Page 112 - 100 Events That Made History
P. 112
Chinese blocks
Ink was applied Avid readers in CHINA were enjoying the
to the etchings, printed word and image long before anyone
which printed
when pressed to else. Chinese printers used etched wood
another surface. and clay blocks from about 600 CE to
print images and text onto paper or cloth.
Printed words
Allowing WORDS to spread across
the world further than ever before
Pressed to impress
Europe got the printed word in about
1450. German inventor Johannes Gutenberg
developed letters made of METAL that
could be arranged and rearranged inside
a wooden grid. These were covered in ink Gutenberg’s
and pressed hard onto paper, printing a printing press
whole page each time. could mass-
produce a page
This Bible in Latin from 1455 in a matter
is one of Gutenberg’s of minutes.
first printed books.
Printing power
By 1500, printing presses were
in operation in most major
cities of Europe. The availability
Printed books
of printed books made it easier How it changed
for everyone to learn to read, brought knowledge and
and for ideas to spread FAR AND entertainment wherever
WIDE, leading to many scientific they went, and meant that
access to them, too.
discoveries in the years ahead. everyone could have
the world
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