Modern life is impossible to imagine without the invention that gave the world a simple German craftsman Johannes Gutenberg. Printing, of which he became the founder, changed the course of world history to such an extent that it is rightfully classified as one of the greatest achievements of civilization. His merit is so great that those who, many centuries before, created the basis for the future discovery are undeservedly forgotten.
Wooden board print
The history of typography originates in China, where as early as the 3rd century the technique of the so-called piece printing came into use - an imprint on textiles, and later on paper, various drawings and short texts carved on a wooden board. This method was called xylography and quickly spread from China throughout East Asia.
It should be noted that printed engravings appeared much earlier than books. Separate samples have survived to this day, made already in the first half of the 3rd century, when representatives of the Han dynasty ruled in China. In the sameperiod, the technique of three-color printing on silk and paper also appeared.
First woodcut book
The researchers attribute the creation of the first printed book to the year 868 - this date is on the earliest edition made in the woodcut technique. It appeared in China and was a collection of religious and philosophical texts, en titled "Diamond Sutra". During the excavation of the Gyeongji Temple in Korea, a sample of a printed product was found, made almost a century earlier, but, due to some features, it belongs more to the category of amulets than books.
In the Middle East, piece printing, that is, as mentioned above, made from a board on which text or a drawing was cut, came into use in the middle of the 4th century. Woodcut, called in Arabic "tarsh", became widespread in Egypt and reached its peak by the beginning of the 10th century.
This method was used mainly for printing texts of prayers and making written amulets. A characteristic feature of Egyptian woodcuts is the use for prints not only of wooden boards, but also made of tin, lead and baked clay.
The advent of movable type
However, no matter how the box printing technology improved, its main drawback was the need to cut out all the text again for each next page. A breakthrough in this direction, thanks to which the history of printing received a significant impetus, also occurred in China.
By postThe outstanding scientist and historian of the past centuries Shen Ko, the Chinese master Bi Shen, who lived in the period from 990 to 1051, came up with the idea to make movable characters from fired clay and place them in special frames. This made it possible to type a certain text from them, and after printing the required number of copies, scatter and reuse in other combinations. This is how the movable type was invented, which is still used today.
However, this brilliant idea, which became the basis of all future printing, did not receive proper development at that time. This is explained by the fact that there are several thousand characters in the Chinese language, and the production of such a font seemed too difficult.
Meanwhile, considering all the stages of printing, it should be recognized that non-Europeans first used typesetting. Known to have survived to this day is the only book of religious texts, made in 1377 in Korea. The researchers determined that it was printed using movable type technology.
European inventor of the first printing press
In Christian Europe, the technique of box printing appeared around 1300. On its basis, all kinds of religious images made on fabric were produced. They were sometimes quite complex and multicolored. About a century later, when paper became relatively affordable, they began to print Christian engravings on it, and in parallel with this, playing cards. Paradoxical as it may seem, butthe progress of printing has served both holiness and vice.
However, the full history of printing begins with the invention of the printing press. This honor belongs to the German artisan from the city of Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg, who developed in 1440 a method for repeatedly applying prints to sheets of paper using movable type. Despite the fact that in subsequent centuries other inventors were credited with the leadership in this field, serious researchers have no reason to doubt that the appearance of printing is connected precisely with his name.
The inventor and his investor
Gutenberg's invention consisted in the fact that he made letters from metal in their inverted (mirror) form, and then, having typed lines from them, made an impression on paper using a special press. Like most geniuses, Gutenberg had brilliant ideas, but no funds to implement them.
To give life to his invention, the brilliant artisan was forced to seek help from a Mainz businessman named Johann Fust and conclude an agreement with him, by virtue of which he was obliged to finance future production, and for this he had the right to receive a certain percentage of arrived.
Companion turned smart businessman
Despite the external primitiveness of the technical means used and the lack of qualified assistants, the inventor of the first printing press managed to produce a number of books in a short time, the most famous of which is the famous"Gutenberg Bible", kept in the Museum of the city of Mainz.
But the world is so arranged that in one person the gift of an inventor rarely coexists with the skills of a cold-blooded businessman. Very soon, Fust took advantage of the part of the profit that was not paid to him on time and, through the court, took over the whole business. He became the sole owner of the printing house, and this explains the fact that for a long time it was with his name that the creation of the first printed book was mistakenly associated.
Other contenders for the role of pioneer printers
As mentioned above, many peoples of Western Europe disputed with Germany the honor of being considered the founders of printing. In this regard, several names are mentioned, among which the most famous are Johann Mentelin from Strasbourg, who managed to create a printing house similar to the one that Gutenberg had in 1458, as well as Pfister from Bamberg and the Dutchman Lawrence Coster.
The Italians did not stand aside either, claiming that their compatriot Pamfilio Castaldi was the inventor of the movable type, and that it was he who transferred his printing house to the German merchant Johann Fust. However, no serious evidence of such a claim was presented.
Beginning of book printing in Russia
And, finally, let's take a closer look at how the history of printing in Russia developed. It is well known that the first printed book of the Muscovite state is the "Apostle", made in 1564 in the printing house of Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets. Both were studentsDanish master Hans Missenheim, sent by the king at the request of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The afterword of the book states that their printing house was founded in 1553.
According to the researchers, the history of book printing in the Muscovite state developed as a result of the urgent need to correct numerous errors that crept into the texts of religious books that were copied by hand for many years. Through inattention, and sometimes deliberately, scribes introduced distortions, which became more and more every year.
The church council that took place in 1551 in Moscow, called "Stoglavy" (by the number of chapters in its final decree), issued a decree on the basis of which all handwritten books in which errors were noticed were withdrawn from use and subject to fix. Often, however, this practice only led to new distortions. It is quite clear that the solution to the problem could only be the widespread introduction of printed publications that repeatedly replicate the original text.
This problem was well known abroad, and therefore, pursuing commercial interests, in many European countries, in particular, in Holland and Germany, they set up the printing of books based on their sale among the Slavic peoples. This created fertile ground for the subsequent creation of a number of domestic printing houses.
Russian book printing under Patriarch Job
A tangible impetus for the development of printing in Russia was the establishment in itpatriarchate. The first primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Job, who took the throne in 1589, from the first days began to make efforts to provide the state with an appropriate amount of spiritual literature. During his reign, a master by the name of Nevezha was in charge of printing, who published fourteen different editions, in their characteristic features very close to the "Apostle", which was printed by Ivan Fedorov.
The history of typography of a later period is associated with the names of such masters as O. I. Radishchevsky-Volintsev and A. F. Pskovitin. From their printing house came out a lot of not only spiritual literature, but also educational books, in particular, manuals for studying grammar and mastering reading skills.
The subsequent development of printing in Russia
A sharp decline in the development of printing business occurred at the beginning of the 17th century and was due to the events associated with the Polish-Lithuanian intervention and called the Time of Troubles. Some of the masters were forced to interrupt their occupation, while the rest died or left Russia. Mass book printing resumed only after the accession to the throne of the first sovereign from the House of Romanov, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.
Peter I did not remain indifferent to printing production either. Having visited Amsterdam during his European voyage, he concluded an agreement with the Dutch merchant Jan Tessing, according to which he had the right to produce printed materials in Russian and bring them for sale to Arkhangelsk.
Furthermore, sovereignan order was given for the production of a new civil type, which came into widespread use in 1708. Three years later, in St. Petersburg, preparing to become the capital of Russia, the largest printing house in the country was established, which later became a synodal one. From here, from the banks of the Neva, book printing spread throughout the country.
