Regards

Adrian

 

Gutenberg Bible
A possible printing method by Adrian Kerton

Overview

This paper suggests a method used by Gutenberg to print his Bible and was inspired by the Television Programme.

"BBC Renaissance Secrets 2 What Did Gutenberg Invent?"

"This programme detailed the investigations by Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Paul Needham and concluded that Gutenberg did invent movable type, but his method of creating or casting each letter was different to the way we've always thought. "

Conclusions

Based on my simple practical experiment which duplicated the "three dimensional structure" commented on in the programme, I conclude that each letter was individually scribed before the material was cut and I propose a method of working.

From inspecting magnified samples of text I also suggest that there are distinctive groups of styles of letter, and it may be possible to attribute the styles to individual craftsmen. Further work may be able to provide a guide to the number of craftsmen that were involved in scribing the letters.

By inspecting typefaces used in different documents it may be possible to accurately date the introduction of cast moveable type.

Significant Statements From The Programme

• No letters on the same page matched.
• Some letters matched on separate pages
• The letters could not have been made using the system of matrices and punches
• Some letters included a "three dimensional structure" or "layering feature" which was assumed resulted from a "three dimensional feature" in the type face production.

TV Programme Experiment

Observation of the "three dimensional feature" prompted the hypothesis that Gutenberg may have used a series of tools to produce the moulds for each letter and the "three dimensional feature" resulted from the tools creating impressions at slightly different depths, resulting in raised features on the type.

My Experiment.

As I watched the programme I was struck by the typeface used. It made extensive use of straight lines and in most cases, used constant widths for all features of the letter. The statement that no letter was repeated on the same page but letters were repeated on other pages, led me to conclude as did the programme, that the letters were not cast from the same mould.

I started to sketch out some letters on a pad and as I drew the diamond shape found on many letters, it struck me that it looked just like the "three dimensional structure" featured on the programme.

I then made a simple wooden type where I first scribed the diamond shape and then the uprights. I removed the unwanted wood with a chisel. I did not have printers ink available so I used black paint as the medium and immediately reproduced the "three dimensional feature".

I then made another simple letter type using an aluminium block that I had available. I scribed the diamond shape and the uprights and removed unwanted metal using a "Dremel" rotary engraving tool. I printed using ink from a marker pen. Again the "three dimensional feature" appeared, just as seen in the programme.

Appendix 1 contains the scanned Images of my test prints, along with a picture taken from the programme’s web site. The actual prints show a better match to the items shown on the TV programme, as I do not have access to a high quality scanner.

Analysis of the text

I took Images of the first 11 lines of the Bible published by Octavo on the Internet. The number of Images was dictated by the slowness of the process using a domestic telephone line. I was struck by the apparent similarities between letters even though the programme was definite that each letter on the same page was unique. I concentrated on three letters. I grouped these by similarities and I suggest that because of the repeatability of the similarities, they are the result of the scribing methods used by the craftsmen, rather than the removal of the metal or variations in the print process.

There will be debate about which letter falls into the different styles and there will be corner cases where the differences are slight, however over all it does seem that there are at least 3 different styles involved in these first lines of the page.

Thoughts on Gutenberg's Method.

He hadn't the technology to use the system of matrices and punches for whatever reason, possibly not having a suitable casting alloy available at that time Therefore his craftsmen made individual letter, this explains why no letter is repeated on the same page but appears on other pages.

How did they make the letters? Perhaps by scribing the outline of the letters onto a large metal block as described in appendix 2. Each scribed letter would then be sawn from the block and given to individual craftsmen to remove the unwanted metal. This would ensure constant dimensions from the base to the ink surface of each letter. Some of these scribing marks would remain on the letters after cutting, and these markings [due to a greater concentration of ink in the grooves] give rise to the apparent "three dimensional feature" seen on the programme. It is not the product of some height difference in the type, it is just an optical illusion. Unfortunately I do not have access to the work described in the TV programme so I cannot verify markings on other letters, however some of the examples taken from the web show similar features.

Why are the diamonds often seen as the "three dimensional feature"? To get repeatability, especially in the height and vertical position of each letter, it would be best to first scribe the tops and bottoms of the letters using some aids to define the exact positions on the block. In the Gutenberg font, diamonds are used at the top and bottom of many letters. It would thus be logical to scribe these first and then fill in the vertical features and the scribing marks that are left cause the "three dimensional feature"

I would expect variations in the scribing methods, depending on the abilities and styles of the individual craftsmen. There would of course also be variations in letters caused by the inking and printing process.

If different craftsmen scribed the same letters then some may show the "three dimensional feature" and others may not, it would depend on their individual styles. The appendices show examples of the letters ‘a’, ‘r’, and ‘e’ taken from one page of the Bible, similarities are observed which suggest that at least three craftsmen scribed the letters and the same craftsman scribed examples of these letters.

