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Johannes Gutenberg
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Johannes Gutenberg
Painting of a person with a headscarf reading a newspaper, with blue and white text overlaid reading: How the middle class learned to read.
Illustration of vintage printing press with bold text reading Gutenberg's printing press and a blue arrow pointing to the press, against a purple background.
Johannes Gutenberg, wearing a fur-trimmed robe, examines his first printed proof sheet with two assistants in a workshop beside an early printing press. Gutenberg Bible Gutenberg Bible A page from the Gutenberg 42-line Bible showing two columns of dense black Latin text with an ornate capital letter in the center.
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Johannes Gutenberg
Johannes Gutenberg German inventor and printer Johannes Gutenberg.

Johannes Gutenberg

German printer
Also known as: Johann Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg
Written by
Hellmut E. Lehmann-Haupt
Professor of Bibliography and Rare Book Consultant, University of Missouri, Columbia, 1969–75. Author of Gutenberg and the Master of the Playing Cards.
Hellmut E. Lehmann-Haupt
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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Johannes Gutenberg (born 14th century, Mainz [Germany]—died probably February 3, 1468, Mainz) was a German craftsman and inventor who originated a method of printing from movable type. Elements of his invention are thought to have included a metal alloy that could melt readily and cool quickly to form durable reusable type, an oil-based ink that could be made sufficiently thick to adhere well to metal type and transfer well to vellum or paper, and a...

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