The end of the old regime is marked in France by the date 1789. This date marks the beginning of the French Revolution when great masses of medieval statutes were swept from the statute books, including all those which regulated the trade of printing. The Community, censorship, licenses to print, and all the edicts regulating conditions in the industry went by the board together. The French Revolution, however, was only an incident of a change which was coming over the thinking of the whole world. A new condition had been growing up under the old forms and the time had come when the old forms had to break to make way for the new life. They broke in the most dramatic and tragic fashion in France and therefore we think and speak of this event as the French Revolution, but the change took place elsewhere in as real though a less striking manner. One of the features of this change was the birth of the newspaper and an enormous production of pamphlets and other minor literature. There had been newspapers and periodicals for a long time before, but the ferment of men’s minds which began in the middle of the eighteenth century naturally caused a great production of printed matter and a demand that it should be produced very quickly. Much of this printed matter was of a sort forbidden by the old laws and regulations. The greater part of it, being produced under conditions of haste inconsistent with good workmanship and under a demand for cheapness also inconsistent with good workmanship, was of a very poor quality. The industry was disordered by a great increase in the number of shops, particularly shops of a poorer character. At first the workmen profited greatly, but as is always the case conditions gradually settled back to a normal state. The general history of printing may be left at this point. From this time on the conditions with which we are familiar are coming into shape. The old day with its old conditions has gone. We need to know the history of these old times in order that we may understand the records and experiences of the early day. The later conditions we understand from our own surroundings. The periodical literature which forms so large a part of the output of the press has fairly come to life by the end of the eighteenth century. Commercial printing, which is now entering upon so positive a career of usefulness and importance, is about to begin. The invention of the Stanhope press about 1800 is the first of that long series of inventions which have made possible the printing establishments of today and their wonderful product. These things are elsewhere treated. Here we say good-bye to our elder brothers of the home-made type, the ink balls, and the hand press. _Supplementary Reading_