As part of The Medieval Season series from the BBC, in the installment “The Machine That Made Us,” Stephen Fry travels to France and Germany on the trail of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. The printing press was the world’s first mass-production machine, and Fry shows how it was at the forefront of a cultural revolution that transformed the west. Along the way Fry learns to make paper, cast type, and, best of all, reconstructs a working replica of Gutenburg’s first press. (There are no extant pictures or plans for that first press, so there’s a bit of historical detective work to figure out how the press might have been configured.) It’s a wonderful documentary, and you can watch it on Youtube as 6 10-minute videos.
Oooh, good – I didn’t realise it was up on YouTube. I’ve been urging everyone to see this, too – it’s a fantastic bit of television. (NB for the benefit of UK readers – the whole programme is being shown again on BBC 2 on Friday 25th April at 9 pm – don’t miss it!)
that looks interesting! i might have to check that out when i get the chance!
Thanks for the link. Fascinating stuff.
This sounds great! I’ll look out for it.