Five Hundred Years of Printing

by Steinberg, S. H.

• ISBN13: 9780140203431
• ISBN10: 0140203435
• Format: Paperback
• Publisher: Penguin Books

Summary

This classic is now available again in a finely illustrated, larger format, drawing on the collections and curatorial expertise of the British Library. The most famous introduction to the history of printing ever published.

Author Biography

S. H. Steinberg (1899-1979) studied history, literature and the history of art, and became a Reader at Leipzig University before moving to Britain. He edited The Statesman's Yearbook for many years, and among his other books is Historical Tables, which has remained in print for half a century John Trevitt is a book designer and editor, formerly Art and Design Director and a commissioning editor at Cambridge University Press

Table of Contents

Reviser's preface	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The First Century of Printing, 1450-1550
The incunabula period	p. 3
Gutenberg	p. 4
Type design	p. 9
Roman type	p. 11
Gothic type	p. 16
The spread of printing	p. 17
Germany	p. 20
Italy	p. 30
France	p. 37
Spain and Portugal	p. 44
England	p. 46
Greek and Hebrew printing	p. 52
Printing in the vernacular	p. 54
Printer and publisher	p. 59
Early bestsellers	p. 62
The title-page	p. 65
Book illustration	p. 70
The Era of Consolidation, 1550-1800
Type design	p. 74
Roman type	p. 74
Gothic type	p. 82
Irish and Anglo-Saxon types	p. 84
Book production	p. 84
The Netherlands	p. 84
France	p. 89
Germany	p. 93
The English-speaking countries	p. 96
Publishers and patrons	p. 106
Official and private presses	p. 114
The reading public	p. 119
The periodical press	p. 121
Libraries	p. 126
Censorship	p. 130
The Nineteenth Century, 1800-1900
Technical progress	p. 137
The trade	p. 146
Official and private presses	p. 152
The reading public	p. 160
Popular series	p. 166
1900-1955
Linotype and Monotype	p. 170
The Latin alphabet in script and print	p. 172
The private presses	p. 175
Book printing before the Second World War	p. 188
Censorship and other difficulties in the trade	p. 192
Bestsellers and steady sellers	p. 200
Popular series	p. 212
The Postwar World
Composition and typesetting	p. 218
Printing	p. 230
Paper	p. 235
Binding	p. 236
Design	p. 239
Printers and publishers	p. 241
Modern fine printing	p. 248
CD-ROM and the Internet	p. 249
Conclusion	p. 250
Select bibliography	p. 251
Index	p. 255
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