Book Development Timeline

3500 BC -- SUMERIAN CLAY TABLETS

Sumerians use cuneiform alphabet, pressed in clay with a triangular stylus. Clay tablets were dried and/or fired for longevity. Some even had clay envelopes,' which were also inscribed. Some people consider them to be the earliest form of the book.

2500 BC -- WESTERN ASIAN SCROLLS

Animal skins are used for scrolls in Western Asia.

2400 BC -- PAPYRUS

Date of the earliest surviving papyrus scroll with writing. Before paper was invented, many people wrote on scrolls made out of the papyrus plant. By layering, wetting, and then drying layers of the plant’s cellulose together, people could create a fine writing surface. This hieroglyphic scroll is part of the Book of the Dead (1800 BC), from ancient Egypt. Its detailed illustrations demonstrate both the durability and quality of papyrus.

1900 BC -- PHAISTOS DISC

The 'Phaistos disc', found on the island of Crete in 1908, was produced by pressing relief-carved symbols into the soft clay, then baking it. Although it contains the germ of the idea of printing, it appears to be unique. Because there is essentially no variation between different copies of the same symbol, it is very likely that stamps where used to create these highly detailed signs. While not really a printed work, perhaps the Phaistos Disc can be thought of the earliest typewritten work.

950 BC -- LEATHER USED FOR SCROLLS

Leather is made and used for scrolls and writing.

800 BC -- PHOENECIAN WRITING

Moabite stone is created with one of the finest specimens of Phoenician writing. The Greek and Hebrew alphabets are thought to have developed from the Phoenician alphabet.

6th Century BC -- WRITING SYSTEM DEVELOPED

General agreement among Mediterranean cultures on left-to-right writing and reading. Before that, there was L-R, R-L, top-to-bottom, and boustroph
edonic (back-and-forth). The Hebrews kept R-L.

295 BC -- ALEXANDRIA LIBARY

King Ptolemy I Soter enlisted the services of the orator Demetrios Phalereus, a former governor of Athens, and empowered him to collect, if he could, all the books in the inhabited world. To support his efforts, the king sent letters to all sovereigns and governors on earth requesting that the furnish workd by poets and prose-writers, rhetoricians and sophists, doctors and soothsayers, historians, and all others too. Agents were sent out to scout the cities of Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Foreign vessels calling in at Alexandria were searched routinely for scrolls and manuscripts. Transcripts were returned in due course, but the originals remained confiscated in the library. The story of the 47 AD destruction of the library is only partly true. Some 40,000 of the 700,000 volumes did go up in flames.

200 BC -- WAX TABLETS CODEX

Before 1st Century BC, both Greeks and Romans used wax tablets, framed and backed with wood, for note taking, orders, correspondence, and other temporary information. At times, two or more tablets were joined with thongs or cords, similar to a 3-ringed binder. The Latin name for this was "codex", from the word for wood. Single wax tablets had been used earlier than this in Mesopotamia, Greece, and Etruria.

197-159 BC -- PERGAMUM

In the Middle East, near Pergamum, large herds of cattle are raised for skins to be made into what we now call 'parchment.'

150 BC -- PAPER

The first paper is made in China from macerated hemp fibers in water suspension.

100 BC -- BIBLE

Nash Papyrus, oldest known biblical fragment, containing the Hebrew text of the ten commandments. Acquired in Egypt 1902 by W.L.Nash and now in Cambridge University Library.

1st C. BC - 1st C. AD -- CODICES

The Romans substituted skin, or membranae, for the wood panels in codices. It is unclear just when this was done and whether membranae was similar to Medieval parchment or to the thin leather of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but it is known that there are no examples or records of this substitution prior to the Romans. Later, Romans used codices to record laws and rules of order, lending the name codes or codicils to such documents. By the end of this century, the form of the book had largely changed from the scroll to the codex.

