A Peek into the History of Books

The First Books

The first “books” were actually clay tablets used clear back in the 3rd millennium BC (2001–3000 BC).

Papyrus

Around this same time, 2400 BC, papyrus scrolls were also used. Papyrus was made from plants.

Before the 2nd century BC, writing was being done on bone, shells, wood, and silk in China. People were creative!

Codex

In the 2nd or 3rd century AD, books took on a more familiar form when Romans started folding papyrus sheets together between wooden covers and called it a codex.

Parchment

Papyrus, though, wasn’t a great medium because it would become brittle and deteriorate. An alternative writing material, parchment, which is made from animal skins, was created in the 3rd century BC, but it didn’t completely replace papyrus until the 4th century AD. Papyrus was extremely useful because the ink could be scraped off and the skin reused—after this process, the parchment was then called a palimpsest.

Photo courtesy of Michal Maňas: snek01 via Wikimedia Commons

Paper

So when was paper created? Paper was first made in China from bast fibres (plant fibres or “skin” taken from the stem of certain plants) and old rags, but it was only used for wrapping and padding until the 3rd century. By the 15th century, paper had mostly replaced parchment.

At this time, all books were hand copied by scribes, and a book was a very expensive thing to own. Just one book would take years and years to create, especially since the manuscripts were also illuminated, or decorated with colorful designs, pictures, and gilt. Most books were only owned by the wealthy and were usually religious in nature. Can you imagine living then? Not me, I need my fantasy books!

The Printing Press

The history of books changed forever when Gutenberg created the printing press in 1440. At first, the press was viewed with suspicion, since it shortened the time needed to make a book by so much—it was even considered to be the work of the devil by religious people. But the method spread quickly in just a few decades, and the printing revolution began.

The printing press not only meant that more books could be printed but also that religious books could easily be printed in English, rather than just in Latin, by anyone who owned a printing press.

Printing presses changed and were improved throughout the years. By the 19th century hand-operated presses were replaced by steam-powered rotary presses. Today, we have have laser, inkjet, and solid-ink printers, but big printing divisions still use plates and presses based off of Gutenberg’s original design.