The Medieval Invention That Changed The Course Of History | The Machine That Made Us | Timeline

Stephen Fry takes a look inside the story of Johann Gutenberg, inventor of the world's first printing press in the 15th century, and an exploration of how and why the machine was invented.
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[@davewilson4058]

As a retired Printer,. I always felt proud that my trade was the foundation of collected knowledge, only superseded by the coming of the computer and WWW.

[@dahliathereader2872]

Dave Wilson and so you should feel proud 👏🏻

[@bmaverickoz]

I think its great that you feel/appreciate the connection Dave - can see the epic in the everyday :)

[@elaineburnett5230]

Of course, the computer and www would be ueless without the printed word...so thank you.

[@anne-droid7739]

You and your fellows made countless lives worth living. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

[@diedertspijkerboer]

WWW: World War Won?

[@CorwinFound]

Stephen Fry brings what could have been a dry subject to life with his earnest, humble, and endearing enthusiasm. What a lovely man.

[@tomgunn8004]

A ''lovely'' man who lusts after ''lovely'' men.

[@allant53]

Back in the late 1950's or early 60's, I received a model of a Gutenberg printing press one Christmas. It came in parts and built up into a working model. It came with the type, paper and ink and a bust of Gutenberg. I enjoyed using the press and making my own small books. Each page was about 50mm square, if I remember correctly. I wish I had kept it, I cannot remember what become of it. Happy days.

[@gardensofthegods]

I wonder if you could ever track down something like that and find another one somehow ... it sounds like that was a really cool thing to have as a kid . Wow .

[@allant53]

@lunchmeat I have no idea of what ever happened to it. I was probably around 10 or 11 when I got it, so a lot of water has gone under the bridge to know what happened to it. Like a lot of things if we knew then what we know now there would be a lot of things I would have kept hold of.

[@dantevxv1501]

the world was a much greater place before 1966 such a shame we caved

[@joetotale6354]

Those kits are now worth around $8,000 each.

[@denniswhite166]

As a kid of about 9 to 11 I read a book called the "Land of the Whatsit". Where a kid of about my age has many adventures, but the book is based on him finding a stored present for Christmas. It is a printing press. I asked for a printing press for my Christmas present because of this book. Just like in the book I discovered it hidden in my Father's closet. It used rubber type you set by hand into slotted "sentences" which were held by a drum that rolled the paper through one side and printed your words and came out the other side. I had a lot of fun with it.

[@frankmarano7530]

A wonderful working documentary. As a Printer’s son, I worked the letter presses at my father’s printshop in my teenage years. Marano Printing Service 1935-1980 in Montclair, Bloomfield and Belleville, New Jersey. I am always proud to say “I am a Printer’s son.” Setting type by hand made me a better speller. Proofreading the galley taught me how to catch the smallest mistakes, most people skip over. Watching my father jog a stack of papers was like watching a skilled artist at work.

[@scottadler]

As a former typesetter and typographer, I found this story both well-informed and deeply moving. An added thought, soon after, the bible was printed, printers discovered that they could produce the flush-right justified effect by adding thin lead slugs between words. I would also have liked to have learned more about how printer's ink and type-metal were invented.

[@wolfgangkranek376]

As far as I know it, one of the main problems for Gutenberg when inventing the printing press was to find the right kind of alloy for type-metal. So basically the development or inventing of type metal (and a special ink) was inseparably part of his invention of the printing press.

[@scottadler]

@@wolfgangkranek376 Actually, printing ink was a ighly specific invention because standard inks would always roll off the type if water based, or would turn into globs if oil based. The solution was to add soap to the oil-based inks.

[@unreliablenarrator6649]

But is not well-informed. The Gutenberg Press was not the first printing press and did not use movable type. The first printing press with movable (porcelain) type was invented in China about AD 1040 by Bei Cheng (AD 990 - 1051). The first movable typed press with metal type was invented in Korea in AD 1234 by Chee Yoon Eyee. You should include this in your video and description.

[@0zyris]

@@unreliablenarrator6649 A google search gives no results for the Korean entry, while the Chinese name gave only one result with simply a mention. Are there any extant manuscripts reliably attributed to these claims and is there an authenticated record of their works? What should have been included in this documentary is the art of printmaking in its various forms which goes back to prehistory, as it would have contributed greatly to Gutenberg's thinking.

[@Blurb777]

@@unreliablenarrator6649 - I've heard of the Chinese press being the first, also. But for the west, Gutenberg was our first.

[@esinohio]

Can we get more programs with Stephen Fry?? I love his genuine interest in the topic and his delivery of the material is superb.

[@Zwia.]

@MichaelKingsfordGray He is also a homosexual.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

@MichaelKingsfordGray French and fluent ancient and later Latin too.

[@John_Ridley]

@@Zwia. Yes, he has that going for him as well!

[@New_Zealand_Music]

@Eric Schwein. Don't know why this doesn't always work confusing. Anyway I completely agree. A true gentleman. Have you happened to see his Wagner documentary. You don't need to be a Wagner fan to enjoy Stephen Fry; I just happen to enjoy Baroque. Or the older documentary about depression?

[@New_Zealand_Music]

@MichaelKingsfordGray yes, his English is lovely.

[@dirufanboy1971]

Anything featuring Stephen Fry is automatically epic, utterly fascinating and a pure joy to watch.

[@nono_noxx]

Stephen Fry could narrate a box of cereal to me and I’d love it.

[@badbiker666]

Seriously! Stephen Fry and Tony Robinson (Time Team) are terrific at making whatever subject they are attached to interesting for every viewer. There's something about their approach to the subject that draws us in with them. They ask the questions we would ask if we were there. Plus, both men are able to attract the technical talent necessary to take full advantage of their role. I'll watch just about anything with these guys presenting.

[@nono_noxx]

Oh Tony Robinson is one of my faves as well. I started watching them both in their comedic roles when I was so young and now I keep going back to shows like QI and Time Team. I love them.

