On the Reformation and the Conversion of a Wine Press

The flash of insight which brought Johann Gutenberg (b. c. 1398, d. 1468) to his workshop to fasten his recently perfected movable type to a wine press sparked an explosion that shook the whole world to its foundations. At the time of the Reformation, the wine and oil press was a very common piece of equipment. A simple push on the lever forced a thick plate down to crush grapes or olives and squeeze the juice or oil out into a bucket. This type of press had already been modified in Martin...