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Gutenberg Bible, First Real Printed Book > 
In the mid-15th century Johann Gutenberg invented a mechanical way of making books. This was the first example of mass production. He was born about 1400, the son of a rich family in Mainz, Germany. While still a young man, he left for political reasons and settled in Strasbourg. In an attempt to make money, he set up a number of innovative schemes. He may have experimented with printing even at that stage, but probably did not begin until he returned to Mainz in around 1448, when he borrowed a large sum of money.
Before Gutenberg, every book had to be copied by hand. Now it was possible to speed up the process without sacrificing quality. We know for certain about this first printed Bible from a letter of 12 March 1455. On that day Enea Silvio Piccolomini, later Pope Pius II, reported that in Frankfurt, the year before, a marvellous man had been promoting the Bible. Piccolomini had seen parts of it and it had such neat lettering that one could read it without glasses. Every copy had been sold.
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