[@nono_noxx]

Also, love your screen name.

[@badbiker666]

@@nono_noxx In reality, my bike is badass. I'm not. But I feel like one when I ride, hence the screen name. Glad you like it!

[@terdferguson1736]

@@badbiker666 you know I love time team and Tony Robinson, and I’m an American, but I don’t think they are on the same level. Stephen fry is truly one of the great thinkers of our time.. the man is truly genius. And as much as love Tony, I don’t think he is even close to intellectual prowess of Fry.

[@TomRNZ]

What a fantastic documentary. Not only interesting subject matter but I couldn't think of a better host than Stephen Fry. Thanks for uploading.

[@michavandam]

"Stephen Fry"? Pet hens Fry, you mean! 30:02

[@marshallwhidby6998]

H duyufedyyyy

[@marshallwhidby6998]

Put pop On my way!o I

[@poyntz55]

Stephen, thanks so much for this, as a retired hot metal compositor this has been a major part of my life. It was so interesting to see where it all began and pretty much how it was until the 80’s

[@Davett53]

Me too, in the late 1960s I was training to become a printer,...hand setting type, and printing with equipment built in the late 1800s. Letter press printing. I loved it, and in junior high I was the kid who printed our school's newspaper, and the tickets to the sport events. We bound books, made note pads,....used die-cuts, everything. I continued in high school, as offset printing was emerging. Then I went into it as an art form, in college. We made our own paper, marbleized the ends,....more sophisticated book binding,....provided an outlet for hand made artist created books. From there I began making wood cuts, silk screens and engravings and etchings. I dabbled in stone lithography. Even though it was a dying art form,....and Xerox printing replaced most things.

[@georgemacmillan1850]

From 1959-65 I served an apprenticeship as a compositor. I spent the next 15 years setting metal type until the advent of filmsetting. Watching this documentary made me feel very proud to have been part of this great craft. Thank you Mr Gutenberg and thank you Stephen Fry for a wonderfully informative programme.

[@Makinfries]

Stephens's Awe face, when he was scrolling through the Gutenberg Bible, was beautiful. What a guy

[@dogrudiyosun]

A prototype of modern degenerates he is

[@firingallcylinders2949]

Ironic considering how much he hates God

[@Makinfries]

@@firingallcylinders2949 How can you hate something you don't believe in? His hatred is towards the dogmas and persecution made in the name of god.

[@firingallcylinders2949]

@@Makinfries No he definitely hates God. He literally said if he gets to meet Him in the afterlife he'd call Him out. He said that he wouldn't have much of an issue if it was a Greek god, but He most definitely hates the Christian God of the Bible.

[@Makinfries]

@@dogrudiyosun Ohh jeez, i wish i grow up to be just like you. Girls must flock towards you because of your edgy personality. Remember boys, edgyness doesn't make you have a personality.

[@johnmiller8975]

I'm a librarian and have been for 30 years This.. this speaks to me

[@agamemnonpadar5706]

As being a former bookseller it does too.

[@briseboy]

Synesthesia, or schizophrenia? One supposes that the answer depends upon whether it orders you around in colorful language.

[@SnoopyDoofie]

Now if Gutenberg only knew we were watching a video about his work on a device that lets us illegally download the video 10,000 times in 3 days, he would have been floored.

[@RonaldAndrew]

He'd say, "Is that all? you people should be way more advanced than that. Look how far we came in my day. You guys are idiots."

[@warefairsoda]

Nice comment.

[@MrArthoz]

He would have been feel vindicated to it as a form of divine justice...because he himself was scammed and robbed of his own invention. His own trusted apprentice schemed with his investor to steal all his ideas and secrets. Fust or Faust took away his life work and made profit out of it. Even fiction used the name Faust as a form of hate for this evil man who ruined the life of a great inventor.

[@jmitterii2]

@@RonaldAndrew Yeah, right. Television/video screens, audio, telephone, computing, electronic mechanics, flying machines, etc. would have been completely out of his league of even thinking about. Even in the 1800's, people would speculate on the future of having large hot air balloons transporting people... not even airships/blimps. He wouldn't call us idiots... if anything he would think we were magicians or possibly demons or angels with our far seer vision things and far hearer things. The horseless carriage... I don't think so. Essentially all people literate, even of those who have conditions that make reading very difficult can in fact still read, blind with their own alphabet of braille and dyslexic with techniques that enables them to read albeit slowly as well as audio books that assist them all. I think even Leonardo da Vinci would be happy with our progress and advancements. Of course, they probably wouldn't want us to stop, and would be equally concerned by various other challenges that face us. I don't think they would instantly call the majority of us idiots; at least not in comparison to the people of his day.

[@RonaldAndrew]

@@jmitterii2 Who's day then?

[@JohnHenrySheridan]

Astounding! So powerful. This documentary was made with genuine heart from each of the characters featured in it especially our host Stephen Fry. His passion for the subject is deeply conveyed. And the camera work, audio and editing are wonderfully done to capture the delicate and fine subject matter. Bravo!

[@badbiker666]

I especially enjoyed the enthusiasm those four men displayed near the end when their press worked so well. Each had smile on their face and an inflection in their voice that you can't fake. It was infectious and had me squirming in my chair!

[@4scenicllp148]

At 54:30, Stephen mentions being terrified of breathing water vapour onto the original copy of the bible. I was also concerned that they had no masks on their faces. Not to mention that when one talks, sometimes tiny particles of saliva can inadvertently be ejected from the mouth.

[@bawbtherevelator6445]

I'm 83 and passed this along to all I know - including neighbors visiting their first grandchild in Maputo, Mozambique, Africa.

[@barrygaragan6478]

@@bawbtherevelator6445 good for you, the importance of of this invention cannot be overstated, if you follow along with the the ensuing years , the press also highlighted how suspect our collective vision was.

