Ich drucke! Signet, Marke und Druckerzeichen seit dem Zeitalter Gutenbergs

Did Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of letterpress printing, have a business card? Probably not. However, his successors introduced the so-called printer’s mark: predecessor to the publishing logo. These witty, creative ‘business cards’ have adorned the first or last pages of books since the early days of book printing, identifying the printers responsible. The aim was to showcase and sell both themselves and the printed books.

To mark the 625^th anniversary of Gutenberg’s birth, the Gutenberg Museum Mainz is dedicating a first exhibition to the pictorial genre of printer's marks. The accompanying volume opens up the world of printers and publishers from the beginnings of book printing to the present day, and includes texts on processes in the printing workshop, the printer’s job, and specific case studies.

• The history of book printers, artists and publishers – made clear on the basis of their printer’s marks from a previously unknown museum collection
• Fascinating case studies from history and the present day, e.g. on the development of the Deutscher Kunstverlag logo
• Exhibition, Gutenberg-Museum, Mainz, November 27, 2025 to February 2026