Print Revolution Flashcards
1
Q
Invention of the Printing Press
A
- Middle of the 15th Century
- Johannes Gutenberg – experimenting with using movable type to produce a durable and repeatable process for printing text
- Before the Gutenberg Press options were to use manuscript or use the Wooden Block Book Method
- Books were more expensive before the printing press as they were harder to produce
- After Gutenberg method – vast number of books began to be printed by 1500
- Literature culture was transformed – revival of ancient authors through the printing press
- Religious, medical and scientific books now available to many people
- Fewer scribal errors
2
Q
Johannes Gutenberg:
A
- A blacksmith and a Goldsmith from Mainz
- Began working on printing press with movable type in Strasbourg in late 1430s
- Replaced Block Book Method
- Gutenberg used his metalogical skills – separate pieces of metal with letters carved in to them that could be rearranged to form printed lines
- Began to produce 2 volume addition of the bible in 1452 – and sold most at the Frankfurt fair of 1455 – Gutenberg Bible
- Process was rapidly copied by imitators – vast number of books began to be printed
3
Q
Manuscript:
A
- Write out words by hand – hand written
* Slow method
4
Q
Wooden Block Book Method:
A
- Use wooden blocks and carve out texts backwards and put it down on the page
- Very awkward method – very slow
5
Q
Elizabeth Eisenstein – The Printing Press as an Agent of Change, 1979
A
- Claimed affects of print and printing thousands of copies of books was revolutionary
- Print books didn’t replace manuscripts in Early Modern Period
- Broader circulation of information
- Increase in number of titles
- Print run of about 400 copies common
- Rise of category of new writers
- Lots of texts in different languages – greater access of texts
- Explanation of subject matter of books – teaching, humanistic, needlework model book, moralising
6
Q
Criticisms of idea of Revolution:
A
- Not everything about the shift to print was new
- Already existing market for manuscript books
- Print books didn’t replace manuscripts – there were still manuscripts that circulated
- More literacy – leading to larger markets for manuscripts
7
Q
Levels of information:
A
- Increase in number of titles
- Increase in number of books being produced
- For example, Venice in early 16th century – print run of 400 hundred copies common – by mid 16th century print runs of 1500 copies were common – increase in number of books being produced
- Easier for authors to have worked published
- Categories of professional writers grew
- Witnessed a flow of translations from ancient languages – more access to texts from the past
- Increase in the number of books and titles
- Expansion of book titles – titles used for amusement
8
Q
Readership Patterns and Accessibility of books:
A
- Diffusion of pocket size additions – medieval period = desk books
- Early Modern Period – user friendly portable books made them more accessible and could now read for pleasure
- Books became more affordable – price of books usually determined by price of paper, price of paper dropped with smaller book making them cheaper
- Print coincided with rise in vernacular publications
- Sophisticated distribution networks of the print industry – took advantage of trade routes already in place – printing centres usually in trading cities
- Proliferation of book fairs e.g. the Frankfurt Fair
- Multiplication of retail outlets
- Efficient distribution of books
- Strong second-hand market – second hand books
- Increase in accessibility of books
9
Q
Rise of literacy:
A
- More books produced = more people being literate
- Cities more literate than countryside
- Male literacy higher than female literacy – represented schooling practices
- Hard to know who was literate due to a lack of sources
- Seems lots of people could read but not to write
10
Q
Problems with figuring out literacy:
A
- Sign Name? – John Bossy – problem with this as lots of people could read but couldn’t write – schooling taught how to read before you could write
- Issues with sources to assess rates of literacy
- How do you identify literacy? Is it about writing or reading?
11
Q
Roger Chartier, The Cultural Uses of Print in Early Modern France
A
- Ownership of books by social group in 200 Parisian inventories between 1665 and 1702:
- Results show social class differences between those who had books
- Gives an indication of who’s buying books in Paris at this time
- Nobleman – 26%
- Professionals – 32.5%
- Artisans + merchants – 16.5%
- Only very wealthy had books
12
Q
Images and Religion:
A
- Both sides of reformation debate used images to get their ideas across
- Among popularist reading was a social activity
- Reject that literacy created a divide between cultures – popular literature read by both groups such as ballads
- Pictures used to portray the words
- Moralising prints and religious books frequently written
- Reading aloud = the norm in this period – reading was a social activity
- One person, usually the male head of the household, would read aloud to children, women and servants – making many aware of book contents even if they didn’t or couldn’t read them themselves
- Many people aware of contents of books without technically being literate
- Reading = social and oral act
- Ballads = extensive imagery, contains words, but also meant to be sung – print element and oral element
- Pulpit – used to orally portray views
13
Q
English Civil War: Kings Cabinet Opened
A
- Kings Cabinet Opened – Parliamentarians able to seize Kings documents and decide to publish them, edited
- Sparked copycat literature of pamphlet literature – leaked private literature
- Parliamentarians stated everyone should have access of print information
- Pamphlet, small piece of paper with information, often used as a way of propaganda – parliament may write demands that would then by circulated
- Print revolution linked to political revolution
- Print should be accessible for all