[@neilchisholm797]

A marvellous doco and Stephen Fry is as usual his enthusiastic self. I do have a question, however, what was the ink made of? Generally ink for writing for years long before and after 1450, was made from oak gals pounded with other stuffs to make a semi permanent ink which from other docos and personally seen old documents faded to pale brown. The type on the velum bible at the end of the documentary showed no signs of browning and the inker worked with something that was akin to tar, very different to oak gal ink. Not that I plan to use it or make my own printing press but does anyone know what was in that permanent black ink? Purely for interest sake. Thank you

[@theITGuy-no3nt]

Stephen Fry is a treasure. I can not pass up anything he produces. I guess I am going to learn about printing presses for the next hour.

[@brazensteel9410]

He has become creepy. He is drooling over young male actors any chance he gets. His nose just keeps crawling across his face, the older he gets. Barf.

[@alexsmith-rs6zq]

@@brazensteel9410 be kind

[@dannydadog1987]

@@brazensteel9410 You'll get sleazy by ageing too, mark my words. No, i'm not even at midlife crisis myself..

[@unreliablenarrator6649]

This video is poorly researched and incorrect. The Gutenberg Press was not the first printing press and did not use movable type. The first printing press with movable (porcelain) type was invented in China about AD 1040 by Bei Cheng (AD 990 - 1051). The first movable typed press with metal type was invented in Korea in AD 1234 by Chee Yoon Eyee. You should include this in your video and description.

[@macm3081]

@@unreliablenarrator6649 ahhh i thought so. i knew i knew that it was a chinese invention.

[@thenightking7167]

This is, by far, one of the absolute best documentaries featured in the history of KZbin. Thank you. ❤

[@onitasanders7403]

How illuminating. I was going to just listen to five or ten minutes of this documentary and was immediately drawn in. What a treat to learn about how the printed word came to be.

[@larryboulware3063]

How illuminating, indeed😉

[@tahneetran1471]

Yes!!

[@tower_studios_dave]

I was at the pub today across the road from my music studio. I got talking to a fascinating chap who used to make lutes, and was very knowledgeable about early music. He had to give up making the lutes, and now makes pre 17th century printing presses, and has just finished building one for a museum in New York. It was Alan May. What a wonderful and genuine man he is. Always talk to older people. You will be surprised what stories they have

[@murrij]

Stephen Fry is a national treasure. I hope you in the UK recognize that. :-)

[@petergbrics7260]

So beautiful.Because of printing,I can have a book in my hand printed 500 years ago,which contains the thoughts of somebody who lived a 1000 years ago.We can reach across time with books...Amazing Thanks for this video.Loved it. 👍

[@petergbrics7260]

@MichaelKingsfordGray yes.And nice,all old books are great.There are plenty of great books was written in the 1700’s,in English as well.From 1600,Especialy from before,they are mostly relegious books,or the book has something to do with God or the church,or both.My book was published in Venice in 1541.Little bit younger thank 500 years old.Nearly 👍

[@martinclarke9490]

Honestly, I was just interested by the fact that Stephen Fry was hosting. The man's a legend.

[@gurunpetreagunnarsdottir8192]

Martin Clarke i agree.

[@housingbui1116]

Hi. Hien gio toi khong the dich duoc. Ban vui long Viet tieng Viet Nam

[@TheKoolbraider]

Yup, I clicked because I saw his name.

[@victorconway444]

Is it bad that when I first saw him I thought "Wait, is that the guy from V for Vendetta?"

[@yihate]

The 1st movable metal type printing press was made is Korea in 1234 by Chwe Yoon Eyee during the Goryeo Dynasty -216 years ahead of Gutenberg in 1450. An example of a book is in the Louvre museum.

[@LawtonDigital]

The world's first movable type printing technology for paper books was made of porcelain materials and was invented around AD 1040 in China during the Northern Song Dynasty by the inventor Bi Sheng (990-1051)

[@JC-ew9ze]

China invented printing press thousand years ago. This is how western media think it is the center of the world. How ironic!!!

[@MNkno]

@@JC-ew9ze I suspect that it is not "how western media think", but as most groups think - extreme examples are the egotist's attituded that "if I didn't do it, no one has ever done it," and the corporate attitude that "if our company didn't order it to be done, it did not exist."

[@aprilklimley9238]

@@pdag4685 That is the point. We only have a small portion of the story...How did the Chinese keep their written content after 1040 AD when printing was invented there. In “books?” Or scrolls?

[@realRainz]

@@JC-ew9ze That's before China became Communist. Communism doesn't invent or create anything of value, it only steals, cheats, lies, pretends to be what it is not. If Communism created anything, it was misery, poverty, tyranny, mass incarceration and death.

[@BilgemasterBill]

If Stephen Fry is involved you can always be sure to learn something. Thanks for putting this together and making it freely available.

[@trishkearney]

He isn't involved in Christendom. He's an atheist. He had no envolvement with Gutenberg, the printing press and the bible.

[@ytubeanon]

I don't know how this doesn't have millions of views, I've watched it twice years apart

[@311076]

I can't imagine my world without Stephen Fry

[@HAZNAUT]

undercooked

[@hudiscool4186]

Only one thing was forgotten in this otherwise excellent documentary.......the INK!!!

[@meilinchan7314]

..... don't forget the fact that the Chinese invented the first operational printing press, not Gutenberg.

[@westcoastvibes1193]

@z zz It was Gutenberg’s printing press that started the information revolution.

[@heratata]

@@meilinchan7314 Yes, indeed they did, but they didn't make much of it. Gutenberg figured how to produce printed books that looked every bit as exquisite as the manuscripts and his invention quickly led to a revolution that democratised the written word and literally changed the course of history. Something Chinese printing failed to achieve. This of course shouldn't have prevented the authors of this documentary from at least mentioning it.

