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Books: Past to Present

By joel_newsome
  • 4000 BCE

    cuneiform originates in Mesopotamia

    earliest cuneiform consisted of about 1500 pictograms
  • 2600 BCE

    papyrus developed in Egypt

  • 2400 BCE

    cuneiform reduced

    cuneiform was reduced from 1500 to 6-800 symbols
  • 1400 BCE

    Chinese script developed

  • 600 BCE

    first Chinese books

  • 500 BCE

    writing developed in Mesopoamerica

  • 100

    development of paper in China, parchment and velum

  • 100

    codex developed

  • 300

    uncials script developed

  • 500

    papermaking travels from China to Korea to the world via the Silk Road

  • 868

    printing of The Diamond Sutra

  • 1100

    moveable type in China

  • 1423

    earliest European xylographic book

  • 1450

    Gutenberg works with investors to create moveable metal type and printing press

  • 1462

    Mainz printers disperse

  • 1477

    copperplate engraving developed

  • 1480

    over 100 print shops in Europe

  • 1517

    Reformation leads to print explosion

  • 1539

    First New World press established in Mexico City

  • First press in American colonies - Massachusetts

  • stereotyping invented

  • Copyright Act

    First English law protecting authors

  • encyclopedias come into existence

  • web-fed steam press invented

  • iron press replaces the wood press

  • book jackets appear

  • First automated typecaster invented

  • electrotyping developed

  • dime novels see immense popularity

  • Penguin books founded

  • Chester Carlton patents electrophotography

  • Pocket Books established

  • Memex concept lays groundwork for ebooks

  • Harlequin founded

  • Sale of paperbacks surpasses sale of hard covers

  • oNLine System demonstration introduces hypertext

  • Project Gutenberg founded

  • PageMaker software introduced

  • Apple introduces HyperCard

  • Development of web browsers showed potential of ebooks

  • Period: to

    4000 BCE - Late 20th Century