Uploaded September 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Statue de Johannes Gutenberg in beautiful Strasbourg, France, highlights the founder of modern print. If alive today, Johannes would whole-heartedly adopt preflighting tools, such as Markzware FlightCheck. Who was Gutenberg?
Johannes Gutenberg (born in 14th century Mainz, Germany & died 1468) was a German craftsman and inventor. He invented a printing method from movable type, which revolutionized the bookmaking process and impacted the sharing of knowledge.
Gutenberg's invention used a metal alloy for durable reusable type, oil-based ink that adhered to metal type, and a press to apply even pressure to printing surfaces. This process evolved during his 10 years in Strasbourg. His printing press enabled mass production of books, such as holy Bible texts, and played a role in the spread of literacy and the Renaissance. The print industry is strong today, largely due to Johannes!
This monument is located at Place Gutenberg (Guteberriplatz) in the center of Strasbourg, near the impressive cathedral. Then called Gutenberg Square, the site was the central square of the city in 1840! Fittingly, there is a lively merry-go-round, right next to this historical marker.
Printing helped to spread The Word, to disseminate knowledge, and played a role in splitting the Church. Some say Martin Luther used Gutenberg's press to mass-print propaganda, marking a significant shift in religious history.
Side note about Germany vs France on where the invention was created by Gutenberg:
“One of the major reasons for erecting a statue to Gutenberg was the rivalry between the cities of Strasbourg and Mainz, regarding the location where Gutenberg made his discovery. Strasbourg claimed to be the place of the discovery of movable type, during the printer's stay between 1430 and 1440, with Mainz being only his birthplace, where he returned in 1448 to complete his experimentation. The German city, however, was the first to commemorate the man with a monument inaugurated on August 14, 1837” Source, Suzanne BRAUN in this PDF http://acpasso.free.fr/archives/photosdiverses/Le%20monument%20de%20Gutenberg.pdf
With the advent of mass printing, preventive quality assurance, i.e. preflighting, surely played a role in their workflow!
"In 1840, the artist David d'Anger has created this statue. Gutenberg is holding a page of the Scriptures on which one can read the line 'and there was light' in French.”
Source: http://www.strassburg.eu/en/johannes-gutenberg-monument
* Panel 1 bas relief: This panel represents the printing press in Europe, showing such renowned men of letters as Erasmus, Chaucer, Milton, Molière, Rousseau, Voltaire, Kant and Schiller. NOTE there was an original plaster panel, which gave prominence to Martin Luther and caused an uproar!
* Panel 2: This panel depicts Africa, with Wilberforce and other abolitionists bringing freedom, The Word, and enlightenment to the then slaves, showing the dissemination of knowledge.
* Panel 3: The Asian panel is more weathered, but includes Brahmans exchanging manuscripts for books, and Chinese people reading Confucius and the effects of mass communication.
* Panel 4 bas relief: This panel shows Benjamin Franklin and other early founders of America printing signing the Declaration of Independence.
Source for bas reliefs on the Gutenberg statue: victorianweb.org/sculpture/french/7.html
David d’Angers, a Frenchman, sculptor, and artist, created the statue and bronze reliefs, showing details of positive effects that the printing press and movable type had on the world. d’Angers was a most famous French sculptor in the day, demanded all around Europe.
"David's plinth features four crowded panels of bronze reliefs, telling the story of the printing press's influence on every corner of the globe.”
Do you want to preflight as well? Get a full working version of FlightCheck for preflighting many design and print file types here:
markzware.com/products/flightcheck
Very interesting visit to Strasbourg, which is filled with historical context. The trials and errors of Johannes Gutenberg are well known and seemingly even a simple statue in his honor produced controversy and political upheaval! By the way, the name of the book I showed was “The Justification of Johannes Gutenberg” by Blake Morrison:
markzware.com/flightcheck_archive/steve-jobs-johannes-gutenberg-ipad-printing-press
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#Gutenberg #printing #history
Print, preflighting and the statue of Johannes Gutenberg in Strasbourg, France
Statue de Johannes Gutenberg in beautiful Strasbourg, France, highlights the founder of modern print. If alive today, Johannes would whole-heartedly adopt preflighting tools, such as Markzware FlightCheck. Who was Gutenberg?