[@marka9556]

@@meilinchan7314 True but you have to look at Gutenberg from a system level including inks, the adjustable mold and metal alloy for type, use of phonemes and the high precision of the press. The Gutenberg system drastically reduced the labor of printing to a point where one family could open up a small print shop. To be fair, the bizarre structure of the Mandarin language hinder printing development. A Chinese printer needed ~100,000 blocks whereas a Western printer often had a few hundred types.

[@waynebow-gu7wr]

@@heratata The chinese should have got a mention for their rice paper being excellent for cigarettes !

[@elswalleyn5044]

As a granddaughter of a printer and the daughter of a bookbinder it was very interesting to watch these video. Thanks 😉

[@theelementalvideos]

An exceptional documentary on the most important invention of the modern world. I lived in Strasbourg when I was a young man, and did not know of Gutenberg's connection there. Now, as a bibliophile myself, I find myself drawn to this story even more given my connection to Strasbourg. Bravo to Stephen Fry and all those who produced this wonderful story. In its thoughtful detail, and the passion of the participants, it blossoms with awe for this inspired man and his world-changing creation.

[@macm3081]

i hate to burst your bubble and everyone elses but the printing press was invented by the chineae many yeears before gutenburgh. im shocked that only one other person has pointed his fact out in the comments. This video is poorly researched and incorrect. The Gutenberg Press was not the first printing press and did not use movable type. The first printing press with movable (porcelain) type was invented in China about AD 1040 by Bei Cheng (AD 990 - 1051). The first movable typed press with metal type was invented in Korea in AD 1234 by Chee Yoon Eyee. You should include this in your video and description.

[@kacperb7352]

Quite a shame that this documentary has such a low view count. It's one of the best docs I watched in a while and presented by one of greatest and well loved people around today, Stephen Fry.

[@elaineburnett5230]

We can solve that, by sharing it.....

[@RickPWolfe]

He seems a genuinely sympathetic and likable person.

[@meredithmericle7487]

I love this kind of history. So much more interesting that wars and battles and who won or lost.

[@websnarf]

Well, it makes no reference to the Chinese who made very similar technology centuries earlier. So ... I don't even know how you can call this a documentary.

[@DiggerTRock365]

@@websnarf Columbus didn't discover China until 1492. Decades after the invention of the printing press.

[@OldManMontgomery]

The intricacy of combining all the various crafts was fascinating. When the first page was removed from the press and found 'proper', I was elated. And I'm just watching this at the end of 2021. Wow!

[@mchristiansen137]

Stephen Fry has a melodious voice, there was a reverence in it, in this documentary. Wonderfully captured, it was simply brilliant.

[@mr.grumpygrumpy2035]

Stephen Fry is an absolute gem of a human being.

[@philsurtees]

They broke the mould...

[@wolfthequarrelsome504]

He's a donkey and doesn't even consider you.

[@GoldenOwlEvents]

Stephen Fry, National Treasure. I just want to hug him. 😊

[@sambotros1918]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3zSc6ignq-snMU

[@johntoffee2566]

I cannot imagine the modern world without Mr. Stephen Fry. Proper you are.

[@walterulasinksi7031]

The use of the printing press also caused printers to have to organize in a different manner of thinking as to create books, the paper is folded into the leaves of a number of sheets and so to maximize the use of a piece of paper, means to print on both sides and to organize the pages so that if two pieces of paper are folded together, page 1 would be on the right side of the fold with page 8 on the left side. Then when that sheet is turned over, page 2 is on the left, and page 7 is on the right. Then on the inner sheet , page 3 will be on the right side with page 6 on the left, and finally with this sheet turned over, page 4 is on the left and page 5 is on the right. And the complexity increases depending on how many sheets are folded together. Into a leave. once all your leaves have been printed in the correct order for the number of pages required, and folded then the leaves can be sewn together to create a book suitable for binding with a cover of your choice.

[@mikestirewalt5193]

There's a lot more complexity to it than just geometry. Read The _Gutenberg Galaxy_ by Marshall McLuhan.

[@SandyRiverBlue]

I like to think that he was exceptionally short, wiry, and with a quick disposition, who one day as he was walking down the Rue de Fraires inadvertently bumped into a scribe who yelled out, "move aside, peasant!". And that, as they say, was that.

[@craigcorson3036]

Thank you, Mr. Fry. I'm very happy that I decided to spend this hour with you. It was well worth it!

[@dennisboxem]

Stephen Fry does it again. Eloquently spoken, well researched and so wonderfully made. Enjoyed every second of this.

[@judechauhan6715]

Anything with Stephen Fry is a win but a Timeline documentary with him in AND he's getting hands on making it the way they did... Get him to make a bow or a castle, I need more!!

[@sambotros1918]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3zSc6ignq-snMU

[@sfcmp7005]

These guys were so excited when they got the printed sheet done. Can you imagine how the original printers felt? I mean our mentality today is much different as we have seen far more advanced things. That being said, they still got pretty excited. I bet someone who was seeing something like this for the first time, was just over the moon with the results. Great video!

[@Astrophysikus]

He is so right at the end: I could perfectly imagine a modern world without cars or aeroplanes. It might be better in some aspects and worse in others than our world. However, I could not possible imagine how a world without the printed word is even remotely possible.

[@olewetdog6254]

What you wanna bet people looked at Gutenberg's books and criticized them because they were "mass produced" and not as "good" as those handmade by a monk.

[@christiankastorf1427]

That did happen. And immediately people demanded pictures in their books. Woodcuts, copperprints and etchings went along with the technology of moveable letters.

[@learntocrochet1]

Today, we would call the ones made by scribes "small batch artisanal".

[@vincelang3779]

A sentiment I share; and I suppose depends on what one conceives a book to be. In the medieval world every book is a *singular* object; a one-off akin to a painting or sculpture . . . _Having_ _said_ _that_ the undeniable, revolutionary genius of printing by moveable type is that it democratized knowledge, putting the thoughts of the world into the hands of many and then, at last, nearly everyone on the planet. All for the cost of a modest meal!

