WEEK 4.2 JOHANNES GUTENBERG

    Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer and publisher who introduced printing in Europe. He is well known for his introduction of move-able printing mechanical which later on massively regarded as the important invention of human history. 

   Gutenberg was born in Mainz, the city of German, he is the youngest son of his father's second wife children. His father, Friele Genfleisch zur Laden was an upper-class merchant while his mother, Else Wyrich was a daughter of a shoe keeper . According to John Lienhard, technology historian, says "Most Gutenberg's early life stays mysterious. Gutenberg has the knowledge of goldsmithing as his father work with the ecclesiastic mint. Gutenberg's life for the next fifteen years is remain unknown; only that in March 1434, a letter indicates that he was living in Strasbourg, where he had relatives on his mother side.

Johannes Gutenberg examining first-proof from printing-press

During renaissance Europe, mass communication era introduced upon the arrival of mechanical move-able type printing which resulted to permanent altered structure of society. In the 19th Century, hand-operated Gutenberg-style was replace by steam-powered rotary presses which allowed printing on an industrial scale, while Western style printing was adopted all over the world, and led to the sole medium for modern bulk printing.

Gutenberg's printing technology spread rapidly as the use move-able type improved days by days on the handwritten manuscript. His major work, the Gutenberg Bible which also known as 42-line Bible has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality.