Exlibris-Ausstellung „Gutenberg und der Buchdruck im Exlibris“

In the organizer's words:

From November 29, 2024 to March 31, 2025, an interesting exhibition of bookplates can be admired in the historic GladbachKabinett of the Carl Brandt Central Library in Mönchengladbach. Ex-libris, this special art of small graphic art, which is linked to book printing in a special way and was created in its shadow, reflects book printing in a variety of pictorial worlds. Numerous prints take up many areas of the craft and illustrate the bibliophile inclination of the owners.

Even more than five hundred years after its premiere, the invention of printing with movable type is without doubt one of mankind's greatest achievements.
With the help of the printed word, ideas and thoughts spread from the middle of the 15th century onwards at a speed previously thought almost impossible. The book thus became a lasting catalyst for science and research and the driving force behind the progress of the Renaissance.

Books continue to inspire intellectual development and the imagination of their owners to this day. Even if the "printed word" has been increasingly appearing in the form of digital media for some time now, the analog book will not disappear in the future, as the latest figures from the book trade prove.
What's more, the classic book is increasingly being referred to again in social media and the younger generation is apparently rediscovering the traditional medium.

The ex-libris exhibition "Gutenberg and book printing in ex-libris" puts both the inventor, Johannes Gutenberg, and the individual steps of classic book printing in the right light. Around 80 prints from all over the world are on display, as well as some of the original instruments of the bookbinders' guild depicted on the bookplates.