One of the most puzzling lapses in historical accounts of the rise of the West following the decline of the Roman Empire is the casual way historians have dealt with Gutenberg's invention of printing. The cultural achievement that followed the fifteenth century, in which the West moved from relative backwardness to remarkable, robust cultural achievement is unimaginable absent Gutenberg's gift and its subsequent widespread adoption across most of the world. In this book, Richard Abel describes the historical background of the radical cultural impact of the printing revolution. He begins from the eighth century to the Renaissance noting the viability of the new Christian/Classical culture. While it proved too fragile to endure, those who salvaged it preserved elements of the Classical substance together with the Bible and all the writings of the Church Fathers. The cultural upsurge of the Renaissance of the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries which resulted in part from Gutenberg's invention, is a major focus of the work. Abel aims to delineate how the Cultural Revolution was shaped by the invention of printing and its impact on the rapid reorientation and acceleration of the evolution of the culture in the West. This book provides insight into the history of the printed word, the roots of modern-day mass book production, and the promise of the electronic revolution. It is an essential work in the history of ideas.

Containing 26 selected and thoroughly rewritten essays and articles (all written by Janssen and published previously between 1976 and 2002 in yearbooks and periodicals) all dedicated to the history of printing and book production, this work draws systematically attention to the typogtaphical design of the book. The articles are mainly divided into two fields of attention: the analytical bibliography of the printed book (book production, studies of the technical aspects of type-setting and printing, type founding, printing presses, paper etc.) and the typographical design of books (its functions and its influence on how texts are read).

A COMPANION TO THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK A COMPANION TO THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK Edited by Simon Eliot and Jonathan Rose “As a stimulating overview of the multidimensional present state of the field, the Companion has no peer.” Choice “If you want to understand how cultures come into being, endure, and change, then you need to come to terms with the rich and often surprising history Of the book ... Eliot and Rose have done a fine job. Their volume can be heartily recommended. “ Adrian Johns, Technology and Culture From the early Sumerian clay tablet through to the emergence of the electronic text, this Companion provides a continuous and coherent account of the history of the book. A team of expert contributors draws on the latest research in order to offer a cogent, transcontinental narrative. Many of them use illustrative examples and case studies of well-known texts, conveying the excitement surrounding this rapidly developing field. The Companion is organized around four distinct approaches to the history of the book. First, it introduces the variety of methods used by book historians and allied specialists, from the long-established discipline of bibliography to newer IT-based approaches. Next, it provides a broad chronological survey of the forms and content of texts. The third section situates the book in the context of text culture as a whole, while the final section addresses broader issues, such as literacy, copyright, and the future of the book. Contributors to this volume: Michael Albin, Martin Andrews, Rob Banham, Megan L Benton, Michelle P. Brown, Marie-Frangoise Cachin, Hortensia Calvo, Charles Chadwyck-Healey, M. T. Clanchy, Stephen Colclough, Patricia Crain, J. S. Edgren, Simon Eliot, John Feather, David Finkelstein, David Greetham, Robert A. Gross, Deana Heath, Lotte Hellinga, T. H. Howard-Hill, Peter Kornicki, Beth Luey, Paul Luna, Russell L. Martin Ill, Jean-Yves Mollier, Angus Phillips, Eleanor Robson, Cornelia Roemer, Jonathan Rose, Emile G. L Schrijver, David J. Shaw, Graham Shaw, Claire Squires, Rietje van Vliet, James Wald, Rowan Watson, Alexis Weedon, Adriaan van der Weel, Wayne A. Wiegand, Eva Hemmungs Wirtén.

A History of Screen Printing How an Art Evolved into an Industry, the book chronicles the rapid advancements in the ancient art of stenciling that took place during the late 1800s, and how it turned into screen printing as we know it today. With help from the families of the pioneers, industry supporters and over 15 years of research, author Guido Lengwiler has rescued an almost lost history that covers the period up to and including WWII. It tells the interconnected stories of how a relatively small group of people, many of them artists, signwriters, and entrepreneurs working in the dawn of the advertising age in the USA, helped create entire industries that continue to exist globally today, all using screen printing in the production of an unbelievably wide range of products. It includes beautiful full color illustrations from the Selectasine Booklet provided to original patent licensees, and the main vehicle that spread the process around the world. Hundreds of never before seen product photos, machine designs, and some of the first art prints done in the 1920 s in California are included, plus special chapters on fine art printmaking, along with the ceramic and textile industries. Screen printing was a hybrid process that provided both graphic and manufacturing advantages over other methods, and was perfect for the times. Industry, especially in the USA, was transitioning from hand craft into mass production, creating a need to decorate products, or advertise them with signage. Most times a closely guarded industrial secret, screen printing bridged gaps between hand production and the more expensive automated printing of the time, which included lithography and letterpress. It introduced cheap short run color capabilities, and virtually created the whole Point of Purchase (POP) and Specialty Advertising industries, along with the billboard and t-shirt printing sectors. An ability to print directly on a wide variety of materials led to use decorating metal, ceramics, textiles, and plastics, spurring record growth, better designs, and lowered costs in any industry that adopted it, from fashion to fine china. Experiments prior to WWII led to printed circuits, which in turn revolutionized the electronics industries. All these and more are legacies of the pioneers of screen printing featured in the book. The history of the process is really the history of so many things we take for granted in today s and tomorrow s society.