Evolution of Writing and Printing
Evolution of the Pictograph
•In the 1000 B.C. era, Egyptian Hieroglyphs evolved into the first alphabet.
•Scribed on Papyrus Scrolls using primitive inks.
Papyrus
• Papyrus: An early form of paper, usually used in rolls, made from the pulp of the papyrus plant.
Papyrus scrolls generally were inscribed with primitive letters to record stories of a culture or census data.
The Library of Alexandria
• Built by Ptolemy the 2nd in 300 B.C.
• Said to contain more than 700,000 papyrus scrolls, encompassing all facets of human knowledge.
• Library destroyed in military conquests sometime between 48 B.C. and 642 A.D.
Evolution of Human Recorded thought through the Dark Ages: 476 to 1000 A.D.
Vellum
• A type of parchment made from cured animal skins, known for its flexibility and durability, used for making the pages of books.
Preservation of Knowledge during the Dark Ages
• Most knowledge preserved in the west was done in Churches.
The First Known Illustrated Manuscript
• “Vatican Vergil” 400 A.D.
The Illuminated Manuscript
• “Comments on the Psalms” 1200 A.D.
The Illuminated Manuscript
• Developed by the Celts,starting in roughly 400 A.D.
• Characterized by complex geometric designs and interwoven letters and graphics, designed to tell a story.
Two Methods of Manuscript Illumination, Part 1
• Diminuendo: a decreasing graphic scale leading from the large initial letter to the text.
“The Book of Durrow” A.D. 680
Two Methods of Manuscript Illumination, Part 2
• Initial Letter Form: First letter of each section is larger than the text.
• “Insular Secta”: Spaces between words.
“The Book of Kells, A.D. 794
Meanwhile, in Asia
• As early as 600-800 A.D., the Koreans and other Asian cultures were developing movable type.
One of the first complete intact works printed using movable type, “The Diamond Sutra”
Korea A.D. 868