To Copy, To Impress, To Distribute: The Start of European Printing

In order to distribute our thoughts and feelings, we must make intelligible and distributable copies of them. From approximately 1375 to 1450, certain Europeans started fully mechanized replication of texts and images, based on predecessor “smaller” technologies. What they started became the most po...

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Main Author: Bennett Gilbert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture 2019-12-01
Series:On_Culture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.on-culture.org/journal/issue-8/copy-impress-distribute/
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author Bennett Gilbert
author_facet Bennett Gilbert
author_sort Bennett Gilbert
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description In order to distribute our thoughts and feelings, we must make intelligible and distributable copies of them. From approximately 1375 to 1450, certain Europeans started fully mechanized replication of texts and images, based on predecessor “smaller” technologies. What they started became the most powerful means for the distribution, storage, and retrieval of knowledge in history, up until the invention of digital means. We have scant information about the initiation of print technologies in the period up to Gutenberg, and the picture of Gutenberg that we have has become a great deal more complicated than hitherto. There has not been, however, an approach to the “pre-printing” period in terms of the history of idea or intellectual history. After a brief survey of established approaches, this essay argues that distribution by impression, or print, is bound up with ancient metaphors for understanding communication by the making of multiples. I suggest that there is a rich field of study for printing history in the sophisticated concepts of reality that medieval and late Scholastic philosophy developed. These concepts helped to express and develop a desire or need for communication that led to the technology of replicating texts and images for wide and continued distribution.
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spelling doaj.art-2d6cdee0623e4c9892aeb9dee932727e2022-12-21T18:52:00ZengInternational Graduate Centre for the Study of CultureOn_Culture2366-41422019-12-018To Copy, To Impress, To Distribute: The Start of European PrintingBennett Gilbert0Portland State UniversityIn order to distribute our thoughts and feelings, we must make intelligible and distributable copies of them. From approximately 1375 to 1450, certain Europeans started fully mechanized replication of texts and images, based on predecessor “smaller” technologies. What they started became the most powerful means for the distribution, storage, and retrieval of knowledge in history, up until the invention of digital means. We have scant information about the initiation of print technologies in the period up to Gutenberg, and the picture of Gutenberg that we have has become a great deal more complicated than hitherto. There has not been, however, an approach to the “pre-printing” period in terms of the history of idea or intellectual history. After a brief survey of established approaches, this essay argues that distribution by impression, or print, is bound up with ancient metaphors for understanding communication by the making of multiples. I suggest that there is a rich field of study for printing history in the sophisticated concepts of reality that medieval and late Scholastic philosophy developed. These concepts helped to express and develop a desire or need for communication that led to the technology of replicating texts and images for wide and continued distribution.https://www.on-culture.org/journal/issue-8/copy-impress-distribute/book historyengravinghistory of communicationhistory of technologymedieval philosophyprinting
spellingShingle Bennett Gilbert
To Copy, To Impress, To Distribute: The Start of European Printing
On_Culture
book history
engraving
history of communication
history of technology
medieval philosophy
printing
title To Copy, To Impress, To Distribute: The Start of European Printing
title_full To Copy, To Impress, To Distribute: The Start of European Printing
title_fullStr To Copy, To Impress, To Distribute: The Start of European Printing
title_full_unstemmed To Copy, To Impress, To Distribute: The Start of European Printing
title_short To Copy, To Impress, To Distribute: The Start of European Printing
title_sort to copy to impress to distribute the start of european printing
topic book history
engraving
history of communication
history of technology
medieval philosophy
printing
url https://www.on-culture.org/journal/issue-8/copy-impress-distribute/
work_keys_str_mv AT bennettgilbert tocopytoimpresstodistributethestartofeuropeanprinting