Being in the printing business here at Century Marketing, I felt it only appropriate to take our hats off to the man that made “modern printing” available. Johannes Gutenberg, as most people are aware of, is credited with inventing movable type printing. The book he’s probably best known for printing is the “Gutenberg Bible.” While we’re indebted to his research and invention, who was Gutenberg really, and what are some things about his life that most of us don’t know?
For one, printing wasn’t Gutenberg’s trade from what history can tell. He actually was a goldsmith by trade. A goldsmith was simply a metalworker who specialized in working with gold and other precious metals. He probably made things like flatware, platters, goblets, and other items for the rich. Obviously, this sort of experience would later benefit him when he would invent the metal movable type press.
Right around 1439, Gutenberg found himself in the middle of a financial mishap. He was involved in the financial end of producing polished metal mirrors (which according to Wikipedia were believed to capture holy light from religious relics) for sale to pilgrims to Aachen. The city of Aachen was planning to exhibit its collection of religious relics from Emperor Charlemagne, but it was delayed by one year. The capital that had been spent already couldn’t be repaid. Oops!
Sadly, as with many start up business ventures, Gutenberg also found himself the target of a lawsuit from one of his investors in the printing press business. Johann Fust, a moneylender, accused Gutenberg of embezzling funds around 1455. A November 1455 legal document records that there was a partnership for a “project of the books,” the funds for which Gutenberg had used for other purposes, according to Fust. The court ruled in favor of Fust. I couldn’t tell from reading different sources what the evidence actually was against Guteberg. (If you the reader happen to know, please leave a comment!) Despite this lawsuit, somehow Gutenberg managed to either keep or restart a small printing shop and was printing more Bibles.
The last interesting thing that I didn’t know about Gutenberg was that later in life, he was given the title “Hofmann” (gentleman of the court) by Archbishop von Nassau. As a part of the title, he was given a stipend, an annual court outfit, as well as 2180 liters of grain and 2000 liters of wine, tax-free. Not a bad deal!
We here at CenturyLabel, PrintMyThing, PrintMyRibbon, PhotoTrimmings, and WeddingTray tip our hats to Johannes Gutenberg, who despite experiencing various business challenges, endured and gave us the modern printing process!
