Table Of ContentMARSHALL McLUHAN
THE
UTENBERG
GALAXY
The Gutenberg Galaxy
The Gutenberg Galaxy
The Making of Typographic Man
MARSHALL MeLUHAN
‘With new cssays by W. Terrence Gordon, Elona
Lamberti, and Dominique Sehetfel-Dinand
Furstedition
‘© University of Toronto Prose Incorporated 1062
Reprinted 1966, 1967, 1968, 1980, 1586, 1888, 1992, 1955,
1997, 2000, 2002, 2008, 2008, 2010
‘This edition Estate of Corinne MeLuhan 2011
[Nos css in this sition
49 Caiversiy of ‘Toronto Press
Toruntg Bullilo Tandon
‘xo utppublishing.com
Printed in Canada,
a
ISBN 978-1-4426-1260-3 (paper)
‘ralated ito the following languages
Cation Portuguese
french Polish
German Rernnian
Greek Seibo-Croat
Italian Spanish
Japanese. Swedish
Printed on ucid-ties, 100% post-consumer reeyeled paper
‘with vegetable-based inks
Library and Archives Camula Cataloguing in Publication
McLuhsa, Matshall, 1911. 1980
‘The Gutenberg galany ° the mioking o?lypograyiie magn
‘Marshall McLuban : with new essays by W. ‘esrence
Goadon, Eleva Laroberti and Dominique Schettel-Dunand,
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISIN 978-1-4426- 1267-3
1. Painting. 2. Coromunication and culture. 3. Techoolagy
and civilization, 1. Title
ZIIGMIS2011 686209 C201 1-904384-K
University of Toray Pross acknowledges the financial
assiscauce to ics publishing program of the Canada Conncil for
the Ants aad the Ontarie Acts Cowal
Samet men St
LLniversity of Loronto Bross acknowledges the financial
suppert af the Government of Canada through the Canada
‘Book Fund for its publishing aetivitios
McLuhan’s Compass for the Voyage
to a World of Electric Words
We TERENCE GORDON
Ina leer wsitien to his evtaveson Chrismas Day 1960,
Marshall MeLuhan mentioned thache had drafted a book in
less thaa a month. OF all his publicauons, Ve Cadenberg
Galaxy (henceforth GU, so explosive onthe page, had the
tidest beginnings. The mannstin flowed from MeL.ubon's
‘en unit heh witlen 399 payes. Tete he sopped, 0 thal
the otal ofthe carefully mumbered foolscap shits woul bs
divisible by tees. (8 a syeabal of intllecval and spitual
‘onder, the number thre retail erent impoetane or him
turonsont his Life»
the book's eme beginnings yo bac ot least to MLuban's
teaching days at St Louis Univesity inthe 19368 and "40s,
‘who he diseused ideas conccrning the print mesium and its
flets with colleagues and students, cends, and neighboucs.
1h £951, having finally seen the protean manuserpt oF The
“Mechanic Bride tough the press, aftera vers long
{estan peri, his thoahis rune o thos dscusicns
‘sith Walter Ong and others. Within a you. MeLulian
announced to Ezra Pound that be a3 "writing a book on "The
Ten ofthe Gutenberg Fra" and sent him an sightsen-point
contline ofthe wot, pitching it as the “icon smash:
{undef an emverhaul ol underyratunte education
Today, a hal-ceauury after GG fest appeared sn pri, the
proliferation of electronic media hns inevitably dwarfed the
Scope of the couumentary thar McLuba wrote when
lelevision and computers were sil in sei infancy, bul the
‘passage of time has not diminished the iconoclastic force of
the book. (Not has that proliferauon diminished che need for
am overhaul of urloruradualy edueation } Tis best read not
simply as a harbinger ofa postliterate society that would
Dewilder Tokiannes Guenhery and that McLuhan bisselt
‘auld be shocked to find yo entrenched 30 early in the
‘pventy-fssc century, but as an endunng challenge to
undersiond ils subversive purpose,
Though many commentators radically miscead MeLuhaa
xs imtondiny to hasten the collapse of Book culiur, in fact he
issued a call for shoring it up: “Far from wishing to belie
The Gutenberg mechanical clue, itseemis Foe Tat we
aust now work very hard to retain its achieved values.”"GIG
provides prouressively suonger hints tthe ceader a6 ta bow
this can be donc; the companion yolumne (Lhalerstatins
‘Meatia, promised in CG's closing papes) explicitly states that
ring back culture cam enly be dans hy wyeiding the errors
cof the past.” Pansora’s box cammot be closed," need uot be
closed, provided we ask if the wis sping Ceo it may
Jmpoverish us,
The epver al GG, perhaps promising by iy tile Lo hs
science-fiction chiller. bore two upper-case Gs, set in huge
