GUTENBERG'S SECRET

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"From Turfan to Karlstein" was Professor Wolfgang von Stromer's last book. Written between 1997 and 1999, it is the result of many years devoted to the study of paper _manufacture and the beginnings of printing. Thirty of his one hundred and eighty publications deal with these two problems. Wolfgang von Stromer was not only interested in the cultural and historical aspects of this subject, but also in the economic and technical problems of the era covered. The idea of undertaking this work was born in 1990, during a study trip which von Stromer took along the Silk Road, and which also brought him to the Turfan oasis. There he realized that a correlation existed between his research into the history of the technical and economic aspects of that period and the concept of cultural transfer between the West and the Far East. This in turn enabled him to clarify the circumstances in which printing was born. It is most likely that Westerners were inspired by Far Eastern printing techniques which enabled them to develop the instruments that were essential for the invention of printing. Independently of all the known and supposed Asian influences, the genius of a man like Gutenberg was required to make it possible to perfect a system that was adapted to Europe. This is what made it possible for European printing to see the light of day. This fundamental invention was to revolutionize the whole world. Von Stromer's thesis that this cultural transfer played a central role by making it possible for Gutenberg to work out the printing process is presented very convincingly. The author bases his argument on meticulous research, supported by many sources and backed up by superb illustrations.

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