大学英语2山东自考课件-unit-3-text-B.pptVIP

Unit 3text B The history of books 1. The first known inventor of printing in Europe was Johannes Gutenberg of Germany. The first book printed in his workshop was a Latin Bible. A few copies of this first book still exist. They are now over five hundred years old. The Gutenberg Bible was printed on a hand press with type made of lead. Most of the copies were printed on paper, but a few were printed on vellum. The books are about 12 inches wide and 16.5 inches long. Next home 2. Men who had been trained in Gutenberg’s workshop soon established themselves as independent printers. By 1500, about fifty years after the first Bible was printed, more than 30,000 books had been printed. The Bible was still the most popular book. Other church books were also printed, as were Greek and Latin classics, history books, and astronomy books. home Next up 3. The tools of the first printers were simple and could be moved about easily. At the end of the fifteenth century there were more than a thousand printers in Europe. Since many people could not read Latin and Greek, books were soon printed in various languages. The printers also began to make the books smaller, so that they could be handled more easily. home Next up Furthermore, the printers began to make their books more elaborate, adding pictures and ornamental letters at the beginning of chapters. Gradually the letters of the type were made smaller, finer and more delicate. The letters began to look less like manuscript letters, and eventually, the form of the letters was simplified to the point where they were well-adapted to the metal of the type. home Next up 4. Sometimes books were illustrated with woodcuts. Blocks of wood were carved so that the white parts of the picture were below the surface of the wood. When the surface was inked and stamped onto paper, the dark part of the picture was reproduced. The first attempts, of course, were rather crude, but eventually the block printers were making meticulous and artisti