November 6

“In God’s name, amen. Be it known to all who see or hear read this public document that in the year counted after the birth of Christ our Lord, one thousand four hundred and fifty five, in the third indiction, on thursday which was the sixth day of the month called Latin November, in the first year of the reign of the most holy father in God and Lord, our Lord Calixtus, by divine providence the third pope, between the hours of eleven and twelve at mid-day, at Mainz in the large refectory of the [convent of the] barefooted monks, in the presence of myself, a public scribe, and of the witnesses hereinafter named, there has appeared in person the honorable Jacob Fust, burgher of Mainz, and he has presented, spoken and declared on behalf of his brother Johann Fust, also there present, how a final date had beenset, decided and named for today at this hour in the convent hall there, between the aforenamed Johan Fust, his brother, party of the first part, and Johan Gutenberg, party of the second part, for the just named Johann Guttenberg to see and to hear such oath being taken by thesaid Johan Fust as imposed and enjoined upon the same Johann Fust by wording and content of the judgment passed between both parties.”

Thus, in the legal jargon dear to lawyer’s hearts for centuries, did a Mainz notary by the name of Ulricus Helmasperger, record—with delightful inexactness of names—a public hearing in which a banker named Fust called in an inventor named Gutenberg for lack of payment of a loan. This document is one of the important sources of information which historians of printing cite as definite proof that Johann Gutenberg actually was a resident of Mainz at the period and that he did have something to do with a method of impressing metal characters called types to produce what is now called printing.

Unfortunately, Gutenberg never dated any of his printing, nor did he mention himself in a colophon, so it is necessary to fall back upon documents of this nature to prove that he is the inventor of movable type. The inventor did not himself appear at this hearing but he did enter a statement to the effect that Fust had loaned him money but had expected no interest. The money had been advanced for “instruments or apparatus” which were pledged to the banker in return for his loan. Further money had been advanced to pay for supplies and for workmen’s wages.

While the mass of evidence points to Gutenberg as the inventor of movable type, there has been controversy for centuries over his claim. There is certainly substantiation upon a number of points which can be fairly well documented that the credit is his.

It is probable that the first tentative steps took place about 1440. This is the date accepted by modern scholars. It resulted in the world wide celebration of the five hundredth anniversary of the invention of movable type in 1940.

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