Johann Fust

Who was Johann Fust?

Johannes Fust (or John Faust) was Gutenberg's partner. Their first printed work was the Bible, and in about Fust took several copies to Paris and sold them to Charles VII of France, the Archbishop of France and others, without each one knowing. When Charles VII, who had paid 750 crowns for the book, met the archbishop, an embarrassing moment occurred when each discovered that the books were not handwritten and were identical, page by page. Fust and Gutemberg were accused of selling themselves to the devil. Such was the trouble they found themselves in that they released the secret of the printing technique to save their lives.