This was a magical programme.
From wine press to printing press,
Obvious when the suggestion was made.
The pouring of the font.
Lead, tin and antimony, immediate solidity,
Chemical alchemy.
Artisan plus intellect,
Shirt sleeves, dogged patience,
Muscle, brain power,
Inventive alchemy.
Effort producing such treasure,
Glowing asymmetric jewels
Juxtaposed with geometric compacted type,
The wonderful crackle of a page turned.
The secrecy of dangerous invention, ideas,
Accusations of subversion, or fear of same.
Medieval industrial espionage.
Guttenberg "brown tongued" to protect his invention
Printing papal indulgences to buy,
Buying papal indulgence to print.
Temporality and spirituality combined.
Stabbed in the back with foreclosure,
But new ideas were unstoppable.
Poor Guttenberg,
Face saved with a Palatine knighthood
And pension.
Aborted dreams salved by minor status.
Where would we be without the metal inverted "e"?
The clunk of type rippling in the form,
Caress of ink paddle stippling, glistening across letters,
The anxious creak of press,
Replication.
To watch craftsmen decoding the mystery of
Press construction, and in the process,
Invent problem solving devices.
Engineering alchemy.
It's having the knack, Stephen.
You have a special combination,
Erudition, intellect, humour.
Media alchemy.
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