From Crafting Individual Letters To Casting Of Type?

Individually crafting letters is a time consuming process, [perhaps it explains the cost of printing the first Bible.] and the use of straight lines for the font, wherever possible, would speed the process of scribing the letters before cutting metal. Once the ability to cast letters is available, only some thirty individual letters and characters need to be crafted, thus it would be feasible to move from a font using predominantly straight lines to fonts using curves as the time taken to produce the type would be dramatically reduced. Research into accurately dated printed works and the font changes, might identify the date of the introduction of cast type.

Experimental Print Results

Set 1

This first set of three prints are taken from a wood block using paint instead of printers ink. The effect of the diamond apparently standing proud of the rest of the feature, clearly shows and is more striking on the originals.

 

Set 2

Two scans at different settings of the test print made with a metal block. Ink from a common marker pen was used. The impression of the diamond standing out from the vertical sections of the letter can clearly be seen and is visually the same as the Images of the "three dimensional feature" discussed on the television programme.

From the BBC TV Programme website.

The "three dimensional feature" discussed on the programme can be seen at the bottom left hand corner of the image

Examples from the Web

Here the "three dimensional feature" can be seen on these enlarged Images taken from the BBC website

 

 

Suggested Gutenberg Method

First take large metal block – it would not have to have been very thick

 Then Scribe guide lines for the vertical positions of the letters on the block.

  

 

 The letters are then inscribed, for simplicity we will take the letter 'n'.

First scribe the diamonds on the guidelines, this clearly defines the top and bottom of the letter.
Then add the uprights.

 

The letters would then be cut from the block to make the movable type.

 

The letter a has space around it.

 

These two letters seem to run into each other, suggesting the letter blocks were cut very close to the edges of the letter, or they were cut as one.

 

Examples Of Styles of Letter.

If we look at one page of the bible, within just a few lines we apparently see what appears to be separate and distinct styles for some of the letters. These classifications are my own and purely subjective. [ It would be useful to subject all the letters on a single page to classification of styles using a neural network computer, which could possibly sort types with more accuracy than the human eye.] These distinctive styles suggests that these letters were scribed by different craftsmen. I noticed some variations in size which may be due to the copying process however these groupings concentrate on style not dimensions.

Sample Images taken from the first 11 lines, both columns of Octavo pages on the web Folio 4: 1v /2r.

http://www.octavo.com

Letter ‘a’ 

Letter ‘e’ 

What is interesting is that the first letter in each group above show a distinctive placing of the lower diamond shape, its leading edge blends into the upright left limb of the letter. The other letters show a better delineation of the lower diamond[s] and different placing. This characteristic is perhaps a ‘signature’ of the craftsman that worked on the letters, and therefore suggests that the leading a, r and e, of the above groups were crafted by the same person. More rigorous analysis of number of pages of the bible might allow and estimation of the number of different craftsmen that worked on producing the text.

Style definitions for the letter 'a'.

These definitions are based on the groupings in appendix 5. They appear to be characteristics of the type used,
rather than the printing process, though this needs to be debated.

Style 1 The curve meets the lh limb towards the front of the limb and the top left hand corner of the lh limb is rounded to meet the curve. The placing of the left diamond is to the right so the left edge merges into the lh limb, and the leading edge is rounded. The cross is well defined and horizontal.
Style 2 The curve is finely tapered where it meets the lh limb towards the rear of the limb, The top of the lh limb is slghtly concave. The cross is weak. The left diamond is more centrally placed on the left limb compared with Style1 and the edge is straight. The two diamonds are separated.
Style 3 The curve is well defined and meets the lh limb towards its back edge. The top of the lh limb is straight and protrudes to the left. The cross is horizontal and sometimes weak at its centre. The left diamond protrudes to the left and the two diamonds meet.
Style 4 The curve is of a more consistent width over its length, the two diamonds are well defined and just touch. The cross slopes, it is not horizontal.

Letter 'a'Grouped By Similarities

Style 1

 

Style 2

 

Style 3

 

Style 4

 

Unclassified

 

 

Letter 'e' Grouped By Similarities

I found difficulty in grouping this letter compared with the relatively clear groupings of 'a' and 'r'.

Style 1
The bottom diamond blends into the upright limb, the diagonal is narrow. 

Style 2.
The bottom diamond blends into the upright limb. The diagonal is not so fine as in group 1,though this could be just a variation in the printing process.

Style 3.
The bottom diamond is more centrally placed on the upright limb. The diagonal is broken in the same place.

Style 4.
The bottom diamond is more centrally placed on the upright limb. The diagonal is fine.

Style 5.
The whole letter is thicker.

Style 6.
The diagonal is broken in the same place, the diamond is different to group 2.

Style 7.
The diagonal is fine.

Style 8.
Unclassified.