A stamp celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Gutenberg Bible, showcasing important printing history.
The invention of the printing press in the German city of Mainz by Johannes Gutenberg around 1439 changed the world forever. Before this, books were copied by hand, which took a lot of time and made them rare and expensive. Gutenberg’s press used moveable type, small blocks of metal with letters that could be arranged and rearranged to print pages quickly.
As this new technology spread from Mainz across Europe and then to the rest of the world, it brought big changes. More books could be made faster and cheaper, so more people could learn to read and share ideas. In the Western world, running a printing press became the same as being in the publishing business, and the word “press” came to mean the news and media we read today, like the List of the oldest newspapers.
By the end of the 19th century, printing presses could be found all over the world, replacing older ways of making books such as manuscript writing and block printing. This spread of technology helped people everywhere share knowledge and ideas more easily than ever before.
Spread of Gutenberg's press
Modern stamp commemorating the Gutenberg Bible, the first major European work printed by mechanical movable type
Gutenberg's first big book was the 42-line Bible in Latin, printed between 1452 and 1454 in Mainz, Germany. After some problems, the printing technology spread quickly across Germany and then to the rest of Europe. Soon, many cities like Cologne, Rome, Venice, Paris, and London had their own printing presses.
Printing also spread to other parts of the world. Traders, explorers, and missionaries took printing presses to new places. The first printing shop outside Europe was set up in Mexico City in 1544. Later, presses were also used in Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. Even though some places were slow to adopt printing, it eventually reached many parts of the world, changing how books were made and shared everywhere.
In the 15th century, printing presses were set up in 77 Italian cities and towns. By the end of the next century, 151 places in Italy had printing activity at some point, with most of them north of Rome. During these two centuries, 2,894 printers worked in Italy, mostly in the north. About 60% of Italy's printing shops were in just six cities: Venice, Rome, Milan, Naples, Bologna, and Florence. Venice had the most printers, about 30% of all of Italy's.
By 1500, 236 towns in Europe had printing presses, and it is thought that twenty million books had been printed for a European population of about seventy million.
Until the time of Peter the Great, printing in Russia was only done in the print office started by Fedorov in Moscow. In the 18th century, the number of books printed each year went from 147 in 1724 to 435 in 1787, but printing was limited by strict rules and many people could not read.
The first book with Armenian letters was printed in Mainz in 1486. The first Armenian book made with a printing press was Urbatagirq—Book of Friday prayers—which was printed by Hakob Meghapart in Venice in 1512.
According to some sources, Sultan Bayezid II and later leaders in the Ottoman Empire stopped printing in Arabic script from 1483, but printing in other scripts was done by Jewish, Greek, Armenian, and other Christian groups. Arabic-script printing by non-Muslims started with Athanasius Dabbas's press in Aleppo in 1706. In 1727, Sultan Achmed III allowed the first print house for non-religious Muslim works in Arabic script, but printing did not grow until the 19th century.
In 1605, Johann Carolus publishes the German Relation aller Fuernemmen und gedenckwuerdigen Historien (Collection of all distinguished and commemorable news), recognized by the World Association of Newspapers as the first newspaper.
Johann was granted a privilege for 5 years for movable type printing by the Senate, but died soon after. In 1501, Ottaviano Petrucci produced the first book of sheet music printed from movable type.
Probably in 1477, claimed to have the first engraved illustrations, although the 1476 Boccaccio edition by Colard Mansion in Bruges already had copper engravings
The oldest printed work in Poland is the Latin Calendarium cracoviense (Cracovian Calendar), a single-sheet astronomical almanac for the year 1474. Although Straube continued to published in Kraków until 1477, printing became permanently established in Kraków, and Poland, only after 1503. In 1491, the first book in Cyrillic script was published by Schweipolt Fiol from Franconia. In 1513, Florian Ungler printed Hortulus Animae, the first book in the Polish language.
The first dated prints in England are an indulgence dating to 13 December 1476 (date written in by hand), and the Dicts or Sayings, completed on 18 November 1477. Between 1472 and 1476, Caxton had already published several English works on the continent (see Bruges above).
Von Ghemen published in Copenhagen from 1493 to 1495 and from 1505 to 1510. In the meantime, he was active in the Dutch town of Leiden. For 200 years, official policy confined printing in Denmark largely to Copenhagen.
The Printing house of Kosinj is known for producing the Missale Romanum Glagolitice on February 22nd 1483. The Croatian text known as "Misal po zakonu rimskoga dvora" was significant as it is the first missal in Europe which was not printed in Latin script; only 28 years after the Gutenberg Bible.
