The Printing Press and Its Now-Famous Inventor

By David Ettinger

Legend Has It …
The printing press always finds its ways into the top 5 of “Greatest Inventions of All-Time” lists. Its creator, Johann Gutenberg, is famous now, but this was not the case at his death.

So, how did the printing press get its start? Well, legend has it that …

As a boy Johann amused himself in his father’s workshop by carving the letters of his name on soft wood. One day, he was lining them up on his father’s table when the “H” fell off into a bucket of purple dye.

He retrieved the fallen letter, cleaned off the excess on the side of the bucket, and let it rest on a piece of paper to dry. The impression it left on the paper – and in Johann’s mind – was unforgettable. This is where the concept of a printing press was born.

If this story is true, it took some 40 years for the press to move from idea to reality.

His Earlier Life
Johann was born in Mainz, Germany, in 1397. His father, Friele zum Gensfleisch, was a wealthy man and one of the city’s leaders. (Johann took his name from the place of his mother’s birth.)

Some historians claim Johann’s father was a scribe who carefully copied manuscripts, and it was this tedious and tiring work that motivated his son to invent the printing press.

Somewhere along the line, Johann’s father lost his fortune (we don’t know how he made it) – as Johann’s later financial calamities prove – and the family was eventually forced to leave Mainz in 1434. They spent the next 10 years in Strasbourg.

It was from there that Johann seized and imprisoned the town clerk of Mainz for a debt owed him by the corporation of that city. But when the mayor and councilors of Strasbourg disapproved of his conduct, he withdrew his charges and forfeited all claims to the money – capital he would so desperately need for future endeavors.

The Printing Press
In 1440, Johann – by profession a goldsmith – invented the movable-type printing press. He did so by producing a steel stamp, or punch, of each letter in the German alphabet, which, when stamped into a block of copper (a softer metal) created a mold (or matrix) into which hot metal could be poured, and any amount of type cast.

In 1453 the quest began for the publication of the first printed Bible. Johann immediately jumped at the challenge. The process, however, would prove immensely expensive. It involved not only the manufacture of type and the building of presses, but also the creation of special printing inks. The paper of that day, made from rags, was also expensive. And Johann didn’t have anywhere near that kind of money.

Johann was to print 200 copies of the Bible on paper. Each page was to have two columns of 42 lines, and each Bible would total 1,282 pages. He was also to produce 30 Bibles on vellum – made from the hides of calves – which required 10,000 calves! 

A replica of Gutenberg’s printing press

Where would Johann find the money to accomplish all of this?

A few years earlier in 1450, a lawyer named Johann Fust advanced 800 guilders to Johann to promote his printing activities, requiring no other security than the tools which were to be made as an investment. Fust was also to provide 300 guilders a year for expenses, though there is no record this ever happened. In 1452, Fust had to come up with another 800 guilders to prevent the collapse of Johann’s entire venture.

In late 1455, Fust took legal proceedings against Johann, apparently won the case, and moved all the tools to his own house in Mainz. There, with the assistance of Peter Schoeffer, they published various books.

Despite all this, Johann was able to produce the first printed copy of the Bible on August 15, 1456 – a turning point in history. However, it is believed that previous to this, Fust won his court case against Johann, meaning that the all the money that came from the sale of the Bible would have gone to Fust, not Johann. This is apparently what happened considering that when Johann Gutenberg died in 1468, he was destitute and forgotten.

Aftermath
Johann was buried in a Franciscan church, but it was demolished and replaced by another church, which in turn had also been demolished. It is tragic how simple it was to erase the knowledge of a man who created the machine which did so much to bring the Bible to the world!

About 30 years later, Johann’s invention had been reproduced in nearly every country in Europe. By 1500, there were at least 151 printing shops in Venice alone; and in Luther’s city of Wittenberg, a printer by the name of Lufft produced more than 100,000 Bibles.  

A huge volume of printing presses just a few decades later? Thousands upon thousands of Bibles printed just a short time later? The printing of millions upon millions of Bibles in multiple languages over the next 7 centuries?

It all began with Johann Gutenberg, forgotten in his time, but whose name has attained legendary status today!

Source: “The Indestructible Bible” by Ken Connolly.

David Ettinger was born and raised in a Jewish family in New York. After moving to New Mexico as an adult, he suffered through many trials. The nudge of the Holy Spirit caused him to examine his heart and in 1986 he surrendered his life to Jesus and has walked with Him ever since. David holds a BA, and MA, in English from New Mexico State University. He began his journalism career writing for The Roundup, the university paper. After graduation he became the sportswriter for the El Paso Times. He has held many other positions as both writer and editor with major publications. David is active in providing his skills with Zion’s Hope, Inc., in Winter Garden, Florida. His publications include Lifeway publications, Single Parent magazine (Focus on the Family), Zion’s Fire magazine, and Real Life magazine. In addition, he served as managing editor for Zion’s Fire and Real Life. David’s book, Overcomers: 30 Stories of Triumph from the Bible, is available online. David is proud of his son and grandson. Please read his testimony here, on his website. 

Feature Photo Provided by the Butrous Foundation