Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press (Part 1 of 6)

Anarkokommunist Says:

Jan 9, 2009 - Ok! Thank you!

xxmonickkkkaxx Says:

Jan 29, 2009 - God I love Stephen Fry, what a brillant mind.

ELuhn Says:

Jan 31, 2009 - The European (Gutenberg's) innovation was moveable type, which made all the difference. By making blocks of individual letters, instead of "one-offs" of pictures (the only way for the Chinese to do it, because of the nature of their language), any book could be quickly typeset and printed cheaply. Gutenberg's press thus actually created the demand for books in Europe, rather than the other way round.

Fredisnice Says:

Feb 19, 2009 - The chinese invented paper. Before Gutenberg invented the printing press everything was still done by hand. Every book before the printing press was all hand written.

Anarkokommunist Says:

Feb 19, 2009 - Ok! It is amazing that no one came up with the idea before Gutenberg.

belzondium Says:

Mar 24, 2009 - If you think the Chinese invented the press, I'm afraid you're mistaken. They had something called woodblock printing. First of all, there's no machine involved. Each page is made by placing the paper upon a stationary block of wood, which is first daubed over with ink. Then you have to pound all over the surface of the paper to make the impression. Not as easy as it sounds- I've tried it. It takes a high level of skill to finish a readable page in less than a minute.

belzondium Says:

Mar 24, 2009 - (cont'd) ...and an even higher level of skill to make a good-looking copy. Secondly, there was no movable type. To make the woodblock you had to cut by knife all the white areas that would appear on each page. That's even more labour and skill intensive. The preparation involved was longer than preparing a book for the press with Gutenberg's movable type. With the time required and the skill required being exponentially greater, the Chinese method can't even be compared to Gutenberg. Next ;)

belzondium Says:

Mar 24, 2009 - ELuhn, It's not just movable type. It's the machine itself. All you had to do was pull the lever and pop! a page was finished. Rubbing it against the woodblock, in the Chinese manner, requires skill and much more time, to finish even one page.

wisesatyr72 Says:

Apr 1, 2009 - its oscar wilde..

DMEB Says:

Apr 3, 2009 - Maybe they did, but never got the chance to show it off. Its a bit like the lightbulb and the telephone.Many people have been credited with their invention as well.

DMEB Says:

Apr 3, 2009 - i missed this on television. when was it broadcast on bbc4? great stuff...

Ph47K47 Says:

Jun 1, 2009 - Any one know where i could get a full schematic of the machine? Or at least an exploded picture of it?

DaveHealey1 Says:

Jun 22, 2009 - Watch 5:45 where he says there arn't any machines or pictures. Then watch the rest of the videos where he builds one :p

rabbitwho Says:

Jul 20, 2009 - Christ I'd love to work in the British library, that would be amazing.. I'd also love to go in there and say.. "Do you have Great Expectations?"... Yes.. we have every book. "Oh.. what about Steppenwolf?" Yes.. do you want me to get it for you? "No no... So do you have The little Mermaid?" Yes. I bet people do it to them every single day and they have to charge them for it.

LuckyDucky511 Says:

Jul 21, 2009 - we watched parts of this today in our Medieval German class. So awesome!

bastardtubeuser Says:

Jul 21, 2009 - thank god for the germans.

Bigfatbutterfly02 Says:

Jul 29, 2009 - haha I love the way he pronounces Johannes Gutemberg. SO English :p

0deer0se Says:

Aug 4, 2009 - Fascinating

ihab1000 Says:

Aug 19, 2009 - TY so much for uploading this! its on telly right now and my ignoramus family wont watch it.

CherokeePioneer Says:

Sep 5, 2009 - He's the best narrator ever.

aptomten Says:

Sep 18, 2009 - Does anyone know what the music at 00:05 is?

ViktorValentine Says:

Oct 8, 2009 - Found this documentary completely by accident and what a happy accident it was! Im already enjoying this.

neongecko06 Says:

Oct 12, 2009 - "Pet Hens Fry" XD

YubiShines Says:

Oct 28, 2009 - Delicious!

matfitz Says:

Nov 1, 2009 - David Attenborough is. Don't be silly.