Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Stephanie Eason, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. TYPOGRAPHIC TECHNICAL SERIES FOR APPRENTICES--PART VIII--NO. 49 BOOKS BEFORE TYPOGRAPHY A PRIMER _of_ INFORMATION ABOUT THE INVENTION OF THE ALPHABET AND THE HISTORY OF BOOK-MAKING UP TO THE INVENTION OF MOVABLE TYPES BY FREDERICK W. HAMILTON, LL.D. EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR UNITED TYPOTHETAE OF AMERICA PUBLISHED BY THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION UNITED TYPOTHETAE OF AMERICA 1918 COPYRIGHT, 1918 UNITED TYPOTHETAE OF AMERICA CHICAGO, ILL. PREFACE An attempt has been made in this book to trace briefly the story of the book from the earliest attempts made by mankind to convey a message by marks on some substance down to the invention of movable types. The development of writing is rapidly traced from the earliest known pictures and sign marks to the present day. The discussion covers the subjects of writing materials and how they were made; the evolution of the book; the conditions of manufacture, distribution, and preservation of books before printing, and the conditions out of which sprang the invention of typographic printing. It is believed that a comprehensive knowledge of the main facts in this long story will be of great value to the young printer, and it is hoped that he may be interested to continue the study in some of the many very excellent books which are available. A short list of a few of the best and most accessible authorities in English will be found on page 44. It has not been thought worth while to refer to books in other languages. The story of the efforts of men to convey their thoughts to the absent is one of absorbing interest and leads into many pleasant byways of knowledge. While we are studying the processes and materials of a trade by which we hope to gain a livelihood it is well to know something about the men of the past whose accomplishments we inherit. To know something about the men of another time who made this time possible, what they did, what manner of men they were, how they lived, and what they created for us, is the task of this and the following volumes in Part VIII of this series. CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I THE ORIGIN OF THE ALPHABET 1 CHAPTER II WRITING MATERIALS 9 CHAPTER III THE EVOLUTION OF THE BOOK 15 CHAPTER IV MAKING THE MANUSCRIPTS 20 CHAPTER V ANCIENT AND MEDIAEVAL LIBRARIES 27 CHAPTER VI THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA 37 BOOKS BEFORE TYPOGRAPHY CHAPTER I _The Origin of the Alphabet_