John Gutenberg, First Master Printer

Dingelstedt, Franz von, 1814-1881Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 113K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.John Gutenberg, First Master Printer by Franz von DingelstedtAuthor: Dingelstedt, Franz von, 1814-1881,Language: English, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Sep 17, 2015

Editor's review

This work is a literary text by the nineteenth-century German author Franz von Dingelstedt centered on Gutenberg, digitized by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book. Its value lies not in rigorous scholarship on printing history but in showing how nineteenth-century readers imagined and shaped the cultural hero known as the "father of printing." Readers can see how literary historical narrative handles the relationship between technological change, individual fate, and the spirit of the age, and may also use it as supplementary material for studying Gutenberg's reception history. The original is in English and fairly short, suitable for reading in sections on an electronic device. It is best read alongside nonfiction works on printing and book history, noting which details are historical and which are literary embellishment. Readers interested in German literature and publishing culture may find it a light introductory text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in printing and book history who want a literary supplement
Literature students researching nineteenth-century German literature or historical fiction
General readers who enjoy short historical narratives and read e-books in spare moments
Cultural researchers interested in how the image of Gutenberg has been written and transmitted across eras

Not a good fit for

Academic readers seeking rigorous scholarship on Gutenberg's life and printing technology
Readers who need a Chinese translation and are unused to reading English originals
Literary readers expecting full-length novelistic plot and characterization

Reading tips

Read a reliable short history of Gutenberg and movable type first, to distinguish fact from literary elaboration.
Mark passages describing technology, religion, and city life as you read, then summarize the author's mode of historical imagination.
Read alongside other historical works of the same period to observe how nineteenth-century literature handled "great figures."
Use the e-book's search function to locate passages about printing and books for focused close reading.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a biography of Gutenberg or a work of fiction?

The materials indicate it is a literary text by Dingelstedt on the subject of Gutenberg, not an academic biography in the modern sense. It should not be treated as a factual source on printing history but rather as a sample of nineteenth-century literary historical narrative, useful for observing how people of the time shaped Gutenberg's image.

Do I need prior knowledge of printing history to read this book?

Not strictly, but a basic background on Gutenberg and movable type is recommended. With a foundational framework of facts, it is easier to distinguish literary elaboration from historical elements and to see what the author emphasizes, making the reading more rewarding.

Is the language and length of this book suitable for beginners?

The original is in English, a public-domain e-book from Project Gutenberg, and not long. Readers with general English proficiency can attempt it; if English proves difficult, read related Chinese introductions first before deciding whether to read the original in full.

Can this book be cited in academic papers?

It can be cited as supplementary material for research on Gutenberg's reception history or nineteenth-century historical literature, but for historical facts about printing, professional historical works and primary sources should be authoritative. Verify the edition information before citing and clearly distinguish literary text from historical source.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Dingelstedt, Franz von, 1814-1881 Author · German · 1814–1881

Franz von Dingelstedt (Dingelstedt, Franz von, 1814–1881) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre manager who served as director of the Vienna Court Theatre. Public information about his education, the exact dates of his appointments, and any awards is limited, so no speculation is offered here. The library holds one work by him, John Gutenberg, First Master Printer, which, judging by its title, draws on the deeds of the printing pioneer Gutenberg and belongs to literary writing on historical figures. As a poet and playwright, he tended to focus on historical and cultural figures, with a language attentive to stage presence and narrative rhythm; his role as theatre manager also gave his works a clear sense of performance in plotting and staging. This Chinese introduction is based on the library's facts and verifiable public knowledge, without unverified details, and is intended to give readers a basic sense of his profile and creative orientation.