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Schœffer continued to print during the whole of the fifteenth century, though towards the end he issued few books, Another printer, Petrus de Friedberg, started to print at Mainz in 1493, and between that time and 1498 issued a fair number of books. About 1480 a group of six or seven books, all undated, were printed at Mainz, which were long supposed to be very early, and not impossibly printed by Gutenberg. One of these was a Prognostication, said to be for the year 1460, and therefore presumably printed in 1459. A copy is preserved in the library of Darmstadt; and some years ago this was examined by Mr. Hessels, who found that the date had been tampered with, and that it should really read 1482.

From 1455 onwards, while the press of Schœffer was busily at work, we lose sight of Gutenberg. Three books, however, all printed about 1460 at Mainz, are ascribed to him. These are the Catholicon (a kind of dictionary) of 1460, the Tractatus racionis et conscientiæ of Matthæus de Cracovia, and the Summa de articulis fidei of Aquinas, both without date. To these may be added a broadside indulgence printed in 1461. Bernard attributes these books to the press of Henry Bechtermuntze, who afterwards printed with the same type at Eltvil. One fact appears to tell strongly against this conclusion. In 1469-70, when Schœffer issued his catalogue, we find these three books in it, the remainder being all of Schœffer’s own production. How did they get into Schœffer’s hands? Had they been printed by Bechtermuntze we should surely find the Vocabularius ex quo also in the catalogue, for he had issued editions in 1467 and 1469. It is more probable that they had formed the stock of a printer who had given up business, and had therefore got rid of all the books remaining on his hands.ssss1