[@New_Zealand_Music]

@OleWetDog. Agree books were originally for rich people royalty & such. I don't think some of them didn't appreciate that people were able to educate themselves and learn more, which often leads to less control. Interesting fact about the books written by the Monks were normally, of course Bibles, and they were only allowed to write one page, time in the incorrect order. So they didn't learn too much completely understand the context. So things could have been changed. I don't like that that's true.

[@XxXgabbO95XxX]

Everything that i possess...

[@maychild1961]

To me he is the epitome of a wonderful human being: kind, intelligent, well read, funny and hugely talented. I really adore him and my life's wish would be to have a dinner conversation with him.

[@tomgunn8004]

If you're a man you might get groped.

[@maychild1961]

@@tomgunn8004 this comment is completely unnecessary

[@TheDigitalAura]

Thus you can turn lead into gold. Genius.

[@zrqdz4411]

Are you still alive

[@TheDigitalAura]

@@zrqdz4411 yup, still alive and kicking.

[@zrqdz4411]

@@TheDigitalAura phew- I’m glad

[@TheDigitalAura]

@@zrqdz4411 :P

[@servicarrider]

What a witty analogy. Bravo.

[@Skyprince27]

*The Decline & Fall of Human Civilization* 1. The Gutenberg Press: Ordinary People can be readers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2. Xerox Machine: Ordinary People can be publishers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3. KZbin: Ordinary People can be broadcasters. ⭐️

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

This could be 12 hrs worth and I’d devour every second. Fry was perfect for this documentary. Glad Gutenberg finally got some reward for this life’s work.

[@KMac329]

Stephen Fry adds charm and intelligence to a fascinating exposition of a historically revolutionary invention. Very imPRESSive.

[@hantms]

Quite lovely really that a staunch atheist like Stephen Fry treats everything about the production of bibles with such respect and enthusiasm. A lot of people would have put in some mockery here and there which could easily detract from the subject. (I enjoy a bit of mockery of religion as much as the next guy, but this documentary is a much more sincere tribute without it.)

[@prepperjonpnw6482]

I find that mockery of someone’s faith or lack there of is rather distasteful and show’s that the person doing the mocking is of low birth, poor education and is morally bankrupt. Those with small minds and dull wit often resort to mockery in an attempt to hide their lack of intelligence. An example of someone of high intelligence and good moral character is Stephen Fry who as you mentioned did not indulge in any mockery or vulgar humour. He is among other things a scholar and a gentleman. By the way I’m just messing with you lol. Cheers

[@hairyairey]

The historical fact is though that the production of the Bible was the main reason for the proliferation of print. In the same way that the Welsh Bible saved the Welsh language and the King James Bible unified the English language (and thus produced a market for further publications).

[@hairyairey]

@Ken Fullman The Gideon's Bible introduction makes the bold claim that it's not at odds with any proven scientific fact. Critics of it have found that archeology proves it to be true. Before the discoveries at Ebla for example it was reckoned that writing wasn't around in Moses' time (it was). But you'll still hear the claim that it wasn't written for centuries.

[@JakeWitmer]

@@hairyairey ...The English Pamphleteers (1600s) criticizing the Bible and differing religious sects (i.e. "the Roundheads" or "Puritans" vs. the Catholics and Quakers, and then Priestley's "Unitarians") criticizing each other led to a very rapid improvement in humanity's condition, since it also allowed for Voltaire, Paine, and others to criticize the church, in general. As scientific discoveries increased, the church was relegated to "the gaps" and the rest is history. Had there not been outbreaks of the plague, we might be far more advanced right now...

[@hairyairey]

@@JakeWitmer but they were only able to criticise because the language had been unified. I see this wishful thinking all the time that without religion the world would be more advanced. Nonsense, if anything scientific progress has slowed compared to previous centuries. For centuries the church funded science. My understanding of history is that atheists achieved very little. Still true today.

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

Watching this as a millennial, a person who only faintly remembers a world with physical tape for recording and has never experienced typewriting in real life, I feel a certain melancholic yearning towards the days, still warm to the touch, when manufactured goods were what the etymology leads you to believe: Handmade and made for hands to feel. To slide one's hand across the face of such a seemingly simple object as a handmade table is to feel the negative of hundreds if not a thousand copies of a single pair of hands doing the exact same motion mediated by sandpaper and files and rasps. Certainly, the internet is a lovely place, and a sight for the sorest of eyes after a tiresome workday at the third hardly fought-over workplace of your 4-year career, but it is only that: a sight, a mirage though perfect enough to grant you a lick of the truth so useful as to taste the salt of its rock, still a mirage. If only that Fata Morgana would also reach out of the lake and give you an Excalibur you could actually cut yourself on, we might not all be so terribly depressed by the weight of our own supposed happiness.

[@simongilliat2205]

This is probably the most satisfying programme I have ever seen. I know nothing about printing or engineering, but the passion and expertise shown by everyone in this video is simply stunning. Many thanks

[@servicarrider]

Isn't this a most lovely way to learn? In my case, tucked away toasty, in bed, on a rainy Seattle night, with millions of others devouring KZbin both at and as my leisure. You've got to love 2021.

[@sunsettersix6993]

Nothing like a little experimental archaeology to bring a tear of joy and pride to my eye to see historic human ingenuity in action. Thank you!

[@sunsettersix6993]

And thankfully, we all remember the name Gutenberg, but nobody remembers the name Fust.

[@RickWolfff]

I think Gutenberg's invention was movable type. Printing with a machine similar to a wine press was likely done already, but up until then pages were composed on large blocks of wood, paragraphs of words carved by hand in mirror image. The advantage is that it's all one piece, and doesn't need re-assembling for re-printing. Which is also its disadvantage. And it took forever!

