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The Forum: First impressions: The printing press

A bas-relief of Johannes Gutenberg checking his work while his assistant turns the press, c.1450

19/11/2020 GMT

First impressions: The printing press

BBC World Service - The Forum, First impressions: The printing press

How the machine pioneered by 15th Century entrepreneur Johannes Gutenberg changed history

How the machine pioneered by 15th 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.

[Image: A bas-relief of Johannes Gutenberg checking his work while his assistant turns the press, c.1450. Credit: by Hulton Archive/Getty Images]

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