Feature by Vedant Hingu
The first books were written out by hand, but this took a very long time and meant that only a few
books were produced. These books are called manuscripts.
A sort of printing stared in Asia at least 1500 years ago. Shapes and letters were cut out of a flat
block of wood which was then inked and pressed on paper. The earliest printed book that we know
about was made in this way. It is a Chinese (Buddhist) prayer book called the ‘Diamond Sutra’ and
is over 1100 years old.
Jikji is known to be the first printed book using movable metal print technology (Korea).
Jikji is the abbreviated title of a Korean Buddhist document, Selected Teachings of Buddhist Sages
and Seon Masters. It was printed in 1377.
The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440 was a very important
development in the history of printing books. The cost of each individual book was lowered as
many copies of the same book could be printed on the press (machine).
The Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed in Europe on this printing press.
Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye was the first book printed in the English language (around 1475). After this, book printing picked up across Europe and then in other continents. Steam printing and steam paper mills (around 1820) were inventions that helped book prices to drop even further and printed books increased in popularity.