Q 01/05

In which German city did Johannes Gutenberg set up the workshop where he printed his famous Bible?

A) Augsburg

B) Mainz

C) Cologne

D) Nuremberg

Answer · why

B) Mainz

It was his home town, a wealthy Rhine city; the Gutenberg Museum was founded there in 1900 for the 500th anniversary of his birth.

Q 02/05

Around what year did Gutenberg develop his movable-type printing press?

A) 1390

B) 1490

C) 1520

D) 1440

Answer · why

D) 1440

He combined four technologies that had matured by the mid-15th century: the screw press, movable type, the bound-book format and mechanised paper-maki...

Q 03/05

What was Gutenberg's trade before he turned to printing?

A) Bookbinder

B) Goldsmith

C) Papermaker

D) Blacksmith

Answer · why

B) Goldsmith

His knowledge of metals let him devise a durable type alloy and a hand mould for casting letters quickly and in quantity.

Q 04/05

Gutenberg's type metal was an alloy of lead, tin and which third metal?

A) Zinc

B) Antimony

C) Copper

D) Bismuth

Answer · why

B) Antimony

The mix melted at a low temperature for cheap, fast casting yet produced hard, durable letters.

Q 05/05

Gutenberg's printing fluid, unlike the traditional water-mixed inks, was made with what base?

A) Alcohol

B) Beeswax

C) Oil

D) Egg white

Answer · why

C) Oil

Water-based mixtures soaked the paper and would not stick to metal; the new formula was closer to a paint.