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History of Communication: History of Printing |
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by: Jess Matthews Rachel Moyle November 2nd 1999 History of Printing Some would argue that printing began with Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in the 1450s. Several sources beg to differ, placing humanity's need for information as the cause of the Neanderthal's extinction nearly thirty thousand years ago. Arguably, printing is part of four revolutions in the use of information, including the first notational system, the first writing system, the first printing press, and the first microprocessor (Rothschild 1993). Archaeologist Alexander Marshack presented evidence linking humanity's first information revolution to the extinction of the Neanderthals. Marshack was fascinated by markings etched on a reindeer antler that were identified as symbols perfectly matching the phases of the moon. This is the first example of the unique quality of being able to write, which is characteristic only to human beings. This eventually evolved into humanity's first writing system 5,000 years ago in Sumer. The third revolution was launched by Gutenberg's invention of movable type printing, and the fourth by development of the microprocessors (Rothschild 1993). Scholars in the history of ancient China have questioned the above view. The first discrepancy is in the invention of movable type - there is evidence that it was invented in the middle of the tenth century by the Chinese Pi Sheng (Messadie 1997). Despite the differences in opinion, there must first be a desire to acquire information from printed materials before the importance of the invention can be assessed. In the beginning, to convey information, various materials were inscribed by the literate to transport information. In ancient China, jade was used to express the ideas of the emperor, likewise, ivory was used by nobles and higher officials, and bamboo slips fastened by silk cord were utilized by the literate commoners. This bamboo was inscribed by a pointed bamboo or wooden stylus (called a pi) dipped in black varnish (called ts'i). In 501 B.C., the penal code of the Chou dynasty was recorded in such a way. Later, this evolved into use of pure silk and beaten silkworm cocoons soaked and beaten in water to remove course particles (Laufer 1931). Early pre-printing techniques, including the use of seals of stamping on clays and later on silk or paper, of stencils to duplicate designs in textiles and paper, and of inked impressions taken from stone inscriptions, existed at this point in time (Tsuen-Hsuin 1988). Paper, as we know it today, was invented in A.D. 105 by Ts'ai Lun (his biography is contained in the Annals of the Later Han Dynasty), who conceived the idea of using tree bark or bast fiber, hemp, old rags, and fishing nets for paper. The production of paper remained a monopoly of China until A.D. 751, when Arab captives escaped and introduced the process to Samarkand. It reached Baghdad in A.D. 794, but the first paper mill would not be created until 1690 by an American, William Rittenhouse, in Roxborough, Pennsylvania (Laufer 1931). The ink under the Han dynasty was prepared from mineral products, such as graphite, mineral coal, and bitumen. In the third century A.D., this changed to the use of vegetable inks (lamp black from pine wood blended with glue and aromatic substances) (Laufer 1931). The early use of printing in China can be attributed to the early invention of paper, the specialized use made of seals and rubbings for duplication, the greater need for mechanical aid in duplicating texts written in a complex ideographic script, the standardization of Confucian texts used for civil service examinations, and the demand for great quantities of Buddhist scriptures which could not be met by hand-printing (Laufer 1931). The books mentioned above were not the same as the books with which we are familiar today. The first books were in rolls, followed by the Buddhist folded books, and the stitched and paged book of today did not take form until the eleventh century. Along with the printing of these books came the first newspaper, The Peking Gazette which began to appear in A.D. 713, and was issued daily until the collapse of the Manchu dynasty in 1911 (Laufer 1931). In addition to the idea of the four revolutions of human use of information, there is the issue of the transportation of ideas. Ideas traveled through technological innovations, trade, war, and religion; the printing press, telegraph and airwaves were merely the means of preservation and faster travel of these ideas (Huyghe 1997). Although the rest of the world was far away, the insight of China concerning the conquest of knowledge would eventually reach it. The quest for the printed word was contagious; the Islam community in 1001 boasted of Cordoba's library of 400,000 volumes. Unfortunately, most news was still blocked from the rest of the world. For example, an Islamic physician discovered that tuberculosis was contagious, and the news did not reach Europe for another hundred years. While China's inventions slowly crept over the continent, China herself boasted that one in twenty Chinese went on to higher education (1001 1997). In 1476, the press finally reached Britain, either from China or from Gutenberg, and Caxton Press Westminster became the first printer in Britain. (--- 1966). In 1505, Conrad Peutinger's printing of the Rominae vetustatis fragmenta introduced the novelty of graphical representation in secular work (Wood 1998). One source conflicts with the Chinese and names the earliest dated printed book the Mainz Psalter of 1457. Ten copies were made of this book of thirty-one line indulgences by Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer (Butler 1940). Anglo-Saxon printing began in the mid sixteenth century with a course on Anglo-Saxon fonts at Cambridge. The need arose from raids on monasteries in 1535, in which many medieval books were destroyed, and the remains were given to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1560s. In the seventeenth century, Sir Henry Spelman published works using exclusively Anglo-Saxon fonts (Clement). The spread of printing in America, and everywhere else, was determined by closely related circumstances and conditions. The most significant of these conditions were education, the number