![maxresdefault.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQaWmKmfmwUTE7oZX5qvHHWCi2LQa8eW4ULK1CT9nMqEP/maxresdefault.jpg)

For centuries, the knowledge contained in books was the property of a few, mostly monks and priests. Each book was unique, but for most people of the Middle Ages this problem did not stand - they were illiterate. In the Middle Ages, books were copied by hand, usually in monasteries. Often monks spent years on one book. In 1450, one invention changed the world.

Many people almost imagine how a modern printing press works. But his distant European ancestor, Gutenberg's press, has little in common with his descendant. We will talk about the technique of work on this old device today.

It is generally accepted that the pioneer of printing in Europe was Johann Gutenberg, who assembled the first machine in the middle of the 1440s on the basis of the winemaking press. Of course, after that the technology was improved many times, but today we can clearly see the work of that device thanks to the Museum of the History of Press in Crandelle.

First, the master lubricates the ink (on an oil base, so as not to drain off the metal) special press cushions, upholstered in goose's skin. It is important to distribute the fluid evenly over the entire working surface, otherwise some letters will not be imprinted or spread out. After this, the exact vertical movements of the ink are applied to the printed workpiece - plates with a text template cut out on them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLctAw4JZXE

However, we must once again thank Gutenberg for his work, because it was thanks to his invention that literature eventually gained such a mass distribution.