PASTEXPERIENCE HISTORY

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Comparing 1377 and the 1450s

Gutenberg and the work of movable type

Type, printing and hand decoration reveal workshop processes.

MainzCheongju
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Type can be used beyond one page

How does assembling individual letters differ from carving a whole page?

Individual metal letters are set into lines and can be rearranged for another text.
01Set the type
Metal typeType settingType case

A setting of letters before transfer to paper.

Individual letters can be rearranged

Individual metal letters form lines and pages. These demonstration letters are not a historical Bible text. Unlike a carved page, separate type can be rearranged for another text.

Sources and scope

These illustrations explain processes and institutions rather than reconstructing actual people, buildings or layouts. Cutaways and insets show hidden structures or separate locations.

The Gutenberg Bible ↗The invention of printing ↗

Set the type

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Scroll the enlarged image to inspect details.

Individual metal letters are set into lines and can be rearranged for another text.

Individual metal letters are set into lines and can be rearranged for another text.

Mainz within printing’s world history

Copies printed from the same text could receive different colored initials. Gutenberg’s Bible combined printing and handwork. Metal type did not begin solely in Europe: Jikji survives from Cheongju in 1377.

[1] Library of Congress[2] UNESCO[3] British Library

Making books with reusable type

Type was composed, inked and pressed onto paper or vellum, checked and disassembled for reuse. A long Bible required repeated cycles of supply, composition and correction. Equipment did not remove this continuing labor.

[1] Library of Congress[2] UNESCO[3] British Library

Pages combining print and handwork

Printing alone did not finish the volume. Headings, decorated initials and binding remained. Standardized reproduction changed the division of bookmaking work without instantly eliminating manual finishing.

[1] Library of Congress[3] British Library[2] UNESCO

Before and after

  1. 1377

    Jikji printed with metal type at Cheongju.

  2. Around 1454–1455

    Production of the Gutenberg Bible.

  3. 1930

    The Library of Congress acquired its vellum Bible.

  4. 2001

    Jikji entered the Memory of the World register.

Key terms

Movable type
Individual letter elements arranged for printing.
Hand decoration
Color or decoration added by hand.
Proofreading
Checking and correcting errors.

What supports the account?

The oldest surviving metal-type book and an influential Western European publication answer different questions. Specify the region when discussing firsts.

The Western European metal-type Bible, production and materials. The oldest surviving metal-type printed book, produced at Cheongju.

Limits of the evidence

Oldest surviving does not mean the first work ever produced.

[1] Library of Congress[2] UNESCO

An unchecked type setting can reproduce one mistake on many sheets. Reproduction also calls for checking and correction.

The Western European metal-type Bible, production and materials. The oldest surviving metal-type printed book, produced at Cheongju.

Limits of the evidence

Imagined workshop conversation is not a production record.

[1] Library of Congress[2] UNESCO

Check your understanding

Choose an answer to reveal the explanation. Return to the article and sources when you are unsure.

1. Copies share printed text but differ in decoration. What does this reveal?
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Sources

  1. The Gutenberg BibleLibrary of Congress

    The Western European metal-type Bible, production and materials.

  2. Jikji, 1377UNESCO

    The oldest surviving metal-type printed book, produced at Cheongju.

  3. Page from the Gutenberg BibleBritish Library

    Hand-added decoration and heading on a 1455 page, shelfmark C.9.d.3.

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