The invention of printing: a collection of facts and opinions descriptive of early prints and playing cards, the block-books of the fifteenth cen

By Theodore Low De Vinne

Book Overview

Before novels travelled the world, a handful of carved blocks and experimental presses rewired Europe. Printing changed Europe, for ever. Theodore L. De Vinne, celebrated American printer and typographer, gathers a printing history collection of lucid, opinionated, and keenly observed studies on the first century of movable type. These typography and bookmaking essays move from the medieval manuscript to print, tracing early modern European print through playing cards, devotional images, and the curious world of fifteenth century blockbooks. With an eye for physical evidence, De Vinne weighs the Haarlem Coster legend alongside the documented work of Gutenberg and early printers, showing how workshops, materials, and commerce shaped what readers could hold in their hands. Part narrative, part bibliographic reference work, it remains a bracing guide to attribution, dating, and the survival of fragile originals. Expect close attention to paper, ink, and design: the small decisions that turned text into an object. De Vinne writes for the intelligent general reader yet rewards the specialist, linking technical detail to the wider story of literacy, authority, and taste. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. A classic of print scholarship, still startlingly readable. For book history students, collectors of incunabula, and anyone fascinated by the origins of playing cards and the history of the book, it offers enduring context for how a technology became a culture.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9389265789
• ISBN13: 9789389265781
• Release Date: June 2019
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"