Đurađ Crnojević used the printing press brought to Cetinje by his father Ivan Crnojević to print the first books in southeastern Europe, in 1493. The Crnojević printing house operated from 1493 through 1496, turning out religious books of which five have been preserved: Oktoih prvoglasnik, Oktoih petoglasnik, Psaltir, Molitvenik and Četvorojevanđelje (the first Bible in Serbian language). Đurađ managed the printing of the books, wrote prefaces and afterwords, and developed sophisticated tables of Psalms with the lunar calendar. The books from the Crnojević press were printed in two colors, red and black, and were richly ornamented. They served as models for many of the subsequent books printed in Cyrillic.
William Elphinstone, the Bishop of Aberdeen, was anxious to get a breviary published (see Aberdeen Breviary), and petitioned King James IV to have a printing press set up. Myllar had previously been involved with printing in France, where Scots authors had traditionally had their books printed (see Auld Alliance). The earliest works were mainly small books (approximately 15 cm), but at least one book was printed in folio format, Blind Harry's The Wallace.
Macarie is brought into Wallachia by the prince Radu cel Mare. The first printed book in Romania is made in 1508, Liturghierul. Octoihul is also printed in 1510, and Evangheliarul is printed in 1512
Mostly religious books are printed, among them being Molitvenik. Books printed in Wallachia were also reprinted for use in Moldavia, which at the time did not have its own press.
PostOrdnung (28 September 1632) was the first document printed in Tartu with date and printer's name. The printing press operated in connection with Tartu University (Academia Gustaviana) that was opened on the same year. The reverse side of the document contains a resolution of Johan Skytte about Academia Gustaviana.
Established by the archbishop Juan de Zumárraga, using Hans Cromberger from Seville, the first book printed was Breve y Mas Compendiosa Doctrina Christina, written in both Spanish and native Nahuatl. Esteban Martín of Mexico City has been determined to be the first printer in the Western Hemisphere. Between 1539 and 1600 presses produced 300 editions, and in the following century 2,007 editions were printed. In the 16th century, more than 31% of locally produced imprints were in native Indian languages, mostly religious texts and grammars or vocabularies of Amerindian languages. In the 17th century, this rate dropped to 3% of total output.
Almanach voor't jaar 1796. The possibility of printing may be as early as 1784 when Ritter arrived in the Cape but no earlier output has surfaced.: facing p. 157 p. 160 Ritter is also said to have printed Almanacs for 1795 to 1797 suggesting a start to printing of 1794.
1798
Cairo
Egypt
French
c. 1825
Madagascar
English
Malagasy translation of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism
On 29 June 1855, Protestant missionary Kleinschmidt published 300 copies of Luther's catechism in the Nama language which represent the first printed works in that tongue. Political unrest seems to have prevented further printing activities. The press was reported as being functional as late as 1868, but whether printing was resumed is unknown.
An Italian Lazarist missionary set up the first printing press in Ethiopia to print missionary texts in Amharic. Biancheri called himself "Printer to His Majesty Emperor Theodros", but there is no evidence he had an imperial appointment. He died in 1864 and his press did not outlive him.
Fifth press in the Ethiopian Empire, but the first in what is today Ethiopia. Established by Franciscans, it printed periodicals in French and Amharic. It was later moved to Dire Dawa.
First press for printing in the Arabic script in the Ottoman Empire; operated until 1711. Funded by Constantin Brâncoveanu and established with the assistance of Anthim the Iberian.
First press for printing in the Arabic script established by Muslims in the Ottoman Empire, against opposition from the calligraphers and parts of the Ulama. It operated until 1742, producing altogether seventeen works, all of which were concerned with non-religious, utilitarian matters.
1734
Monastery of St. John of Choueir, Khenchara, Lebanon
The first presses were imported by Western priests for their missionary work from Europe and America. The earliest known, an albion press, was set up in the Portuguese colony Macau and later moved to Guangzhou and Ningbo.
The first printing press was imported from Japan for publishing Korea's first Korean-language newspaper Hansong Sunbo. After the press was destroyed by conservatives, Inoue returned with a new one from Japan, reviving the paper as a weekly under the name Hansong Chubo. Presses were also established in Seoul in 1885, 1888 and 1891 by Western missionaries. However, the earliest printing press was apparently introduced by the Japanese in the treaty port of Pusan in 1881 to publish Korea's first newspaper, the bilingual Chosen shinpo.
This printing shop was located in the home of the first president of Harvard College, Henry Dunster. It printed the first Bible in British North America in 1663, in English as well as Algonquian.
The first book was a Maori translation of part of the Bible commissioned by the Church Missionary Society: "Ko nga Pukapuka o Paora te Apotoro ki te Hunga o Epeha o Piripai" (The Epistles of St Paul to the Philippians and the Ephesians).
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