In the year of 1448, the birth of printing, movable type replaced hand-copied manuscripts. Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of movable type, is known for his heavy blackletter typestyle. This typestyle was popular in Germany at the time. From there, printers were inspired to improve on this system. He was a goldsmith from Mainz, Germany. Gutenberg carved the characters of the alphabet onto metal punches which were driven into other pieces of metal called matrices. The movable type, as found in the drawer above, could fit into printing presses. This process was called letterpress printing.

The first book Gutenberg printed with his movable type was the Bible. The scribes would take years to a lifetime to hand-write them, and now Gutenberg was able to make them in a fraction of the time. His invention enabled everyone to be able to circulate information so much easier.

Just recently, I found an old drawer filled with wooden typography while shopping for antiques. The printer's drawer that now hangs on my wall means so much to me, because previous to this, I only saw pictures of it. In light of studying about print and typography for the last six years, I really appreciate having it. This is not only a *family collectable* because of how much this piece means to me, but because it contains history within itself.

Debbie Jensen, Graphic Designer and Photographer http://www.debjensendesigns.com (I have a picture of it at my website.)

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