HISTORY OF PAPER AND PRINTING

Introduction

The evolution of paper through history

The evolution of printing through history

The link between both subjects

Which of these people are the first to use paper? A) Egyptian B) Greek C) Pre Columbia America people D) China

Papyrus and amate

Papyrus is a thick, paper-like material produced from the pith of the Cyperus papyrus plant which was used in ancient Egypt  and other Mediterranean culture for writing long before the making of paper in China

Amate is a type of bark paper that has been manufactured in Mexico since the precontact time. It was used primarily to create codices

Which people are the one to use printing ? A) Chinese B) European C)Greek D) Pre colombian American

Early papermaking in China Paper as we know it, was invented in

China, AD 105, by the Chinese Eunuch Ts'ai Lun

 Before the 3rd century AD, the first paper was made of disintegrating cloth- bark of trees and vegetation such as mulberry, hemp, china grass 

Paper was used in China from AD 868, for engraving religious pictures and reached its height of in 1634 with the wooden block prints.

Technology of paper across Asia Paper moved from China to Japan and then

to Korea in AD 610, where it was commonly made from mulberry bark and Gampi

Later it was made from bamboo and rice straw.

Traveled on caravans following the Gobi Desert, the Desert of Takla Makan and the Tarim Valley and finally arrived in Samarkan. And also arrived in India, during the 7th century

Diffusion of papermaking in the Islamic world In 751, the Chinese lost a battle in

Turkistan on the banks of the Tharaz River

Among the Chinese prisoners, there were skilled papermakers

The craftsmen began making paper in Samarkan

It spread to Damascus and to Egypt and Morocco. It took 500 years to find its way to Europe

Paper in Europe

The Muslim conquest of Spain brought papermaking into Europe

 Spain and Italy claim to be the first to manufacture paper in Europe.

One of the first paper mills in Europe was in Xativa, in AD 1009

Then began to gradually spread across Christian Europe. 

Evolution of paper in Europe The demand for paper was slight in

the 1st Century Europe The Church in Western Europe

initially banned the use of paper calling it a 'pagan art‘

It was only with the advent of printing in the middle of the 15th Century that the demand became greater.

The beginning of printing

The first to use « printing » was the Mesopotamian with  round cylinder seals for rolling an impress of images onto clay tablets

Durintg the 2nd century AD, a Chinese man named Ts’ai Lun is credited with inventing paper.

The ascension of printing in Europe In 1436, Gutenberg begins work on a

printing press. It takes him 4 years to finish his wooden press which uses movable metal type.

In 1465, the first drypoint engravings  are created by the Housebook Master, a south German artist.

In 1476 , William Caxton buys equipment from the Netherlands and establishes the first printing press in England at Westminster

The 16th century

In 1507, Lucas Cranach invents the chiaroscuro woodcut.

Christophe Plantin is one of the most famous printers of this century. In his print shop in Antwerp he produces fine work ornamented with engravings after Rubens and other artists.

The 17th century

Plantin is also the first to print a facsimile.

In 1642, Ludwig von Siegen invents mezzotint

The first American paper mill is established in 1690.

The 18th century

In 1710, the German painter and engraver Jakob Christof Le Blon produces the first engraving in several colors.

The Gentleman’s Magazine is published for the first time in 1731. It is generally considered to be the first general interest magazine

William Caslon is an English typographer whose foundry operates in London for over 200 years. The letters are modeled on Dutch types but they are more delicate and not as monotonous. Caslon’s typefaces remain popular, digital versions are still available today.

The 19th century

In 1800, Charles Stanhope, the third Earl Stanhope, builds the first press which has an iron frame instead of a wooden one.

In 1837, Godefroy Engelmann is awarded a patent on chromolithography, a method for printing in color using lithography.

 The American inventor Richard March Hoe builds the first lithographic rotary printing press, a press in which the type is placed on a revolving cylinder instead of a flatbed

The 19th century(2)

In typesetting Ottmar Mergenthaler’s 1886 invention of the Linotype composing machine is a major step forward.

The 20th century

In 1903, American printer Ira Washington Rubel is instrumental in producing the first lithographic offset press for paper.

In 1938, Xerography, a dry photocopying technique, is invented by Chester Carlson

THE END