A straightforward, visually detailed account of the history of modern printing begins with a brief account of important early advances by the Chinese, and later the Koreans. Then author/artist Bruce Koscielniak focuses on Europe in the Middle Ages, where a learning revival led to a demand for books, and experiments with metal type in Italy, Holland, and Germany coincided with the work of monastic scribes (“We make haste—slowly,” comments a monk in one illustration). Koscielniak’s appealing presentation shows and tells how a book was made and bound before it launches into how Gutenberg’s printing press revolutionized bookmaking and made the printed word more widely available and affordable (although books were certainly not available and affordable to everyone as the text proclaims). Ironically, Gutenberg’s printing shop went out of business when he couldn’t repay his debt, but hundreds more opened as his technology was replicated. Small detail illustrations, many with informational captions, and full-page scenes illustrate the text of this handsomely designed, informative volume. (Ages 8–11)

If a book was published 600 years ago, it would have been copied out by hand by a scribe in a monastery and probably would have taken months to produce. But thanks to Johann Gutenberg in the fifteenth century, modern printing was born and nowadays it can take only a few seconds to print a book. Gutenberg invented the printing press as well as a new type of ink and a new way to cast type.

Learn the incredible story of Johann Gutenberg and the history of early printing and publishing.