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The Invention of Printing.: A Collection of Facts and Opinions, Descriptive of Early Prints and Playing Cards, the Block-Books of the Fifteenth Century, the Legend of Lourens Janszoon Coster, of Haarlem, and the Work of John Gutenberg and His AssociatesDe Vinne, Theodore Low

History

The Invention of Printing.: A Collection of Facts and Opinions, Descriptive of Early Prints and Playing Cards, the Block-Books of the Fifteenth Century, the Legend of Lourens Janszoon Coster, of Haarlem, and the Work of John Gutenberg and His Associates

Name: The Invention of Printing.: A Collection of Facts and Opinions, Descriptive of Early Prints and Playing Cards, the Block-Books of the Fifteenth Century, the Legend of Lourens Janszoon Coster, of Haarlem, and the Work of John Gutenberg and His Associates
Author: De Vinne, Theodore Low

De Vinne, Theodore Low

Incunabula -- Bibliography; Printing -- History -- Origin and antecedents

First Printers of Germany . . . Mentel at Strasburg . . . Zell at
 Cologne . . . Keffer and Koburger at Nuremberg . . . Fac-simile of
 a part of Koburger’s Map . . . Zainer at Augsburg . . . Fac-simile
 of Zainer’s Birth of Eve . . . John of Westphalia and Martens at
 Louvain . . . Mansion at Bruges . . . Gerard Leeu at Antwerp . . .
 First Printers of Italy . . . Sweinheym and Pannartz at Rome . . . De
 Spira at Venice . . . Jenson’s Types . . . Venice famous for Printing
 . . . Cennini at Florence . . . The Ripoli Press . . . Zarot at Milan
 . . . Appearance of Publishers . . . First Printers of France . . .
 Gering, Crantz and Friburger at Paris . . . The Printers of Elegant
 Books . . . First Printers in Spain and Portugal . . . In England
 . . . Caxton at Westminster . . . Printing did not find a general
 Welcome . . . Made Popular by the Cheapness of Books . . . Injudicious
 Selection of Books for Publication . . . Demand for Books in the
 Vernacular . . . First Check on the Liberty of the Press.

       *       *       *       *       *

 About this time, the crafte of Enpryntyng was fyrste founde in
 magounce in Almayne, which crafte is multiplyed through the world in
 many places, and bookes ben had grete chepe and in grete nombre by
 cause of the same crafte.

 _Caxton, 1482._

       *       *       *       *       *


IN CENTRAL AND NORTHERN EUROPE.

When two rival printing offices had been established at Mentz it was
no longer possible to keep secret the processes. Every printer who
handled the types and every goldsmith who helped to make the tools
must have felt a weakening of the obligation of secrecy. The sack of
Mentz was a greater misfortune, for it dissolved all obligations and
sent the printers to other cities to found new offices. Not one of
these printers has told us when and how he began to print on his own
account. All we know about the introduction of printing in many of the
large cities has been gathered from the dates of books and the chance
allusions of early chroniclers. It is from these imperfect evidences
[p493] that the following tables of the spread of printing have been
made up. They are based on the chronological arrangement of Santander’s
_Dictionary_, but the names and dates have been collated with those of
Cotton’s _Typographical Gazetteer_, and other works of authority, and
some alterations have been made.

    Place.               Printer.              Date.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

The Invention of Printing.: A Collection of Facts and Opinions, Descriptive of Early Prints and Playing Cards, the Block-Books of the Fifteenth Century, the Legend of Lourens Janszoon Coster, of Haarlem, and the Work of John Gutenberg and His Associates

De Vinne, Theodore Low

Incunabula -- Bibliography; Printing -- History -- Origin and antecedents

First Printers of Germany . . . Mentel at Strasburg . . . Zell at
 Cologne . . . Keffer and Koburger at Nuremberg . . . Fac-simile of
 a part of Koburger’s Map . . . Zainer at Augsburg . . . Fac-simile
 of Zainer’s Birth of Eve . . . John of Westphalia and Martens at
 Louvain . . . Mansion at Bruges . . . Gerard Leeu at Antwerp . . .
 First Printers of Italy . . . Sweinheym and Pannartz at Rome . . . De
 Spira at Venice . . . Jenson’s Types . . . Venice famous for Printing
 . . . Cennini at Florence . . . The Ripoli Press . . . Zarot at Milan
 . . . Appearance of Publishers . . . First Printers of France . . .
 Gering, Crantz and Friburger at Paris . . . The Printers of Elegant
 Books . . . First Printers in Spain and Portugal . . . In England
 . . . Caxton at Westminster . . . Printing did not find a general
 Welcome . . . Made Popular by the Cheapness of Books . . . Injudicious
 Selection of Books for Publication . . . Demand for Books in the
 Vernacular . . . First Check on the Liberty of the Press.

       *       *       *       *       *

 About this time, the crafte of Enpryntyng was fyrste founde in
 magounce in Almayne, which crafte is multiplyed through the world in
 many places, and bookes ben had grete chepe and in grete nombre by
 cause of the same crafte.

 _Caxton, 1482._

       *       *       *       *       *


IN CENTRAL AND NORTHERN EUROPE.

When two rival printing offices had been established at Mentz it was
no longer possible to keep secret the processes. Every printer who
handled the types and every goldsmith who helped to make the tools
must have felt a weakening of the obligation of secrecy. The sack of
Mentz was a greater misfortune, for it dissolved all obligations and
sent the printers to other cities to found new offices. Not one of
these printers has told us when and how he began to print on his own
account. All we know about the introduction of printing in many of the
large cities has been gathered from the dates of books and the chance
allusions of early chroniclers. It is from these imperfect evidences
[p493] that the following tables of the spread of printing have been
made up. They are based on the chronological arrangement of Santander’s
_Dictionary_, but the names and dates have been collated with those of
Cotton’s _Typographical Gazetteer_, and other works of authority, and
some alterations have been made.

    Place.               Printer.              Date.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Invention of Printing.: A Collection of Facts and Opinions, Descriptive of Early Prints and Playing Cards, the Block-Books of the Fifteenth Century, the Legend of Lourens Janszoon Coster, of Haarlem, and the Work of John Gutenberg and His Associates

The Invention of Printing.: A Collection of Facts and Opinions, Descriptive of Early Prints and Playing Cards, the Block-Books of the Fifteenth Century, the Legend of Lourens Janszoon Coster, of Haarlem, and the Work of John Gutenberg and His Associates

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