The Invention of Printing

Front matter

Reading edition

Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/inventionofprint00deviuoft

Illustration from The Invention of Printing. A Collection of Facts and Opinions, Descriptive of Early Prints and Playing Cards, the Block-Books of the Fifteenth Century, the Legend of Lourens Janszoon Coster, of Haarlem, and the Work of John Gutenberg and His Associates

♠ THORWALDSEN’S STATUE OF JOHN GUTENBERG.

THE

INVENTION OF PRINTING.

DESCRIPTIVE OF

EARLY PRINTS AND PLAYING CARDS, THE BLOCK-BOOKS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, THE LEGEND OF LOURENS JANSZOON COSTER, OF HAARLEM, AND THE WORK OF JOHN GUTENBERG AND HIS ASSOCIATES.

WITH FAC-SIMILES OF EARLY TYPES AND WOOD-CUTS.

THEO. L. DE VINNE.

* * Hereby tongues are knowne, knowledge groweth, judgement encreaseth, books are dispersed, the Scripture is seene, the doctors be read, stories be opened, times compared, truth discerned, falshood detected, and with finger pointed, and all, as I said, through the benefit of Printing. Fox’s Acts and Monuments.

NEW-YORK:

FRANCIS HART & CO. 12 & 14 COLLEGE PLACE.

1876.

ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1876, BY

THEODORE L. DE VINNE,

IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS AT WASHINGTON.

DAVID WOLFE BRUCE,

IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT

OF INSTRUCTION ABOUT TYPES, NOT TO BE HAD BY READING, OF ASSISTANCE IN STUDIES, NOT TO BE FOUND IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES, OF COMPANIONSHIP MORE PLEASANT THAN BOOKS,

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED

BY HIS FRIEND,

THEO. L. DE VINNE.

CONTENTS.

I THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF PRINTING 17

II ANTIQUE METHODS OF IMPRESSION AND THEIR FAILURE 29

III THE KEY TO THE INVENTION OF TYPOGRAPHY 49

IV THE IMAGE PRINTS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 69

V PRINTED AND STENCILED PLAYING CARDS 88

VI THE CHINESE METHOD OF PRINTING 109

VII THE EARLY PRINTING OF ITALY 122

VIII THE INTRODUCTION OF PAPER IN EUROPE 133

IX THE BOOK-MAKERS OF THE MIDDLE AGES 146

X THE PREPARATIONS FOR PRINTING 171

XI BLOCK-BOOKS OF IMAGES WITHOUT TEXT 193

XII BLOCK-BOOKS OF IMAGES WITH TEXT 230

XIII THE DONATUS, OR BOY’S LATIN GRAMMAR 254

XIV THE SPECULUM SALUTIS, OR MIRROR OF SALVATION 264

XV THE WORKS AND WORKMANSHIP OF AN UNKNOWN PRINTER 282

XVI THE PERIOD IN WHICH THE SPECULUM WAS PRINTED 308

XVII THE LEGEND OF LOURENS JANSZOON COSTER 326

XVIII THE GROWTH OF THE LEGEND 347

XIX THE DOWNFALL OF THE LEGEND 360

XX JOHN GUTENBERG AT STRASBURG 375

XXI GUTENBERG AND HIS EARLIER WORK AT MENTZ 403

XXII THE LATER WORK OF GUTENBERG 431

XXIII THE WORK OF PETER SCHŒFFER AND JOHN FUST 449

XXIV ALLEGED INVENTORS OF PRINTING 480

XXV THE SPREAD OF PRINTING 492

XXVI THE TOOLS AND USAGES OF THE FIRST PRINTERS 514

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED 543

INDEX 547