The Invention of Printing.

by Theodore Low De Vinne

A Collection of Facts and Opinions, Descriptive of Early Prints and Playing Cards, the Block-Books of the Fifteenth Century, the Legend of Lourens Janszoon Coster, of Haarlem, and the Work of John Gutenberg and His Associates

The Invention of Printing, first published in 1876, is Theodore Low De Vinne's examination of how printing with movable type came about, written by one of the leading American printers of his day. De Vinne first explains the different methods of printing and why earlier forms of impression failed to lead to typography, then surveys image prints and playing cards of the fifteenth century, Chinese printing, the introduction of paper, medieval bookmakers and the block-books. He weighs the legend of Lourens Janszoon Coster of Haarlem against the evidence for Gutenberg and his associates at Mainz, follows the spread of printing across Europe and ends with the tools and practices of the early printers. Facsimiles of early types illustrate the text. The full text is available to read online in your browser on Vinteuil, and the first chapter is free.