[@christiankastorf1427]

And when you made a spelling mistake the whole area had to be cut out from the block, a piece of wood was glued in and the corrected spelling had to be carved.

[@peterfireflylund]

@MichaelKingsfordGray they were rubbing, not printing. That’s one reason why the quality of Chinese “printing” was so low.

[@daanyaaljafri3466]

This had mass production implications. The chinese were using blocs and rubbings before for sure but he took it and both improved efficiency but became literally the first massive advancement in social media since the signal flare and town herald. This allowed literature and information to be spread and sent at a rate so rapid it was like us discovering wireless internet after dial up

[@rexterrocks]

Movable type dates back over a thousand years to the Chinese.

[@rexterrocks]

@MichaelKingsfordGray Absolutely, around 600 AD. They had movable type in around 1000 AD too and had printed books of Buddhist texts long before Gutenburg.

[@frankfurtonfoottours2361]

Glad that you mentioned Mainz, Eltville, and the Frankfurt Fair where all of the 1st Bibles were sold. The original copy of the bible that Mainz has is very beautiful and I think they paid about 1.5 million for it quite a few years ago. The Gutenberg Museum in Mainz is well worth a visit. They do demonstrations all day long.

[@lindareed8265]

I visited that museum, and yes it's wonderful.

[@donnacsuti4980]

Thank you for doing this program. My father I was born in 1908 Did hand set printing his whole life . He did many find books as well as advertisements and other things for newspapers. It is now a lost art so sad

[@whotknots]

It is an interesting corollary that the same crude technique used to "carve the counter thread through a solid wooden block" was also used by blacksmiths to incorporate rifling in musket barrels significantly increasing their lethality.

[@christopherneelyakagoattmo6078]

The rifling techniques were developed in that same region of Germany, as well. Also they were able to set multiple lands and grooves even had progressive rifling: Where the twist would start out at say a 1in72" twist and get faster, progressively, to e.g., 1in48" twist by the first foot; by the end of a 42" barrel to a 1in18" twist. Rather ingenious.

[@jankoevoet4042]

I started back in 1970 at the tender age of 15 as an apprentice bookprinter (letterpress) and had to go to school one day a week, to get the diploma. During one of those lessons, one of the other kids suddenly wrapped up his stuff, and started walking out of the classroom. The teacher asked what the heck he thought he was doing. The kid replied: "I don't know why I'm still in here, or why either of you still is" "Don't you see ? within ten years we'll be all out of our jobs anyway" The teacher wanted to know why, and the boy replied: "Fast running copiers will take over for small editions, offset printing will take over for large editions". We all had a good laugh on that idea, and the teacher considered it total bull. "No boy, quality will always win, no way copiers or offset are going to take over our beautiful art." And so the kid went away, and we went on. It didn't even take ten years...

[@watermelonhelmet6854]

As someone who went to University to become a newspaper journalist, I feel your pain.

[@bradenfritsche9617]

I n

[@jackgrant7356]

How long do you recon it would have taken to set up one of those pages, Jan?

[@jankoevoet4042]

@@jackgrant7356 I was a printer, not a setter, but i'd say 5 minutes on a Monotype using a teletype ribbon. 10 minutes on a Linotype or Intertype. But by hand ... Hmm, an hour or more ?

[@anonygent]

I have learned (with some sadness) that quality never wins over price. Some examples: the steam locomotive was in every possible way superior to the diesel-electric, but the diesel-electric was cheaper to operate and cheaper to maintain, so the diesel-electric won out; NCR (National Cash Register) started out making beautiful hand-made cash registers that are still in high demand today, but they were going broke, so they started mass producing them and selling them for a relative pittance, and became a major manufacturing concern... none of those are worth a dime to collectors; high end automakers like Packard and Deusenberg lost out to cheap automakers like Ford and Chevy... they made a much better product, but it didn't matter to the millions who could afford a Chevy but not a Packard.

[@therugburnz]

I had a remarkably similar printing kit\educational toy as a child of 7 in 1971 America. A year latter my family viewed a Disney cartoon about the history of printing. This educational program is quality example of family oriented educational broadcasting. Thank you

[@jimmorris4122]

I found this story about Gutenberg fascinating. Love the wooden printing press you made. Well done.

[@clivecoy7893]

One of the very best Timeline programmes I have watched. Stephen Fry conveys his love of the subject with heart and humanity. Thank you to all who were involved in this elegant production.

[@watto3535]

I've actually held a Gutenberg bible. It is held in private hands in England. I shan't tell you where. It was an extraordinary moment.

[@bdnugget]

Prove it LMao

[@potterj09]

@@bdnugget Word has is Martin Luther marked the first copies with his initials in graffiti type lol

[@socialnetjerk]

Mark Getty

[@golddiggerdave]

Did Gutenburg print any non-fiction books?

[@gregb6469]

@@golddiggerdave -- Yes, the Bible (whether you like it or not).

[@fosterbeigler9454]

Stephen Frye is wonderful in narrating the most impactful invention in history, the movable type and letter press.Today's artist have rediscovered old printing presses, i.e. Vandercook replaced by computer printing technologies to create beautiful handmade books.

[@zooblestyx]

Every time Fry says the name Alan, I keep thinking he must mean Alan Davies.

[@Dayaktribesman]

*klaxon blaring*

[@Wilson911]

Ahaaaaaa!

[@TheHorseOutside]

Actually he's Steve

[@mariagunnarsQ17]

OMG me too!

[@watermelonhelmet6854]

It's funny how much printing has moved on and how much things have changed. Up until around the 60's the Japanese were still using hand-carved woodblock printing for anything from artwork to food wrappers. within just a few years it went from a thriving industry to a niche art. One of the things that really stood out in the documentary I watched was that one of the few remaining carvers said it's practically impossible to get the same quality now because the type of wood used for the carving blocks just isn't available any more. When he was an apprentice the wood would come from trees that were hundreds of years old, dried and aged for decades...and now all that had been used up and wood from 'new growth' trees just wasn't dense enough to hold detail.

