Evolution of Writing and Printing. Evolution of the Pictograph In the 1000 B.C. era, Egyptian...

Evolution of Writing and Printing

Evolution of the Pictograph

•In the 1000 B.C. era, Egyptian Hieroglyphs evolved into the first alphabet.

•Scribed on Papyrus Scrolls using primitive inks.

Papyrus

• Papyrus: An early form of paper, usually used in rolls, made from the pulp of the papyrus plant.

Papyrus scrolls generally were inscribed with primitive letters to record stories of a culture or census data.

The Library of Alexandria

• Built by Ptolemy the 2nd in 300 B.C.

• Said to contain more than 700,000 papyrus scrolls, encompassing all facets of human knowledge.

• Library destroyed in military conquests sometime between 48 B.C. and 642 A.D.

Evolution of Human Recorded thought through the Dark Ages: 476 to 1000 A.D.

Vellum

• A type of parchment made from cured animal skins, known for its flexibility and durability, used for making the pages of books.

Preservation of Knowledge during the Dark Ages

• Most knowledge preserved in the west was done in Churches.

The First Known Illustrated Manuscript

• “Vatican Vergil” 400 A.D.

The Illuminated Manuscript

• “Comments on the Psalms” 1200 A.D.

The Illuminated Manuscript

• Developed by the Celts,starting in roughly 400 A.D.

• Characterized by complex geometric designs and interwoven letters and graphics, designed to tell a story.

Two Methods of Manuscript Illumination, Part 1

• Diminuendo: a decreasing graphic scale leading from the large initial letter to the text.

“The Book of Durrow” A.D. 680

Two Methods of Manuscript Illumination, Part 2

• Initial Letter Form: First letter of each section is larger than the text.

• “Insular Secta”: Spaces between words.

“The Book of Kells, A.D. 794

Meanwhile, in Asia

• As early as 600-800 A.D., the Koreans and other Asian cultures were developing movable type.

One of the first complete intact works printed using movable type, “The Diamond Sutra”

Korea A.D. 868