Johannes Gutenberg (born in 14th century Mainz, Germany & died 1468) was a German craftsman and inventor. He invented a printing method from movable type, which revolutionized the bookmaking process and impacted the sharing of knowledge.
Gutenberg's invention used a metal alloy for durable reusable type, oil-based ink that adhered to metal type, and a press to apply even pressure to printing surfaces. This process evolved during his 10 years in Strasbourg. His printing press enabled mass production of books, such as holy Bible texts, and played a role in the spread of literacy and the Renaissance. The print industry is strong today, largely due to Johannes!
This monument is located at Place Gutenberg (Guteberriplatz) in the center of Strasbourg, near the impressive cathedral. Then called Gutenberg Square, the site was the central square of the city in 1840! Fittingly, there is a lively merry-go-round, right next to this historical marker.
Printing helped to spread The Word, to disseminate knowledge, and played a role in splitting the Church. Some say Martin Luther used Gutenberg's press to mass-print propaganda, marking a significant shift in religious history.
Side note about Germany vs France on where the invention was created by Gutenberg:
“One of the major reasons for erecting a statue to Gutenberg was the rivalry between the cities of Strasbourg and Mainz, regarding the location where Gutenberg made his discovery. Strasbourg claimed to be the place of the discovery of movable type, during the printer's stay between 1430 and 1440, with Mainz being only his birthplace, where he returned in 1448 to complete his experimentation. The German city, however, was the first to commemorate the man with a monument inaugurated on August 14, 1837” Source, Suzanne BRAUN in this PDF http://acpasso.free.fr/archives/photosdiverses/Le%20monument%20de%20Gutenberg.pdf
With the advent of mass printing, preventive quality assurance, i.e. preflighting, surely played a role in their workflow!
"In 1840, the artist David d'Anger has created this statue. Gutenberg is holding a page of the Scriptures on which one can read the line 'and there was light' in French.”
Source: http://www.strassburg.eu/en/johannes-gutenberg-monument
* Panel 1 bas relief: This panel represents the printing press in Europe, showing such renowned men of letters as Erasmus, Chaucer, Milton, Molière, Rousseau, Voltaire, Kant and Schiller. NOTE there was an original plaster panel, which gave prominence to Martin Luther and caused an uproar!
* Panel 2: This panel depicts Africa, with Wilberforce and other abolitionists bringing freedom, The Word, and enlightenment to the then slaves, showing the dissemination of knowledge.
* Panel 3: The Asian panel is more weathered, but includes Brahmans exchanging manuscripts for books, and Chinese people reading Confucius and the effects of mass communication.
* Panel 4 bas relief: This panel shows Benjamin Franklin and other early founders of America printing signing the Declaration of Independence.
Source for bas reliefs on the Gutenberg statue: victorianweb.org/sculpture/french/7.html
David d’Angers, a Frenchman, sculptor, and artist, created the statue and bronze reliefs, showing details of positive effects that the printing press and movable type had on the world. d’Angers was a most famous French sculptor in the day, demanded all around Europe.
"David's plinth features four crowded panels of bronze reliefs, telling the story of the printing press's influence on every corner of the globe.”
Do you want to preflight as well? Get a full working version of FlightCheck for preflighting many design and print file types here:
markzware.com/products/flightcheck
Very interesting visit to Strasbourg, which is filled with historical context. The trials and errors of Johannes Gutenberg are well known and seemingly even a simple statue in his honor produced controversy and political upheaval! By the way, the name of the book I showed was “The Justification of Johannes Gutenberg” by Blake Morrison:
markzware.com/flightcheck_archive/steve-jobs-johannes-gutenberg-ipad-printing-press
Like this Video & Subscribe to our channel:
youtube.com/c/Markzware
Store
markzware.com/store
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/markzware
Facebook: facebook.com/MarkzwareSoftware
Pinterest: pinterest.com/markzware
Tumblr: markzware.tumblr.com
Twitter: twitter.com/markzware
Website:
markzware.com
Blog:
markzware.com/blog
Get Markzware News:
markzware.com/support/mailing-list
#Gutenberg #printing #history
Print, preflighting and the statue of Johannes Gutenberg in Strasbourg, France