[@jad4945]

He can't say mystery without me hearing it the way he said in the intro to the Mystery song from a bit of fry and laurie, it's seeping into history now as well.

[@EagleOneM1953]

As a history buff and book aficionado I loved this I even remember the little do it yourself printing box with rubber letter blocks and printing pad although I can't remember what it was called in Belgium where I was born and grew up. Thank you do much for this Mr. Fry for spending time and effort to show us this........

[@southerncross4956]

This video was so well written and hosted, not to mention the excellent camera work, artist with their work and locations. Thank you so very much.

[@AGoodJoe]

Brilliantly done. I need more of this in my life.

[@diedertspijkerboer]

He's constantly saying down the Rhine from Mainz to Strasbourg, but Strasbourg is actually upriver.

[@peterfireflylund]

He might just have meant “South(ish)”.

[@MissChanandlerBong1]

Intensely interesting and I love Stephen's sense of humor.

[@brianmorris8045]

Thanks for a great series. My eldest granddaughter, 13, and her younger sister, 8, asked me about printing and how it started, so I bought her and her little sister printing packs like the one Stephen showed us...and showed them how to use it. Told them I also had one as a boy. They had oodles of fun with it, so I showed them your video, it was above the little one's head, but the 13 yr old grasped it amazingly...I did have to explain a few things along the way...she was riveted to all the scenes showing the presses. But I showed them how to do the 'toy' printing process first...I got questions like..."Why are we putting the type in backwards?", and other similar questions....but it was good fun for them, and grandpa alike. When I told them I worked at a major newspaper in Sydney as a copybody, I got a load of other questions from these inquiring minds...well, you can imagine this old grandpa was in his element...I had a ball with my grandies, and their endless questions. Timeline...keep these vids going....and can you get someone to video a simpler version of how the printing press works, for children, please.

[@mooncatandberyl5372]

lovely true story you wrote there, we need to pass skills and knowledge down from one generation to another.

[@mr.carguy654]

Imagine Stephen and James May getting together to do a documentary. It would be the most interesting documentary... in the world.

[@servicarrider]

Stephen Fry is demonstrably bright, inquisitive, tutored, professorial and worldly. James May is utterly stupid, a failed gin mill piano player.

[@mr.carguy654]

@@servicarrider On the contrary! If you only know of James May from Top gear where he was associated with Jeremy Clarkson you might think that he’s just what you described him as. However he too is an intelligent and well mannered man, possibly not on Stephen’s level, however James Mays documentaries are very informative and thoroughly entertaining!

[@renlish]

Yes, I saw what you did there. ;)

[@dahliathereader2872]

I ❤️ Stephen Fry he’s a great author, speaker and TV presenter

[@bostavely204]

I'm straight , but Im totally in love with Fry ... A national treasure

[@miriambertram2448]

big reader here (70 yo Ph.D Microbiology). This is an excellent presentation. And so very enjoyable to watch. Love Steven Fry. More so for doing this.

[@paulhinds4840]

Some commentators have missed the key to Guttenburg's invention: the use of mas s produced moveable type! The use of woodblock and hand carved wooden letters had been used but only a few copies could be made before the letters were unusable. The cost of doing the carving was no better than a copyist with less quality. Here you only need to make the mold plate once for hundreds of letters. The punches could also make hundreds of mold plates - the more you made the lower the unit cost. Dry should not have been surprised by the shape of the pages since water rag bond does not self-destruct like kraft process wood pulp based paper.

[@DFX2KX]

Sometimes it's not the person who creates a new technology, but the person who takes that technology (or a few) and comes up with a way to make it vastly easier to use then it's alternatives. And honestly, the latter is actually the very difficult part.

[@BradNesseth]

Also typography and graphic design were born as well with the press, in mass production.

[@elaineburnett5230]

Correction....Fry, not Dry.....moveable type!

[@parrotletsrunearth1173]

China was using reusable movable type and invented the printing press centuries before the idea came to Guttenburg.

[@christiankastorf1427]

@@parrotletsrunearth1173 Unlike today China was no big exporter of technology. That was a chance missed. Lots of things were therefore reinvented in Europe: cast steel, gunpowder, paper, porcelain, compass..

[@paine_inflicta]

As I watch this fascinating program, I look around the room I'm in, jokingly called The Library, where I keep my own books.... and I give thanks to Gutenberg. :p

[@paraboo8994]

Looking at old illuminated manuscripts is so interesting. I remember being on a tour of manuscripts and there were four books apparently illustrated by the same illustrator, because he had always painted the same small striped cat in little nooks and crannies of the manuscript. To this day that makes me wonder. Was that an actual cat that lived in the monastery? Was it something like the monk's pet? Such a sweet quirk that survived over hundreds of years.

[@ianhamilton3172]

Such a wonderful documentary - and none better than Stephen Fry to guide along our way. Many years ago I was fortunate enough to study at Monash University. The Head of English was a gentleman named Arthur Brown who, apart from his deep knowledge & love of literature, was fascinated by the printing process. I was doubly fortunate to be allowed access to a space under the library where a range of printing presses had been assembled. I remember, whilst still studying at Monash, that one of the presses was used to print an Honorary Doctorate for Prince Charles.

[@carlcarlamos9055]

The Koreans had movable type ahead of Gutenberg. It was wooden, and they still have a good deal of it. Their language, Hangeoul, has 26 characters, unlike Chinese, which has thousands of characters.

[@caodesignworks2407]

Indeed, the Chinese had moveable type as far back as the 10th century CE, followed by Korea and a about 400-500 years later, Gutenburg/ Europe.

[@Temp0raryName]

@@JuanCarlos-dz7wc The wonderful thing about the printing press is that it leaves a lot of evidence, in the historical record. And in this era you can use the internet and google to confirm that, rather than denying it in ignorance.

