Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Early Printing

Summary:
Early years of type and printing techniques
Gutenberg and the printing press
Supply and demand for books

-Sumerian cuneiform tablet
-Greeks and Romans proceed

-capitalas quadrata (square capitals)
-cardin miniscules (Alquinn of York)
-1400s woodblock printing
-xylography (woodblock printing)
-paper needed for efficiency

-Manual on the Art of Dying
-early example of church propaganda

-necessary for printing:
1. must be growing middle class
2. must have students in expanding university system
3. increased literacy
-all equates to demand
-books were rare, extremely valuable

-Gutenberg credited for printing press
-he used Blackletter or Textura typefaces
-Gutenberg 1453 teaches process for making mirrors
-written communication to advent of moveable type
-Gutenberg gave us ligature for 'fi'

-Incunabula refers to first 50 years of printing
-Fleurons are printers' decorative elements

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