The guy who financed Johannes Gutenberg

Today in learning Johann Fust financed Gutenberg:

Johann Fust (c. 1400–1466) was a pioneering 15th-century German printer, merchant, and financier who played a crucial, though controversial, role in the history of printing in Europe.

He is most famous for his association with Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the movable-type printing press.

Here are the key points about his life and work:

1. The Financial Backer of Gutenberg

Fust was a wealthy merchant and moneylender in Mainz, Germany. Around 1450, he loaned Johannes Gutenberg 800 guilders—a very large sum at the time—to finance his experiments with movable type. This loan was intended to fund the “Work of the Books,” which would become the famous Gutenberg Bible. In 1452, Fust invested a second 800 guilders, becoming a partner in the enterprise.

2. The Lawsuit and Split

The partnership ended in a bitter dispute. In 1455, just as the Bible project was nearing completion, Fust sued Gutenberg to recover his money plus interest, claiming Gutenberg had misapplied the funds.

Fust won the lawsuit. As a result, he foreclosed on the loan and took possession of Gutenberg’s entire workshop, including the printing presses, the types, and the nearly completed copies of the Bible.

3. The Fust-Schöffer Press

After ousting Gutenberg, Fust immediately formed a new, commercially successful printing partnership with Peter Schöffer. Schöffer was a skilled calligrapher and a key employee in Gutenberg’s workshop who had testified against Gutenberg in the lawsuit (he also later married Fust’s daughter).

The Fust-Schöffer press became the first commercially successful printing firm in history.

4. The Mainz Psalter

While the Gutenberg Bible is the first major book printed with movable type, the Fust-Schöffer firm’s first major publication, the Mainz Psalter (1457), is a landmark in its own right.

It was the very first printed book to feature:

• A colophon: A note at the end of the book explicitly stating the printers’ names (Fust and Schöffer).

• A complete date of publication: August 14, 1457.

• Two-color printing: It was beautifully printed in black and red ink, a complex process that was achieved in a single press run.

• Printed decorative initials: It featured elaborate, two-color printed capital letters, rather than leaving a blank space to be filled in by a hand-illustrator.

5. Legacy

Fust was a businessman, not an inventor. While Gutenberg was the genius who invented the technology, Fust was the capitalist who funded it and, ultimately, commercialized it. His actions are often seen as ruthless, but his partnership with Schöffer helped to rapidly advance and spread the new technology of printing.

An interesting side note: The speed and uniformity of his firm’s printing led to accusations of witchcraft in Paris. This, combined with his name, is believed to be one of the historical origins of the legend of Dr. Faust, the man who sells his soul to the devil.

Would you like to know more about the Gutenberg Bible or Peter Schöffer?

— Google Gemini