of people the press would serve, availability of paper and type, freedom of thought, equipment, conditions of work, and proficiency of printers. The view of the southern colonies on printing, expressed by Governor Berkeley, is as follows: "I thank God there are no free schools, nor printing, for learning has brought disobedience, and heresy, and sects into the world, and printing has divulged them and libels against the best government. God keep us from both." Conversely, William Penn started printing in Pennsylvania when the colony was barely three years old. The first censorship of the press in the colonies was in 1667, when the governor of Massachusetts ordered censorship of Kempis' Imitation of Christ (Berthold 1970). Two different methods were used in the origins of printing: relief and intaglio. Relief printing is printing such that the marks to be printed stand higher than the non-printed surface. Intaglio is the opposite (the printed parts are hollow). Much later, in the nineteenth century, a third technique, in use today, would be added. This is called the planographic technique, also known as lithography, and it is based on chemical principles that allow the printing surfaces to be on the same level (--- 1966) Approaching the year 2000 allows society to survey the terrain already traveled. Before the printing press was invented, the prerequisites for printing were already in existence. There was a growing audience of readers and merchants interested in international book trade as well as quality materials of which to print. In early 16th century England, Sir Thomas More argued that more than half the population could read. However, he may have exaggerated that point to prove his argument (Clair 1976). With the invention of printing, however, authors and scholars were able to enjoy the advantages of economy of production and exact duplication of established texts (Scholar 1964). History tends to begin the story of printing with that of Gutenberg. Often Ben Franklin's name is also thrown into the discussion. In some cases, names like Caslon, Aldus, and Bodini will also be mentioned. It is rare, however, for printers in the last two centuries to be brought up. People like Senefelder, Hoe, and Johnson have all been influential in the industry's last two hundred years (Treasure 1988). The story begins in 1438 when Johann Gutenberg made a contract with Hans Riffe, Andreas Dritzehn, and Andreas Heilmann concerning the practice of a "secret art". He owned a press and had been in need of lead so had manufactured forms which could be melted down again after use. Heavily in debt, Gutenburg continued to borrow money to finance his project. At the same time, a goldsmith named Procopius Waldvoghel began experimenting in what he called "artificial writing". He made a variety of steel alphabets, iron forms, and a steel instrument that he called a "Vitis". It is thought that the "Vitis" had some connection with the word "vice" and thus had been used for the art of printing. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Waldvoghel ever used his invention to print and therefore cannot be claimed as such. The first actual evidence of printing came in 1454 with a thirty-line Indulgence granted by Pope Nicolaus V to those who donated money for the struggle against the Turks who had captured Constantinople. This document was clearly typed in movable type and is attributed to the press of Gutenberg, Fust, and Schoffer. This assumption is due largely in part to the fact that the heading matches the type, called textura, found in the heading of the 42-line Bible printed in 1455 that is also known as the "Gutenberg Bible". Soon after this Gutenberg's equipment fell out of his hands when he lost a lawsuit brought against him by Johann Fust. Fust had advanced a large sum of money to Gutenberg in 1450 and Gutenburg had pledged his printing press as collateral. Lacking the money to pay Fust the amount of the loan plus the accrued interest, the press was passed into the hands of Fust (--- 1969). Fust and Schoffer went on to improve upon the printing used in the 42-line Bible as well as to develop the first printer's mark, as a replacement for the rubricator's mark. This device singled out their products from those of other presses. They chose to be represented by two shields representing their respective house marks, hanging from the bough of a tree (Clair 1976). Church and state have always been the printer's best patrons, which would explain why the first book printed of any consequence was the Bible. What makes the church significant is that, unlike Greek or Roman religion, it was centered on sacred texts that only the church had the authority to interpret. However, the laity did take part in the oral tradition (Hindman 1991). The holy book was the center of medieval scholarship, since the early Renaissance dealt largely with theology. Since the printing press was invented so late and the Renaissance was already in progress, it cannot be considered the point of departure for the transition to modern times (Eisenstein 1979). The Renaissance did, however, undergo a metamorphosis after the advent of the printing press. University towns were some of the first areas to gain the printing press. The press reached Bologna and Utrecht in 1470 followed by Oxford University in 1478. It is important, however, not to confuse the scholar clientele with the church clientele. At this time, they were one and the same. The most important early patrons of the press were members of the church. Cardinal Torquemada, in fact, subsidized the first Italian press. The earliest press to have survived was that of the Vatican Printing Office. Rome became the greatest Italian printing center, after Venice. The most significant press of this time period was that of the Medici family. The Medicean Press was established in 1573 and did much to provide religious texts and propaganda in the vernacular (Scholar 1964). Artists were also pushed by the arrival of the printing press to experiment with less time-consuming artistic processes. Two different techniques came into use. Either tempera with gold leaf and gold paint was used or pen and ink was lightly touched with watercolor. The pen and ink became popular, due to what many historians believe an interest in faster execution. Other ways to speed up the decorative process involved the precise copying of model drawings and the