The Beginning of Printing in Mainz

We do not know when Gutenberg succeeded in creating a workable version of his first printing type, a large, square gothic commonly referred to as the “DK” (Donatus and Kalendar) type. It is probable but not provable that fragmentary survivals of the Latin grammar Donatus, and of a German prophetic text, the Sibyllenbuch, which display the DK type in a primitive, unperfected state, were produced and sold by 1453 and possibly a little earlier. By the fall of 1454, where our exhibition begins, Gutenberg’s shop had succeeded in creating a much improved version of this first European printing type.

HANDWRITTEN CYPRUS INDULGENCE, 1454

Even before the Ottoman capture of Constantinople in May 1453, Pope Nicholas V granted a plenary indulgence to aid the besieged Latin Kingdom of Cyprus. The Cypriot noble Paulinus Chappe travelled to Europe to organize indulgence sales, which began in early 1454. About twenty handwritten Cyprus Indulgence forms survive, widely scattered, many reflecting a campaign in the Low Countries. The present form, the only in America, probably belongs to this Low Countries group. The name of the recipient has been cut away, but the date of issue, 10 April 1454, remains, with a note that he or she had contributed 15 silver groschen.

PRINTED CYPRUS INDULGENCE, 31 LINES. [Mainz: Johann Gutenberg] 1454

Chappe presented the papal Cyprus Bull to the Archbishop of Mainz in the summer of 1453, but the archbishop delayed almost a year before allowing its proclamation in his province. In the late summer of 1454 Chappe contracted with Gutenberg to print the indulgence forms in great quantity. A well-constructed small type was created for the purpose, and presumably thousands of such forms were printed, an output far beyond the capacity of scribal copying. This small fragment records that it had been issued in Erfurt on 22 October 1454: the earliest firm date we possess for the existence of European printing. The 31-line Indulgence text was kept standing in type for some months under the control of the indulgence officials, who had additional copies printed as the campaign progressed. The last valid date of sale was 30 April 1455. In later impressions the year date was changed from “Mccccliiii” (1454)to “Mcccclv” (1455). This well preserved copy, with updated “Mcccclv”, was issued in Würzburg on 13 April 1455. The 31-line Indulgence is a notably handsome product, with three metalcast initials and, for titling, Gutenberg’s large, formal gothic type in a well-finished state. For thousands of pairs of eyes, the 31-line Indulgence would have been their first encounter with typography. The text type, found only in this Indulgence, presumably was melted down as the campaign drew to a close, to prevent the possibility of printed forgeries.

DONATUS [Mainz: Johann Gutenberg & Johann Fust, ca. 1453-1454]

Besides the large Gutenberg Bible project, the Bible shop produced numerous editions of the Donatus grammar. They were printed on vellum for long life under heavy use. When new, these were attractive tall pamphlets of a dozen or so leaves. This fragment is one of the earliest such Donatuses, printed in the earliest state of the Gutenberg Bible type, as used for setting the first, 40-line pages. It was recovered from the binding of a late 1470s book bound for one of the great monasteries of the Austrian Danube valley. One other Donatus fragment in this earliest state of the Gutenberg Bible, preserved in Cracow, was used as material in a binding made in Leipzig in the 1470s. The two fragments together suggest that the Mainz printers had organized a significant long-distance trade in printed schoolbooks a year or more before their large Bible was ready for the market.

DONATUS [Mainz: Johann Gutenberg, ca. 1455-1457]

Gutenberg’s earliest printings were multiple editions of the Donatus grammar, destined for schoolmasters in secular, conventual, and cathedral schools. They were printed with the first European printing type, commonly known as the DK (Donatus and Kalendar) type. A few of them are in an early, primitive state of the font. In this fragment the DK type is in a significantly improved state with even, sharp lines. The unusually large size of the fragment allows us to visualize what a copy would have looked like

CALIXTUS III, BULLA THURCORUM [Mainz: Johann Gutenberg, late 1456]

In April 1455 the aged Cardinal Alfonso de Borgia was elected pope in succession to Nicholas V, taking the name Calixtus III. He swore to defend Christianity against the Ottomans, and the three years of his pontificate were occupied with the frustrating task of trying to corral the many, inter-quarreling Christian secular rulers into an effective campaign. His June 1456 Bull called for Christian unity by means of prayers to be said daily, at the mid-day ringing of the church bells. The Archbishop of Mainz issued a mandate in late October 1456 allowing proclamation of the Bull in the archdiocese, and this uniquely surviving Latin edition was probably printed soon afterward for the purpose. A German translation was printed concurrently, surviving in a single copy in Berlin. The provenance of both copies can be traced back to Erfurt.