Tracing The History Of Book Publishing
The history of book publishing can be traced to the ancient time when the Sumerians used clay tablets and papyrus scrolls in 2500 BC. Papyrus Egyptian scrolls were also used in 600 BC. The scrolls found in the Dead Sea in the 20th century are considered to be the most notable of these scrolls as they provided insights and contents that are contradictory to traditional religious beliefs. These materials are the predecessors of books. However, as far back as 400 BC, there had been a complete book that existed and this was the Republic authored by Plato.
One of the highlights in the history of book publishing is the invention of the printing press. Prior to this, contents of all written materials must be copied by hand. These books were religious writings and biblical scriptures produced by monks. Because of the arduous process of copying by hand, many errors were made. The subsequent copies no longer had the same content as the original copies. Moreover, some monks and hired scribes also made the liberty of adding their own views and opinions to the original material making the reproduced copies less accurate. With the invention of the printing press, this dilemma was addressed. This important event in the history of book publishing took place in 1455 in Europe. Johannes Gutenberg came up with a device that makes it possible for a full page of written resources to be printed at one time. This device came to be known as a printing press, which are actually modified wine presses. The printing press works based on the concept of movable metal type. Another milestone in the history of book publishing is the publication of the first book of Gutenberg which came to be known as the Gutenberg Bible. Each page of this book has a multicolored effect which was created by inserting each page into a press multiple times. Different ink colors were used for each impression. Today, this rare book by Gutenberg cost millions. During his time, however, Gutenberg found it difficult to convince people to buy his books because they were expensive. He later died a poor man because he was not able to keep his creditors at bay. Nevertheless, his name will remain immortal due to his legacy, the printing press. The history of book publishing reveals that after he died, several printers adopted his process. Soon, available books were no longer limited to those that are biblical in nature. Books about poems, romantic adventures, and textbooks were then widely distributed.
This milestone in the history of book publishing was not seen by some sectors in the society as a positive development. Rather, it was considered a threat to political and religious order. Because of this, King Henry VII ordered that government approval be required before printers could print any written material. Prior restraint, a mandatory censorship process, was in effect at this time. This implied that the government had the right not to allow the printing of a written material that would threaten the power of the King. Despite all these restrictions, many printers published materials without gaining approval from the government.
|
