Friedrich Gottlob Koenig (17 April 1774 – 17 January 1833) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

best known for his high-speed steam-powered

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

, which he built together with watchmaker

Andreas Friedrich Bauer Andreas Friedrich Bauer (18 August 1783 – 27 December 1860) was a Germans, German engineer who developed the first functional steam-powered printing press with his colleague Friedrich Koenig, who had invented the technology and sold it to ''The ...

. This new style of printing press could print up to 1,100 sheets per hour,Lyons, M. (2011). ''Books : a living history''. Los Angeles : J. Paul Getty Museum, c2011. printing on both sides of the paper at the same time. He moved to London in 1804 and in 1810 was granted a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

on his press, which produced its first trial run in April 1812.Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1998. (pp 130–133) The machine was set up in their workshop, and invitations sent out to potential customers, notably John Walter of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. Amidst much secrecy, for fear of upsetting the existing pressmen, trials were carried out with great success. The first issue of ''The Times'' printed with the new presses was published on 29 November 1814. In August 1817 Koenig returned to Germany because of a disagreement with

Thomas Bensley Thomas Bensley (1759–1835) was an English printer known for fine work, and as a collaborator of Friedrich Koenig. He was an innovator in the fields of steam-powered printing presses, and lithography for book illustration. Life Bensley, the son o ...

, a London book printer partner, who Koenig believed sought sole rights to the new machine. After consideration he chose an abandoned monastery in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

for the premises of the factory. The firm was called

Koenig & Bauer Koenig & Bauer AG (; ) is a German company that makes printing presses based in Würzburg. It was founded by Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Friedrich Bauer in Würzburg in 1817, making it the oldest printing press manufacturer in the world still ...

References

Sources

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External links

Koenig's press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenig, Friedrich 1774 births 1833 deaths 19th-century German inventors German printers People from Eisleben