Iype Linked as oir iwnayes of each oltes, the white Deters
lear against «red background, Thoy hint st a vortex, mack
its surge, and ag in a paralysed, stylized parody of princ
leghnlogy impoverishing Ure integration of the lise senses by
privileging che eve alone. But the intertocking desiga is also.a
labyrinth wilh easy access uals centre, a median shin a
_medior, the Tost world of acovstie space and integra
senses destined for resurgence in the post-Gautenbers era, The
‘huok’s caver hus annguncell theme ily hich MfeTaihan
huges eu the first page of his prologne;*a theme thatis
The cane al is subsequent major work Fram
Taderstanding Media to the posthumously published Tans of
Meda,
‘MeLuhan’s contract tor (79 referred rot a3 “Ihe
‘Gutenterg Esa." a phiase found in its pages, bul he settled on
The Gutesrborg Gohexy, not only Forts aliterative valve hut
to emphasize thaca configuration of events had been spawned
Jy De invention o The printing prons, (Cruxally, the soxennd
principal section of the book dels withthe re coutiguration
‘of Gutenherg's legacy and lays a founuation Coe examining
-ecomrs precipitated by the electronic galaxy and studying
media ina framework still applicable today.) Cialaxy™
allowed McLuhan us asus an mouia-inducesd scents amd 10
‘evoke his theme of effects 93a cluster of environmental
chaagas,
[MeLuthan cices a score of writers and thinkers in his
‘opening puges, incudiny historians of asience, lechnulogs
and mtedicine, ‘Lo these le will later add references to social
and cultural historians, ecomomnisis, and poliical scientists
But iis felling that even 4s hi prologuc draws toa clase and
sets up the opening of the section antitled ‘The Gutenberg
‘Gully. all such references give way ta a Tengthy discussion
of Shakespeare, W.B. Years, Cervaates, Lhis is typical of the
ppeference thal McLuhan consistently displays Fan drassing en
the insights of artists more than on the discursive writings of
analysts. $o, for example, he acknowledges his debt to Harold
Tnmis (veo discussion holo), hus quoles hin less allen thyn he
‘quotes James Joyce. (Ihe chapter gloss far Gtr on page 201
alerts seadess thal Thasmas Nase, the sulject of MeLuhan’s
sloctoralthosis at Cambridge University, was the Flizabcthan
counterpart co James Joyee.) The same Gend is i evidence in
‘Meuhan's seiting predating GC and in ll hs Talse works —
and for reasons which he makes clear
Wyndham Lessa, for example, hau anese conception of
shat a “Life wth all the humbug of living taken ou of
it? MeLuhan had a ness conception of what media could be
shen pul inte Mie hands of wists: The media ure mot bys,
they shuld nor be in the hands of Mother Goose aud Peter
Pan executives ... The nild beamed of techaolagical cultute
Ihave yet t find their bustors or masters, They hive found
nly ther PT. Barnums.”*
‘hough Lewis is quoted in GG oaly for his views on
align antiquavianisin, he had loog since served MeLuhan a a
model for wvciding categorical judgrnomts, MeT ahan’s
impetus towards the principles of umtegratioa and syathesis in
all his wwork cosonnles sith Tosia's ideal oF reinteurating Ihe
ats of sculpnure, painting, and architeemure. An the first
volurne othe jousnal Blast, Lewis, as edilor, had articulated
the principle thatthe artist x not the slave af commation hut
its master; MoLuhan, the navigator ofthe electronic
‘mgelsiror that sxamped dhe Gulenberx era, would Isach fhe
prigciple that understanding media provides the means of
‘heeping thera under contsol, Lewis urdeasiad the
Fraymenting effects of rodhnelagy and spake of thom in terms
that would be closely paralleled in ML uhan’s writings,
Iayinning wilh GG Towis’s eomeupt of xpuce combs Une
cove ofthe idea that McLuhan wanld develop as the
islinction between visual and acoustie space.
Like Lewis, MaLuhan would move beyand his original
aesthetic ntutgss in thy world af he arty by undorstandng he
relationship between art and reetology. McLuhan shared
Lewis's concept ofthe artis being inextricably Linked tothe
‘inevitable encroachments of technaloyy. Path men aceopred
the necessity of facing che effects of technological advances
asdetuched observers of Uhoie causes Lewis's nalion ofthe
vortex as 8 mask of energy iu relation fo beth art and
