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Johannes Gutenberg's movable-type printing press, developed around 1440 in Mainz, Germany, was arguably the most transformative communication technology before the internet. By enabling the rapid, cheap reproduction of text, it democratized access to knowledge, enabling the Protestant Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the rise of nationalism.
Before the press, a single book could take months to copy by hand and cost as much as a small farm. Within 50 years of Gutenberg's press, over 20 million books had been printed — more than all European scribes had produced in the previous thousand years. The Gutenberg Bible (1455) is considered the most valuable book in the world.
# Top 10 Printing Press facts
- 1Before the printing press, a Bible cost as much as a small farm — it took a scribe a year to copy one
- 2Within 50 years, over 20 million books were printed across Europe
- 3The printing press enabled the Protestant Reformation by allowing Luther's ideas to spread rapidly
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Before the printing press, a Bible cost as much as a small farm — it took a scribe a year to copy one
- ◆Within 50 years, over 20 million books were printed across Europe
- ◆The printing press enabled the Protestant Reformation by allowing Luther's ideas to spread rapidly
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