use of woodblocks as an art form. These blocks acted just as a rubber stamp does today. Patterns could be stamped into the margins of books even after they were printed. The designs could be filled in with color later by illuminators (Hindman 1991). In May of 1639, the first printing press was set up in North America by Stephen Day in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The first document that was printed was the "Freeman's Oath" followed by a New England almanac and The Whole Book of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre. Day had been traveling to American with Jose Glover and his family. Glover, died en route, but with the printing press in his possession. Day took over what Glover surely would have started upon the family's arrival in America (Berry 1966). There are, however, those who dispute whether Day actually worked in the trade. His son, Matthew, was a practical printer and he is credited with the printing of the almanac in 1647. There are no works that actually bear his father's name. Virginia was the second American colony to set up a printing press. Its first production was in 1682 and was printed by William Nuthead. He later became Maryland's first printer as well. The most distinguished printer of the day, however, was a man every American is familiar with named Benjamin Franklin. He began his career in Boston where he was apprenticed to his older brother at the age of twelve. For the next thirty-eight years he produced almanacs, pamphlets, a magazine, and a newspaper called The Pennsylvania Gazette. He retired in 1748 and dedicated the remaining forty-two years of his life to public service although he did resume printing as a hobby while living in France (Oswald 1928). Printing has not been an invention to stand still. It has continued to develop with time. In 1952 flexography made its debut. It was an updated version of a process formerly known as analine printing. It was often used by the packing industry because its quick drying inks were more practical than drying by oxidation. Instead, the ink dries through evaporation. Another change concerns the use of plates in printing. Hard-surfaced plates have been replaced by rubber or plastic plates. While the design had been in the works for decades, it was not until thermosetting phenolic resins such as Bakelite became available that rubber became a feasible alternative. Thirdly, filmsetting has changed considerably. This involves the application of photography to typesetting. It dates back to W. Friese-Greene, who patented a device for reproducing text by photographic means in 1895. By the 1960s, this had progressed considerably and the impact of the cathode ray was being felt on filmsetting (Clair 1976). Today the computer is used as a tool for photocomposition. The history of printing is odd in that the printers have not maintained a detailed record of its past. The printed word, after all, is a means of preserving information. The industry has come to a point when it must reconstruct its own history. Many articles have not been preserved and it is up to scholars to try to piece together what is left. Records management has systematically destroyed files and documents without questioning their historical value. In 1988, NAPIM displayed a collection of ink artifacts at its annual conference in the hopes of encouraging members of the industry to preserve similar historical items. Scholars cringed when they heard that a music printer sold tons of old electroplates as scrap metal or that a company with several hundred 19th century lithographic stones broke them up to make a base for a new parking lot (Treasure 1988). The extinction of the Neanderthals can possibly be linked to the first information revolution (Rothschild 1993). We are currently in the fourth, a world of microprocessors and personal computers, where a wealth of information is available at the press of a button on our very own desktop. Could this information eventually make printing obsolete? Could the current library system become our new museums, chronicling a world we used to know, long ago, before the new libraries became databases of unfathomable depth? It appears inevitable that, since there have been four information revolutions, there will be a fifth, making the current psyche obsolete as well. Who and what will decide when the extinction of our relative ignorance will occur? As the millennium approaches, this world is only a stepping stone.
"1001-2000: THe World as it Was - and the Events that Changed It" LIFE. Fall 1997, Volume 20
Berry, W. Turner and H. Edmund Poole. Annals of Printing. London: Blandford Press, 1966.
Berthold, Arthur Benedict. American Colonial Printing as Determined by Contemporary Cultural Forces 1639-1763. New York:Lennox Hill, 1970.
Clair, Colin. A History of European Printing. London: Academic Press, Inc. 1976.
Clair, Colin. A History of Printing in Britain. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966.
Clair, Colin. A Chronology of Printing. London: Cassel, 1969.
Eisenstein, Elizabeth L.The Printing Press as an Agent of Change Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
Hindman, Sandra, ed. Printing the Written Word - The Social History of Books, circa 1450-1520. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.
Huyghe, Francois-Bernard. "On the Road - Methods through which Ideas Traveled." UNESCO Courier June 1997, p6(4)
Laufer, Berthold. Paper and Printing in Ancient China. New York: Burt Franklin, 1973 (republished)
Messadie, Gerald. "Manuscripts on the Move." UNESCO Courier. June 1997 pg10(4).
The Newberry Library. The Scholar Printers. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1964.
Oswald, John Clyde. A History of Printing New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1928.
Rothschild, Michael. "Cro-Magnon's Secret Weapon." Forbes - A Technology Supplement. 13 Sept. 1993, v152 n6 pgS19.
The Spread of Printing. Amsterdam: A.L. van Gendt & Company, 1972.
Steinberg, S.H. Five Hundred Years of Printing. Bungay, Suffolk: The Chaucer Press, 1955.
"Treasure the Past; Don't Trash It!". Graphic Arts Monthly. March 1998.
Tsuen-Hsuin, Tsien UNESCO Courier. "Printing and Society in China and the West". July, 1988
Wood, Christopher. The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies."Early Archaeology and the book trade". Volume 28, 1998. |
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