Gutenberg and the Origins of Typography

In this essay I will be discussing about the origins of typography. I will be mentioning key factors that played an important role throughout, and up until the 19th century. I will be mentioning Gutenberg, and how he influenced impact and improvement. I will also be mentioning factors such as:

• The printing press;
• Steam driven printing press;
• Illustrated and pictorial newspapers;
• Printed matter;
• Black letter;
• Roman type.

Who Is Johannes Gutenberg?

Johannes Gutenberg was a German blacksmith, painter, goldsmith and publisher born in Mainz, Germany 1398. He was the son of an upper-class goldsmith. The inventor and the introducer of moveable type and the printing press. During the Renaissance, in 1439 his moveable type printing arrived in Europe, using metal alloy and a hand mold for casting of the type. It introduced mass communication which made structure for society. His printing press also played a major role in the Reformation, Renaissance and the age of enlightenment.

Origins of Typography and Advancement Throughout the 19th Century

Writing is the foundation form of communication and it all traces back to using pictograms and hieroglyphs, which is how civilians communicated back then. Pictograms were how people expressed ideas, and communicated with each other, which eventually led into the alphabet and phonographic writing. All of this eventually led into other ways of communication and other type systems. Ancient cave painting date back to 20,000 B.C, and then formal writing was used by Sumerians which dated back to 3,500 B.C. Ways of communicating advanced as people came up new ideas, which in 3,100 B.C the Egyptians introduced Egyptian hieroglyphics which were symbols now being introduced into their art and architecture. The first alphabet was introduced in 1000 B.C by the Phoenicians which was also used by the Greek. The word ‘Alphabet’ is a combination of the first two Greek letters ‘Alpha’ and ‘Beta’. The Industrial Revolution also had a large impact on design through mass communication.

Typography in the 19th century produced new design types. With three major advancements, which were fat faced fonts, slab serif typefaces and bold letters. The three biggest type founders of the 19th century were William Caslon, Robert Thorne and Vincent Figgins. And also, the producing of three-dimensional fonts, outlines and reversed outlines being very popular. The invention of manuscript books soon came into place in the Middle Ages. Both handwritten and illustrated manuscripts. The manuscripts introduced uncials and half uncials, introducing more rounded and more elaborate lettering. The art of calligraphy writing made new ground and became very popular. Calligraphers travelled across the world to share their knowledge on the art.

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So, the invention of movable metal type was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439. With already having experience in metal production, he knew how to cut punches and stamp letters. Each letter started off as a metal object, and each letter had its own unique way in which it was designed. Each letter had to have a shape because it had to be cut on a steel punch, using and engraving tool, and then cast in molten lead. Gutenberg wanted to develop and produce book production, which is why through the 18th, and 19th century it has advanced and especially to where we are today. The earliest printed book Gutenberg invented was his bible in 1455, it had 1,286 pages and issued 2 volumes. It was of high technical quality. Which he worked on for over 2 years and was printed in Black Letter type. Today one of Gutenberg’s bibles is worth over 30 million. Through the development of Black Letter in Gutenberg’s bible it spread the printing across the Alps, with the character styles becoming much lighter and more Roman style.

Many, many years after Gutenberg invented his hand press a major design that impacted society was the design of the steam driven printing press that was invented in 1814 by two German inventors Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Bauer. Their printing press could print over 1,000 sheets per hour. The two pioneers founded the world’s first printing factory known as KBA (Koenig and Bauer). They eventually sold their press to the Times newspaper. Their flat-bed press was eventually out run by an American inventor named Richard Hoe who invented the Rotary steam press that could print over 8,000 sheets and hour. The productivity of the presses had greatly increased in the 19th century because of the invention of steam power. Print became more affordable to the working-class people. In 1837 a man named Godefroy Engelmann was credited with the invention of chromolithography which was a method for printing in color. Chromos were mainly used to produce scenic photos and paintings. A replicating of an oil painting that is printed onto a canvas using an embossing technique. Chromo was also affordable in price.

The 19th century had applied the most influential publication which was the pictorial newspaper. It was made using steam driven letter press technology and could cheaply produce runs up to 100,000 copies. The pictorial newspapers had enabled the production of urban mass culture. The newspapers featured the news, poetry, fiction and entertainment for all. The pictures used by illustrators were re made by wood engravings. Much of society was uneducated and by having pictures made newspapers approachable to all people. Founded in 1842 was the Illustrated London News which used a strong use of images instead of text to bring the stories to life. When photographs appeared for the first time in newspapers they were copied as wood engravings because they could not be side by side with the letter press type.

In the 19th century the design of posters became the earliest forms of advertisement and became a way to visually communicate advertisements such as events, political etc. Printed through the steam press, and then hung on billboards and on stalls through the streets and cities. A famed 19th century painter/ poster artist Toulouse Lautrec was one of many popular artists for creating eye catching and captivating posters such as the ‘Streetwalker’ and ‘At the Moulin Rouge’ he was influenced by the Japanese in exaggerating expressions, color and facial features in his pieces. He was a very realistic artist taking exact moments as they are.

Conclusion

Typography is a key element in most design industries. A font is one, if not the most important decision a designer can make. I believe the choice of font can either make a piece of work great, or it can completely throw you off. Without Gutenberg’s creative mindset we would not have what we have today with the experience and impact moveable type or what the printing press has done throughout the centuries. The invention of the printing press not only allowed Gutenberg himself to tell his story but also allowed others to tell theirs. He spread literature to the uneducated and made headway for the information age – the Renaissance. Without movable type or printing press there would have been no technical advances that now today is a modern world. The Gutenberg printing press caused an impact on social and cultural revolution.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg
2. https://www.printmag.com/typography/evolution-typography-history/
3. https://yeoldedesignblog.wordpress.com/2016/04/07/early-19th-century-typography/
4. https://moodle.griffith.ie/course/view.php?id=4886
5. https://www.biography.com/artist/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec
6. https://www.prepressure.com/printing/history/1800-1849