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The Forum: First Impressions: The Printing Press

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Circa 1450, A bas-relief of the German printing pioneer Johannes Gutenberg  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

02/09/2017 GMT

First Impressions: The Printing Press

BBC World Service - The Forum, First Impressions: The Printing Press

How a fifteenth century innovation changed our printed world

Rajan Datar and guests discuss the printing press, reflecting on how the machine pioneered by fifteenth century entrepreneur Johannes Gutenberg made its mark on history.

When the fifteenth century German entrepreneur Johannes Gutenberg pioneered the printing press, he made an indelible mark on the history of communication. Here was a way to print pages in high quality and high quantities, using methods more efficient than had ever been seen before.

Rajan Datar and guests explore the story of how the printing press was born, and how it changed our world - from the birth of the modern book to the rise of the information society, and the transformation of fields including scholarship and religion.

Rajan is joined by art historian Hala Auji, publisher Michael Bhaskar, scholar Cristina Dondi and the writer John Man.

Photo: Circa 1450, A bas-relief of the German printing pioneer Johannes Gutenberg (c 1400 - 1468) checking his work while his assistant turns the press. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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