Gutenberg Museum MOVED - World Museum of the Printing Arts in interim quarters

Priceless Bibles shine inside a floor-to-ceiling black box, guarded by security technology like in a James Bond film. Instagram logos and photos from Germany's Top Model meet historical illustrations and documents. Take a selfie with the media card. The new interim exhibition at the Gutenberg Museum MOVE has many facets. It focuses on the life and inventions of the man who revolutionized the media and changed the world over 550 years ago. During a tour, our author Marina Noble also finds out why books used to have white spots and what a printer's kiss is.

A man-sized statue of the main figure shows: This is the entrance to the Gutenberg MOVED exhibition. This has found a temporary home in the left-hand section of the Natural History Museum in Reichklarastraße. Museum Director Dr. Ulf Sölter warmly welcomes us there. The Rhinelander, who has been in charge of the Gutenberg Museum since 2022, takes the opportunity to give us an introduction. He immediately makes it clear that the exhibition here in the former convent of the Poor Clares is set to run for years until the new museum building is completed. A lot has therefore been invested. Around 15 million euros have been spent on renovating the rooms, the exhibition itself and transportation.

"Less is more" is the principle: only selected pieces from the museum's large collection are on display here in an area of around 1000 square meters. Ulf Sölter emphasizes: "We want to visually convey knowledge that has access to people's lives with topicality and familiar imagery. The museum should be fun." He and his team also chose the name MOVED carefully: This conveys physical movement and relocation, which took six weeks to get there. At the same time, it stands for new beginnings and movement - the museum wanted to reinvent itself. Last but not least, the message: Gutenberg moved the world.

Gutenberg - a revolutionary?

At the very least, it has triggered a media revolution. Previously, books had only been handwritten or printed in small editions. Gutenberg's new process meant that books could be produced faster, cheaper and in larger quantities. This made them accessible to more people. Many were able to inform themselves, educate themselves and develop an opinion - with an impact on society as a whole. It became possible for ideas such as the Reformation or democracy to spread. Gutenberg's outstanding achievement is not the invention of printing. Rather, he optimized the complex process of book printing in many areas, coordinated it and made it suitable for everyday use.

The exhibition goes beyond Gutenberg and opens up insights into the wide world of book, printing and lettering art. This ranges from paper and bookbinding to lettering and typography. It is exciting that failures are also on display, i.e. processes that were not successful. Time and again it becomes clear that printing was and is also a way of earning money. This is true in the early days and today.

People didn't tick so differently in the past

But let's get started: a large vaulted room is dedicated to "media history(ies)". The Natural History Museum used to house the quaggas, an extinct subspecies of the steppe zebra, here. Now the walls are adorned with familiar logos from Instagram, YouTube and Twitter combined with historical motifs. We learn that people didn't tick so differently in the past. They just had different options and media.

This is shown by six themed islands: People have always wanted to "describe their world". In the past, they created chronicles, printed city views and writers wrote travel novels. Today we have travel blogs, magazines and Google Maps. Printed matter could and can serve to educate, but also to propagandize.

It has also always been about showing off, about "unfolding splendor". Back then, books were "pimped" with gold leaf, colored lettering and illustrations. A cool smartphone case and a classy fountain pen are the status symbols of our time. Elaborately staged weddings have always been about "cultivating an image" - even today. Selfies, casting shows such as "Germany's next Top Model" and social media in general also serve to cultivate one's own image.

Media card for medieval selfie

Lots of food for thought! The "media card" helps you explore the individual stations. The DIN A5 sheet with integrated chip activates information stations and is a projection surface for animations. Visitors can also use it to take a selfie, which projects them into the backdrop of a medieval printing workshop. Printed out on the paper of the media card or as a download via QR code, this is a nice souvenir to take home with you.

We move on to the heart of the exhibition: In the former dining room of the monastery, a black box, a black, steel cube, rises room-high. A glass display case shines inside. Inside are four books: three of the famous Gutenberg Bibles from around 1454 and a missal with different scripts.

For Director Sölter, entering the room is a "spiritual moment" every time, as it is a testimony to world history. Naturally, these are given very special protection: with an "internal climate" for the lowest possible temperature fluctuations and with security technology "like in a James Bond film".

One of the director's favorite exhibits are the block books behind the black box. For these, carvers worked on one block of wood per page. If they made a mistake, all their work was for nothing. Corrections were not possible. So there were also inventions in book printing that did not catch on. And: "The block books are an example of the fact that we are not just talking about Gutenberg," explains Ulf Sölter.

Gutenberg a phantom?

A little bit. Not even his exact date of birth is known - sometime around the year 1400. His original name was probably Johannes Gensfleisch zum Gutenberg. The "zum Gutenberg" comes from the house where he was born. At the time, it was customary to add the name of the house to the birth name or replace it altogether.

Nobody knows what Gutenberg looked like. The first portrait was not created until around 100 years after his death. It was pure fiction, which is how people imagined a patrician. Four such portraits hang right at the entrance to the exhibition.

Picture journey leads upwards

Even the stairwell becomes an experience at Gutenberg MOVED. On the walls, drawings by illustrator Jörn Kaspuhl take you on a "pictorial journey through history". The timeline starts in 1400 in Gutenberg's time. It is followed chronologically by important stations of the Gutenberg Museum and famous visitors to Mainz such as the Queen (1978), Gorbachev (1994), George W. Bush (2005) and, most recently, Angela Merkel and Federal President Steinmeier.

Printer's kiss and white spots

There are two printing workshops for demonstrations on the second floor. Here Tobias Gebhardt, a trained off-set and book printer, shows us how things were done in the old days. He produces a page using a historical press. As he removes the paper from the printing plate, a loud smacking sound is heard - this sound is called the printer's kiss. Back then, printing was only done in black and with white spots. Book painters and illustrators later added colors and illustrations to these gaps. Back then, the professions involved a much greater division of labor than today.

The display case for the bookbindery is another eye-opening experience. In Gutenberg's day, books were sold unbound. The loose pages were then processed by another profession: the bookbinder. This meant that the buyer could have the binding, usually a leather-covered wooden cover, individually designed. Embossing and fittings decorated the unique pieces.

Gutenberg - a start-up?

Definitely yes. Gutenberg had one goal: he wanted to print like the monks wrote. To achieve this, he and his team experimented with all parts of the printing process in order to optimize them: From the metal of the letters to the printing press. Like a start-up, they tinkered, suffered setbacks and kept on tinkering. Gutenberg needed money for this, took out loans and involved partners.

Short films in the cinema and workshops in the print store

Next door in the cinema, two short films are shown that explore many of the museum's themes relating to Johannes Gensfleisch and Gutenberg. One floor up, the print store invites visitors to try out printing for themselves by booking in advance. The motifs include many well-known ones such as the cathedral, Mainz 05 and the Mainzelmännchen. With explanations and the actual printing, the experience takes around an hour and is also popular for children's birthday parties.

On the way back, we stop at the 3D city model of Mainz. It shows the city in the 15th century and the places where Gutenberg worked. Here, too, the exhibition remains true to its motto: lighting and audio narration bring it to life. Finally, it is worth browsing a little in the bright museum store. This is housed in a separate pavilion next to the ticket office.