Print Culture & Modern World
The First Printed Books
The earliest print technology was developed in China, Japan and Korea. From 594 AD
onwards, books were printed in China by rubbing paper against the inked surface of
woodblocks. The traditional Chinese ‘Accordion Book’ was folded and stitched at the side
because both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be printed.
For a very long time, the imperial state of China was the major producer of printed material.
The Chinese bureaucratic system recruited its personnel through civil services examinations.
The imperial state sponsored the large scale printing of textbooks for this examination. The
number of candidates for the examinations increased from the sixteenth century, and this
increased the volume of print.
By the seventeenth century, the use of print diversified in China because of a blooming urban
culture. Print was no longer limited to scholar-officials. Merchants used print in day-to-day
life because they collected trade related information. Fictional narratives, poetry,
autobiographies, anthologies of literary masterpieces and romantic play became the staple for
the reading public. Reading acquired the status of a preferred leisure activity. Rich women
began to read and many of them began publishing their poetry and plays.
Print in Japan
The Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology into Japan
around 768 – 770 AD. The Buddhist Diamond Sutra which was printed in 868 AD was the
oldest Japanese book. Libraries and bookstores were packed with hand-printed materials of
various types. These included books on women, musical instruments, calculations, tea
ceremony, flower arrangements, proper etiquette, cooking and famous places.
Print Comes to Europe
Marco Polo was a great explorer from Italy. He returned from China in 1295 and brought the
knowledge of woodblock printing alongwith him. Thus, printing began in Italy and travelled
to other parts of Europe. Vellum was still the preferred material for printing the luxury
editions because printed books were considered as cheap vulgarities. Vellum is a parchment
made from the skin of animals.
By the early fifteenth century, woodblocks were widely used in Europe to print various
materials. It almost replaced the books made by calligraphy.
Gutenberg and the Printing Press
Gutenberg was the son of a merchant. Since his childhood he had seen wine and olive
presses. He also learnt the art of polishing stones, and became a master goldsmith and also
became an expert in creating lead moulds. Such moulds were used for making trinkets.
Gutenberg used his knowledge to bring innovation to the print technology. He used the olive
press as the model for the printing press and used the moulds for casting the metal types for
the letters. Gutenberg perfected the system by 1448. The first book printed by him was the
Bible.
Initially, the printed books resembled the written manuscripts in appearance and layout. In
the hundred years between 1450 and 1550, printing presses were set up in most parts of
Europe. The growth of the print industry was so good that about 20 million books appeared in
the European markets in the second half of the fifteenth century. In the sixteenth century, this
number went up to about 200 million copies.
The Print Revolution and Its Impact
A New Reading Public:
With the print technology, a new reading public emerged. Books became cheaper because of
printing. Numerous copies could now be produced with much ease. This helped in catering to
an ever growing readership.
Access to books increased for the public. This helped in creating a new culture of reading.
Literacy level was very low till the twentieth century in Europe. Printers kept in mind the
wider reach of the printed work. Popular ballads and folk tales were published which could
be listened by even the illiterates. Literate people read out stories and ballads to those who
could not read.
Religious Debates and Fear of Print
Print created an opportunity of a new debate and discussion. People began questioning some
established notions of religion. For the orthodox people, it was like a challenge as they feared
the disturbance in old order. In fact, the Protestant Revolution in Christianity began because
of print culture. The Roman Church felt troubled by new ideas which raised questions about
the existing norms of faith. It even started to maintain an Index of Prohibited Books from
1558.
The Reading Mania
The literacy levels improved through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe. By
the end of the eighteenth century, literacy rates were as high as 60 to 80 percent in some parts
of Europe. The growth in literacy level created a reading mania among people. Booksellers
employed pedlars who roamed around villages to sell books. Periodicals, novels, almanac,
etc. formed the staple for the reading mania.
Ideas of scientists and philosophers became more accessible to the common people. New
ideas could be debated and shared with a wider target audience.
Print Culture and the French Revolution
Many historians are of the view that print culture created the conditions which led to French
Revolution. Some of such conditions are as follows:

Print popularized the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers. These thinkers gave critical
commentary on tradition, superstition and despotism. Voltaire and Rousseau were
among the prominent Enlightenment thinkers.


Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate. General public began to discuss
the values, norms and institutions and tried to re-evaluate the established notions.
By the 1780s, there was a surge in literature which mocked the royalty and criticized
their morality. Print helped in creating an image of the royalty that they indulged in
their own pleasure at the expense of the common public.
The Nineteenth Century
There was vast leap in mass literacy in Europe in the nineteenth century. This brought a large
numbers of new readers among children, women and workers. Many books were written and
printed keeping in mind the sense and sensibilities of children. Many folk tales were
rephrased to suit the children. Many women became important as readers as well as writers.
The lending libraries which had been in existence from the seventeenth century became the
hub of activity for white-collar workers, artisans and lower middle class people.
Further Innovations
Richard M. Hoe of New York perfected the power-driven cylindrical press by the midnineteenth century. This could print 8,000 sheets per hour. Offset press was developed in the
late nineteenth century. This could print up to six colours at a time. Electrically operated
presses came in use from the turn of the twentieth century. This helped in accelerating the
printing process. Many other innovations took place during this period. All the innovations
had a cumulative effect which improved the appearance of printed texts.
New Strategies to sell books:




Many periodicals serialized important novels in the nineteenth century.
In the 1920s in England, popular works were sold in cheap series, called the Shilling
Series.
The dust cover or book jacket is a twentieth century innovation.
Cheap paperback editions were brought to counter the effect of the Great Depression
in the 1930s.
Print Culture & Modern World
India and the World of Print
The Portuguese missionaries were the first to bring printing press to Goa in the mid-sixteenth
century. The first books were printed in Konkani language. By 1674, about 50 books had
been printed in Konkani and Kanara Languages. Catholic priests printed the first Tamil book
in 1579 at Cochin. They printed the first Malayalam book in 1713.
From 1780, James Augustus Hickey began to edit the Bengal Gazette. It was a weekly
magazine. Hickey also published a lot of gossip about the senior officials of the Company.
Governor General Warren Hastings persecuted Hickey. Warren Hastings encouraged the
publication of officially sanctioned newspapers to protect the image of the colonial
government.
The first Indian newspaper was the weekly Bengal Gazette which was brought out by
Gangadhar Bhattacharya.
Print culture helped in initiating new debate on religious, social and political issues in India.
Many existing religious practices were criticized. Rammohun Roy published Sambad
Kaumudi from 1821 to criticize the orthodox views in the Hinduism. The Hindu orthodoxy
commissioned the Samachar Chandrika to counter his opinions. In 1822, publication of two
Persian newspapers began, viz. Jam – i- Jahan Nama and Shamsul Akhbar. Bombay
Samachar; a Gujarati newspaper appeared in the same year.
In north India, the ulama began to publish cheap lithographic prints which contained Persian
and Urdu translations of holy scriptures. They also published religious newspapers and tracts.
The Deoband Seminary was founded in 1867. It published thousands upon thousands fatwas
about proper conduct in the life of Muslims.
Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas was printed from Calcutta in 1810. From the 1880s, the Naval
Kishore Press at Lucknow and the Shri Venkateshwar Press in Bombay published many
religious texts in vernaculars.
Print helped in bringing the religious texts within reach of the common masses. It also helped
in shaping the new political debate. It also helped in connecting the people from various parts
of India; by carrying news of one part to another.
New forms of Publication
Initially, people got to read the novels which were written by European writers. But people
could not relate to those novels because they were written in the European context. Many
writers emerged who began to write in the Indian context. People could correlate with the
theme and characters of such novels in a better way. Many other new forms of writing also
came into origin; like lyrics, short stories, essays about social and political matters, etc.
A new visual culture was taking shape by the end of the nineteenth century. Many printing
presses started to produce visual images in large numbers. Works of painters; like Raja Ravi
Varma were produced for mass circulation through printing.
By the 1870s, caricatures and cartoons were being published in journals and newspapers.
They commented on various social and political issues.
Women and Print
Many writers wrote about the lives and feelings of women. Due to this, readership among
middle-class women increased substantially. There were many liberal husbands and fathers
who stressed on women’s education. While some women got education at home, some others
went to schools as well. This was the time, when many women writers also began to express
their views through their writings.
Conservative Hindus and Muslims were still against women’s education. They thought
that a girl’s mind would be polluted by education. People wanted their daughters to
read religious texts but did not want them to read anything else.
While Urdu, Tamil, Bengali and Marathi print culture had developed early, Hindi
printing began seriously only from the 1870s.
Print and the Poor People
Very cheap small books were brought to markets in nineteenth century Madras towns. These
books were sold at crossroads so that poor people could buy them. Public libraries were set
up from the early twentieth century which helped in increasing the access to books. Many
rich people set up library in order to assert their prestige in their area.
Print and Censorship
Before 1798, the colonial rulers were not too concerned with censorship. Initially, the
control measures were directed against Englishmen in India who were critical of
Company misrule.
After the revolt of 1857, the attitude to freedom of the press changed. The Vernacular
Press Act was passed in 1878. The Act provided the government with extensive rights to
censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. In case of a seditious report, the
newspaper was warned. If the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized
and the printing machinery confiscated.