By 200b.c in the ancient culture of Egypt, Rome, and Greece, scrolls that could be rolled up and stored conveniently were in use. Papyrus plants were made into watery pulp, pressed into long rolls, dried and then unsuited with hand-written symbols.
The making of paper spread to Europe during the middle ages, where it was used by monks to inscribe biblical material. Hand written books became available to the very rich. Although the Chinese were engaged in printing before john Gutenberg’s first efforts in 1450, Gutenberg is associated with ‘invention’ of printing because he brought the various printing technologies together in a way that made quality reproduction of books and pamphlets possible with greater speed and lower cost.
By the 1950’s the boom in paperback sales had begun, and today the majority of books sold in the United States are soft cover. By the 1970’s paper back reprints of the previous year’s bestselling novels were setting publishing records.
Last modified: Wednesday, 4 January 2012, 10:34 AM
Participants