Gutenberg and the Printing Press
Gutenberg grew up on an agricultural estate and had seen wine and olive presses; he was also a master goldsmith skilled in making lead moulds. Drawing on this knowledge, he adapted existing technology: the olive press became the model for the printing press, and moulds were used to cast the metal types for the letters of the alphabet.
By 1448 Gutenberg perfected the system. The first book he printed was the Bible — about 180 copies in three years, fast for the time. He developed metal types for the 26 letters of the Roman alphabet and a way of moving them around to compose words — the moveable type printing machine, which remained the basic print technology for the next 300 years. The Gutenberg press could print about 250 sheets per hour.
The Print Revolution
Between 1450 and 1550, printing presses were set up in most countries of Europe, and book production boomed: the second half of the fifteenth century saw 20 million copies of printed books, rising to about 200 million copies in the sixteenth century. This shift from hand printing to mechanical printing was the print revolution.
At first, printed books resembled handwritten manuscripts — the metal letters imitated ornamental handwriting, and borders and illustrations were painted by hand (in books for the rich, space was left blank for decoration). The new technology did not entirely displace the older art of producing books by hand.
A New Reading Public
With the printing press, a new reading public emerged. Printing reduced the cost of books and the time and labour to produce them, so books flooded the market, reaching an ever-growing readership. Earlier, reading had been restricted to the elites, and common people lived in a world of oral culture — they heard texts read out, ballads recited and folk tales narrated.
But books could be read only by the literate, and literacy rates were low. So publishers printed popular ballads and folk tales, profusely illustrated, which were then sung and recited at gatherings. Thus oral culture entered print and printed material was orally transmitted — the line between the hearing public and the reading public became blurred.
Questions and Answers
Q1. How did Gutenberg adapt existing technology to make his printing press? Ans. Gutenberg drew on technology he knew: the olive press became the model for the printing press, and the moulds he had used as a goldsmith were used to cast the metal types for the letters. He also devised movable metal type for the 26 letters of the alphabet.
Q2. What was the first book printed by Gutenberg, and how many copies were made? Ans. The first book Gutenberg printed was the Bible. About 180 copies were printed, taking three years — fast production by the standards of the time.
Questions and Answers (continued)
Q3. What was the print revolution? Ans. The print revolution was the shift from hand printing to mechanical printing after Gutenberg's press. Between 1450 and 1550 presses spread across Europe, and book production boomed — from 20 million copies in the late fifteenth century to about 200 million in the sixteenth — transforming people's relationship with knowledge.
Q4. How did the coming of print create a new reading public? Ans. Printing reduced the cost of books and produced many copies easily, so books reached far more people. Earlier reading was restricted to elites in a world of oral culture; now, with illustrated ballads and folk tales that could be read out, the hearing public and reading public intermingled and a new reading public emerged.
Questions and Answers (continued)
Q5. Why did printed books at first resemble handwritten manuscripts? Ans. Because the new technology did not entirely displace the old art: the metal letters imitated ornamental handwriting, and the borders and illustrations were still painted by hand, so early printed books looked much like manuscripts in appearance and layout.