A single testimony similar to either of the above in favor of Haarlem, would have been hailed with delight by any of the writers in the latter half of the sixteenth century, and their tribe of followers who advocate the claims of that city; but what follows is much more forcible and decisive.
“Of all the authors to whom the world is indebted for a particular account of the discovery of printing,” says, Mr. Palmer,[94] “Abbot Trithemius justly claims pre-eminence; both upon account of his living nearest to the time when the art originated, which he tells us was in his younger years; as well as his care to derive his intelligence on the subject from the purest sources. We have two noble testimonies out of his chronicle; one from the first part entitled Chronicon Spanheimense, wherein, speaking of the year 1450, he says: ‘That about this time, the art of printing and casting single types was found out anew in the city of Mentz, by one John Gutenberg, who having spent his whole estate in this difficult discovery, by the assistance and advice of some honest men, John Faust and others, brought his undertaking at length to perfection; that the first improver of this art, after the inventor, was Peter Schœffer de Gernsheim, who afterwards printed a great many volumes; that the said Gutenberg lived at Mentz, in a house called Zum-junghen, but afterwards known by the name of the printing house.’
“The next passage, which is fuller, and for its singularity and decisiveness deserves to be set down at length, is taken out of the second part of Trithemius’s chronicle, entitled Chronicon Hirsaugiense:—‘About this time (anno 1450) in the city of Mentz in Germany upon the Rhine, and not in Italy, as some writers falsely affirmed, the wonderful and till then unknown art of printing books by metal types (characterizandi) was invented and devised by John Gutenberg, citizen of Mentz, who, having almost exhausted his whole estate in contriving of this new method, and labouring under such insuperable difficulties, in one respect or other, that he began to despair of and to throw up the whole design; was at length assisted with the advice and purse of John Faust, another citizen of Mentz, and happily brought it to perfection. Having therefore, begun with cutting characters of the letters upon wooden planks, in their right order, and completed their forms, they printed the vocabulary called the Catholicon; but could make no further use of those forms, because there was no possibility of separating the letters, which were engraven on the planks, as we hinted before. To this succeeded a more ingenious invention, for they found out a way of stamping the shapes of every letter of the Latin alphabet, in what they called matrices, from which they afterwards cast their letters, either in copper or tin, hard enough to be printed upon, which they first cut with their own hands. It is certain that this art met with no small difficulties from the beginning of its invention, as I heard thirty years ago from the mouth of Peter Schœffer de Gernsheim, citizen of Mentz, and son-in-law to the first inventor of the Art. For when they went about printing the Bible, before they had worked off the third quire it had cost them already above 4000 florins. But the afore-mentioned Peter Schœffer, then servant, (famulus,) and afterwards son-in-law, to the first inventor John Faust, as we hinted before, being a person of great ingenuity, discovered an easier method of casting letters, and perfected the art as we now have it. These three kept their manner of printing very secret for some time, until it was divulged by their servants, without whose help it was impossible to manage the business, who carried it first to Strasburg, and by degrees all over Europe. Thus much will suffice concerning the discovery of this wonderful art, the first inventors of which were citizens of Mentz. These three first discoverers of printing, viz. John Gutenberg, John Faust, and Peter Schœffer his son-in-law, lived at Mentz, in a house called Zum-junghen, but ever since known by the name of the printing house.’”[95]
Equally clear and to the point, if not more so, as well as the first published in point of time, is the statement given by Johan. Koelhoff, who in 1499 printed the following particulars in the Cologne Chronicle, on the authority of Ulric Zell of Hainault, by whom the art of printing was first introduced to Cologne. Zell learned the art directly from the first Mentz printers; and in the colophons of two small works printed in the years 1466 and 1467, he styles himself a clerk of the diocese of Mentz. The statement is as follows:—
“Of the printing of Books, and when and by whom, this Art was discovered, of which the utility cannot be too highly appreciated, &c.
“Item: This most important art was first found out in Germany, at Mentz on the Rhyne. And it is a great honour to the German nation that such ingenious men were found in it. This took place about the year of our Lord M.CCCC.XL., and from that time to the year L., this art and whatever appertains to it were rendered more perfect. And in the year M.CCCC.L. which was a jubilee year, they began to print; and the first book that was printed was the Bible in Latin, and it was printed with larger characters than those which are now used for printing Missals. Item: Although this art, as we have said, was found out in Mentz in the way in which it is commonly used; nevertheless the prototype of it (‘vurbildung,’ præfiguratio) was found in Holland, in the Donatuses (den Donaten) which had been before printed there; and it is from and out of these, that the beginning of this art was taken. And this manner has been found much more masterly and subtle than that which before existed, and it has become more and more ingenious. Item: A person named Omnibonus writes in the preface to Quinctilian, and in other books, that a certain Frenchman, called Nicholas Genson, first discovered this important art; which is clearly not true. For there are persons now living, who can attest, that books were printed at Venice before Nicholas Genson went there, and began to sculpture and set up type. But the first inventor of printing was a citizen of Mentz, born at Strasburg, called Johan. Gudenburch, Gentleman. Item: From Mentz the said art was first carried to Cologne, then to Strasburg, and then to Venice. The commencement and progress of this art has been told me expressly by word of mouth, by the revered master Ulrich Tzell of Hainault,[96] the printer, still living at Cologne in the present year M.CCCC.XCIX., by whom the art was first brought to Cologne. Item: There are ill-informed persons who say that books were printed in more ancient times; but that is contrary to the truth, as in no country are books to be found printed in those times.”
Zell’s account is confirmed by the writer of the Nurimberg Chronicle, printed by Koburger in 1493, who states that in the year 1450, the noble art of typography was first invented by John Gutenberg at Mentz.
To the like effect is the testimony of Marc Ant. Coccius Sabellicus (b. 1436; d. 1506,) in the sixth chapter of his Universal History, printed at Venice in 1504.
In 1502, Wimpheling, the earliest writer in favour of the pretensions of Strasburg, states, in his Epitome Rerum Germanicarum, that Gutenberg was “the inventor of a new art of writing (ars impressoria), which might also be called a divine benefit, and which he happily completed at Mentz.”