Press history collection
With its extensive holdings of periodical German-language and international newspapers, magazines, intelligence sheets, gazettes, prints, facsimiles, and other documents on the history of printing and publishing, the Press History Collection traces the more than 400-year history of the medium. Numerous technical collection items illustrate the development of news transmission, printing technology, communication, and its control or censorship.
Background
Gutenberg's invention of printing with movable type also paved the way for the printed newspaper. After merchants had already been spreading news written by hand in the 16th century, Johann Carolus of Strasbourg produced the first printed newspaper in 1605. In 1650, the world's first daily newspaper appeared in Leipzig, making political events accessible to broader sections of society.
The museum's unique holdings highlight the diversity of periodicals that have appeared since the 17th century. There is a rich collection of around 5,000 individual issues, particularly for the period from 1800 to the present day.
