Hans Riffe
Johannes, how long have we been partners now? And friends? A long time, no? And in this long time, have I given you cause not to trust me? To keep secrets from me?
Johannes Gutenberg
No Hans, I trust you. Why do you ask?
Hans Riffe
I know you’re working on a project in secret… We ought to become partners in these activities as well. It is time to spill the beans, old friend.
Johannes Gutenberg
Ah, yes. In the spirit of trust, let me tell you a story. I have been working on something… magnificent. I truly believe it will usher in an era of remarkable changes that would spread knowledge across the land in weeks and months, not decades.
But: let me start at the beginning. Years ago, it must have been the 1430s, I watched a master calligrapher at work in a monastery. I sat there for hours and hours, watching this precious document slowly develop, every dip of the quill into the ink bottle bringing forth more letters and drawings, ever so slowly but ever so surely.
Hans Riffe
It is painstaking work, spreading the word of God, is it not?
Johannes Gutenberg
It is masterful! How the monk’s hand stayed from cramping I cannot comprehend. And it got me thinking: surely there is an easier way to communicate worthy ideas. Rather than a hand creating strokes on a page, can we do it differently? As I walked home much later, daydreaming, I passed a winemaker, pressing his grapes.
Hans Riffe
What, you got thirsty?
Johannes Gutenberg
No, my dear man. But I saw the wine press in a different light. I thought we can use a press to automate the process. Wood blocks work… but we can do better! A woodblock can create one page… Imagine if we can put different letters on a page, and change them when we need to? That would be a true revolution! Do you see it? It could mean making books and literature affordable and much more available. It would change the world!
Hans Riffe
That would be truly remarkable!
Johannes Gutenberg
Exactly! Think about communicating the daily announcements. Treatises? Bulletins? Books! Just think of the enlightenment it will bring. It’s momentous. I’m borrowing 800 guilders from a wealthy moneylender named Johann Fust to get it off the ground. It’s a lot of money, but he sees the potential.
Hans Riffe
The implications certainly are enormous… But how could it work?
Johannes Gutenberg
You know I have mastered many crafts. I was a goldsmith and a blacksmith, so I am used to shaping metal. After lots of trial and error, I’ve started to create raised backwards letters, like stamps, out of metal. And not only letters! Punctuation, too.
Hans Riffe
That is very clever!
Johannes Gutenberg
I am calling it: ‘Movable Type.’ We can arrange it in a frame over a wooden plate, coat it with ink, and lay a sheet of paper on top. Add another plate to the top, press them together and our page will be done! The letters can be re-used and moved around on the page as necessary. And do you know what the best thing is?
Hans Riffe
Tell me?
Johannes Gutenberg
Think about how long it takes to produce a book for that matter. Months. Years. Some even decades. But I think with my invention, we could get hundreds of sheets per hour printed on one side. Can you imagine? My dream is to create the first printed Bible… And I think I’m close!
Hans Riffe
An information revolution! I must thank the calligrapher and his cramped hands! Prost, let’s drink to it!
