Next to the discovery of fire, the conception and development of the printing press did more for the advancement of mankind than any other invention in the history of the world. When books began to be published, information was disseminated easily from one society to another for the first time in history. People no longer depended on word-of-mouth to learn about the world. The printing and book relationship has been the backbone of the print industry and today, printing is the largest industry in the world.

Since the beginning, when The Vulgate Bible was published by Gutenberg in the mid- 1450s, books, like fine art, have been the heralds of contemporary society. Classics like the Nuremberg Chronicle would not have been seen and appreciated by the world outside of Nuremberg were it not for the printing press. Considered the best example of early book printing, the Nuremberg Chronicle told the Biblical history of man and its more than 600 pages were filled with text combined with 600 – 1000 woodcuts. This book is considered the transitional literature between the medieval and the modern ages. Influenced by the humanism that marked the Renaissance, the book took a giant step from the handmade medieval illustrated manuscripts to a world influenced heavily by the new print industry.

Adding original artwork to the printing of text advanced from hand-colored initial letters to more complex artist rendered print processes. Initially, woodcuts were used to reproduce artwork. Later, engraving was developed in Italy, a process that produced fine prints. Night Thoughts, a poem written by Edward Young, was illustrated with watercolor paintings done by William Blake. Published in 1797, the artwork was made into engravings that were used to print the artwork around the Young's text. Dealing with death and afterlife, Night Thoughts is representative of the spirituality that was part of the eighteenth century.

In 1876, Kelmscott Press, owned by William Morris, published the works of Geoffrey Chaucer in a book that is hailed as a masterpiece, a work of art. Morris used the best of the Arts & Crafts movement of the time, combined with the finest examples of traditional book decoration, to produce Chaucer's works. The book, illustrated by the exquisite woodcuts done by artist Edward Burne-Jones, contained Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, The Parliament of Fowls, The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, and The Romaunt of the Rose. It was the first successful attempt at combining the book printing industry with fine arts – literature, crafts, and art.

Until the advent of the printing press, travelers only visited famous architectural sites, like the ancient ruins of Greece, the huge cathedrals of Europe, or sites known for exhibitions of art and sculpture. When Las Voyages Pittoresque was published in the late 1800s, it became historical for its presentation of the actual culture, rather than the stereotype of a country. Its significance is that it presented, for the first time, information about the day-to-day life of a country's citizens and included sites, towns and cities not normally visited by tourists. The first book was followed by many others that highlighted various countries. These books were important to the advancement of the worldwide tourist industry, one more example of the print and book relationship and its importance.

An important advancement of the printing press, is the development of home printer that use relative cheap printer ink to produce high quality prints. This has aided in our ability to communicate with each other.

Geoffrey Chaucer

Italian_studies62.pdf

Literature of Travel and Exploration ... - Google Book Search

Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff: Liber Chronicarum (Nuremberg Chronicle) (1981.1178.29) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Morris and the Kelmscott Press

Nuremberg Chronicle

Nuremberg Chronicle

Nuremberg Chronical

Octavo Editions: Young Night Thoughts

RPO -- Edward Young : The Complaint: or Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality

Stanford University Libraries : Special Collections : Exhibits : In Folio : Night Thoughts with Blake Illustrations, 1797

TASCHEN Books: The Book of Chronicles (1)

The Kelmscott Chaucer - The Folio Society

The Kelmscott Chaucer (Graphic Arts)

William Blake

William Blake's Designs for Edward Young's Night Thoughts

Please feel free to print out any of these resources at home. Before you do, be sure to stock up on high quality remanufactured inkjet and toner cartridges.

This was written by Clickinks.com, your home for printer inks and laser toner.