Opening of the lecture series "Innovation and Technology in the Middle Ages" by Junior Professor Dr. Nikolaus Weichselbaumer (Mainz)

Letterpress printing is regarded as a turning point in media history - but many familiar narratives about its beginnings fall short. This lecture takes a close look at common misconceptions about early letterpress printing and examines the actual change in media around 1450, focusing on the parallel existence of different printing processes, the continuing role of manuscripts and a critical look at the number of editions, gaps in transmission and the basis for research. Finally, a digitally supported methodological approach is presented that opens up new ways of analyzing early print types - and also reveals the limits of quantitative methods.

Nikolaus Weichselbaumer is Junior Professor of Book Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. After studying book science and German studies in Erlangen, he completed his doctorate with a thesis on the typographic work of Hermann Zapf. His research combines questions of technical and economic history with digital methods of book research, in particular the automated analysis of typographic features. His work focuses on the history of type foundries, the materiality of early printing processes and pattern recognition in historical prints. He leads several third-party funded projects, including the German-British project Werck der Bücher.

Welcome: Marcus Hoffmann M. A.
Moderation: Dr. Christine Magin