[@kaloarepo288]

Big difference though was it probably was not used for mass production of books -the qualitative difference between the Gutenberg press and the earlier Chinese and other presses was that the Gutenberg one could be used for mass production of books.

[@Temp0raryName]

​@@JuanCarlos-dz7wc I did verify it before replying. Incidentally editing your first reply, to delete the inane part, and improve the rest does not reflect well on your ability to stand by your own comments. As for your latest retort, nobody mentioned anything about a metal printing press, in fact the opening comment specifically stated that it was talking about a wooden one. Rather the comment related to movable type face.

[@oscarchute6040]

@@JuanCarlos-dz7wc Chinese people never claim to have invented everything.

[@LucidDreamer54321]

Movable-type printing presses were in use in China starting at least 500 years before Johannes Gutenberg started working on his first printing press.

[@kinggeedorah383]

at least someone is aware

[@Agamemnon2]

Very true, but the Chinese invention wasn't known in Europe so Gutenberg's is an independent creation from first principles. I'd love to learn more about early Chinese printing, should see if there's a book on the topic.

[@LucidDreamer54321]

@Agamemnon2 It probably wasn't known in Europe. The problem is that people always say, "Gutenberg invented the printing press,” They should be saying, “Gutenberg was the European inventor of the printing press.”

[@handylingua]

@@Agamemnon2 - There’s a treasure trove of info out there about the art of print-making that you may not know how to access yet. The keywords you’ll want to copy-n-paste into the search box of your choosing are: “印刷” “Bi Sheng” “畢昇” and/or “毕升” That should get you started but as always, caveat emptor. Searching on the internet is like fishing with a net: don’t consume anything without verifying first.

[@hubbellrowe9012]

This is not true. Bi Sheng invented movable type, not the printing press. Movable type also didn't really help the Chinese because their script, Hanzi, requires at least 3000 + characters just to be literate. Printing with such a script, even with Guttenbergs revolutionary type casting methods and printing press, would have been a logistical nightmare. At 2 type characters a day, it would have taken 4 years to cast a basic Hanzi script, compared to only a month for the upper and lowercase latin alphabet, along with all arabic numerals. Even today, one cannot type mandarin into a computer without using a completely separate phonetic script.

[@ricardocucamonga]

Thank you for making this available

[@tallslimpr]

I did this in high school and it was the most amazing experience anyone can do. I appreciate this effort. Totally acceptable!

[@yeauldebishop]

Weird they explored wine presses when movable type presses were being used all along the silk road, printing books 150 years before Gutenberg was born. An interesting piece of colonical mythicism, coopting the evolution of printing from eastern Asia.

[@pcbif]

Well, that was great, really. What a wonderful documentary.

[@goldflyknows]

This video was AWSOME. And it's true you can get a taste of Guttenberg's feeling of accomplishment by watching Fry get his feeling of accomplishment. Makes me think that I've been wasting my life and need to figure out what it is I'm supposed to be doing and to get on with it.

[@dabomb7887]

Beautifully done!

[@terrystephens1102]

An excellent program.

[@theinterfaithshepherd9075]

Top notch documentary!

[@teodelfuego]

We need more quality programs like this one. This was excellent.

[@peterpocock9062]

Well done Stephen, a magnificent documentary, thankyou.

[@ZeeManHuang]

whos watching this because their uni prof made it into an essay assignment LOL

[@Cherryotaku95]

unfortunately

[@Celtic2Realms]

The programme raises some questions without directly asking the question. Mid way through the programme for example we are told that a few different people were trying to develop printing at the time. Did Gutenberg borrow some ideas from others or take without permission. Keep asking questions

[@Celtic2Realms]

Also listen to this programme kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4SvqGaQa7R1kNU

[@kenneth_mirez]

yo Im doing this for an engineering course like wtf

[@koala7053]

Lmao yep

[@jameskwon7617]

Gutenberg was not the first inventor of movable type. Started in Asia, and the first book using movable type was printed in Korea.

[@lonedesertfox]

Can you provide resource?

[@voraciousreader3341]

I dk if people in England realize what an incredible treasure Stephen Fry is, and how much his intellect has shaped comedy (of course) and many other facets of the culture. He is one of the people I admire most, because of his intellect (of course!) and his ability to confront people’s ridiculously outmoded or bigoted opinions incisively, but without resorting to wounding the people themselves…..think Christopher Hitchens, who was stimulated by his ability to slice his opponents’ personalities perhaps more than his contrary arguments. I just love the Fry’s mind works, and how he presents his ideas, based on a vast amount of knowledge.

[@Salisbury2015]

I deeply enjoyed this documentary. Fry has a way of making simple concepts come alive. Thank you for uploading this!

[@desiraeelaine7689]

12:48 keep your head up king

[@Sekei..]

I'd actually love a video on the eastern asian printing tradition around Bi Sheng's earthern ware movable type.

[@Val-uy2me]

@Topher TheTenth Hmmm. Very intersting comment. Puts it all in perspective. Thank you.

[@dnlgrmn7169]

Topher TheTenth But there is documentation that Bi Sheng made a movable type printing, regardless of amount of characters in the language. And there is a video here on KZbin about it.

[@anne-droid7739]

@@dnlgrmn7169 The book is better.

[@christopherneelyakagoattmo6078]

@Anne-droid I see what you did there. 😁

[@gerhardswihla1099]

Neverless the Gutenberg press seems to have had a bigger impact on Europe and the world in general than the Bi Sheng press had. Somewhat like gunpowder weapons has been at first invented in China but they got their worldwide useage boost and a lot of improvements from Europe.

[@PollyAlice2000]

Thank you Stephen Fry for another wonderful journey of learning about the marvelous people and inventions of the past that continue to inspire us today!

[@johnmorgan5495]

Great documentary showing the incredible skills people had and still do have in a different era and not to forget the skills talent and patience that pre dated printing in the work of monks and scribes, amazing.