Gutenbergs statue 1818 - 1871

This print of Gutenburg's statue was made by J.V. Gertner in the 19th century. It represents Johannes Gutenberg, the German inventor credited with pioneering the printing press. The statue is a monument to the democratizing power of the printing press. Before Gutenberg's invention, books were painstakingly handwritten, making them rare and expensive, and literacy was largely confined to the elite. This invention enabled the mass production of texts, revolutionizing the spread of knowledge and ideas throughout society. The statue itself, erected in public, symbolizes the cultural and intellectual progress associated with print, and the enlightenment values of reason, education, and free thought. To understand more about this period we might explore the rise of literacy, the spread of newspapers and pamphlets, and the changing relationship between knowledge, power, and social change.