39 BC -- LIBERTAS TEMPLE

Asinius Pollio establishes first public library in Rome at the Libertas Temple

28 BC -- AUGUSTUS

Under the reign of emporer Augustus two large libraries were founded, the Palatine and the Octavian library (Cicero).

47 AD -- ALEXANDRIA LIBRARY DAMAGED

The great Library of Alexandria was damaged by fire when Julius Caeser besieged the city. It was said at one time to contain copies and translations of all known books (scrolls), between 400,000 and 500,000. It was later ravaged by civil war in the late 200s AD and by 400, nothing was left.

191 AD -- PALATINE

Palatine library destoyed by fire

370 AD -- PUBLIC LIBRARYS - ROME

There were said to be 28 public libaries in Rome

391 AD -- ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY DESTROYED

Alexandrian Library destroyed under the direction of Archbishop Theophilus of Antioch (destruction of temple of Serapis)

687 AD -- CUTHBERT, GOSPEL OF St. JOHN

Undoubtedly one of history's most dramatic book exhumations involves a manuscript copy of the Gospel of St.John that was buried in the year 687 with the body of St. Cuthbert, bishop near Lindesfarne. Two hundred years later Danish invaders sacked the holy compund, carrying with them the remains of Cuthbert. In 1104 the carved wooden casket was opened and the Gospel, a manuscript written in uncial, was found perfectly preserved.

716 AD -- CODEX AMIATINUS

Codex Amiatinus, made at the scriptorium of the twin monasteries Wearmouth and Jarrow near Newcastle, Northumbria. This codex brings together the entire old and new testament in 1,030 folios in a single binding.

750 AD -- PAPER

Paper making reached Samarkand before 750, Baghdad in 793, Damascus and Cairo in approximately 950. Through the Arab conquest of North Africa and Southern Spain, the invention first reached the Moorish parts of Spain in the 11th century. A mill was recorded at Fez in Morocco in 1100, and the first on the Spanish mainland at Xativa in 1151. It reached Southern Italy in the 13th century, where, untill quite recently, some of the oldest handmade paper mills in Italy were operating near Amalfi, in the Naples area. First Turkish marbled paper 1586, first Dutch 1598

1041 AD -- MOVABLE TYPE

In 1403 the earliest known book was printed from movable type in Korea, a process which had been used by the Chinese as early as 1041. In 1450 Gutenberg printed his 42-line Bible in Mainz on a quality of handmade paper which remains unsurpassed to this day. 26 Years later William Caxton brought the art of printing to England, and in 1486 the first English coloured illustrated book was printed in St. Albans.

1140 AD -- WINCHESTER

Winchester Bible, 1140-1190, English late Romanesque illumination

1250 AD -- BLOCK PRINTING

The first record of block printing (on paper) in Egypt.

1276 AD -- WATERMARK

The important invention of watermarking was made at one of the Fabriano Mills in Tuscany during the second half of the 13th century. The reason for the watermark was to give the product a branded trade mark of superior quality. There exists a remarkable archive of Fabriano watermarks going back to the first one in 1276, showing a mark for each year until modern times.

1325 AD -- Biblia Pauperum

First made in Klosterneuburg near Vienna. Bible for the poor.

1373 AD -- BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE

Bibliotheque Nationale. Charles V is said to be the founder of this library. The 1373 catalogue of his library lists about 1000 volumes, housed in the Louvre

1399 AD -- GUTENBERG

Gutenberg, Johann, d.1468, born in Mainz

1418 AD -- WOODCUT

Woodcut, oldest known specimen

1430 AD -- XYLOGRAPHIC BOOKS

First xylographic books, or block books produced in Germany and Holland

1456 AD -- BIBLE, GUTENBERG

42-line bible by Gutenberg

1472 AD -- DANTE'S DIVINE COMEDY

First printed edition of Dante's epic poem

1477 AD -- INTAGLIO

First book with intaglio illustrations 'Il Monte Sancto di Dio' published in Florence

1493 -- ETCHING

The earliest known etchings are by Daniel Hopfer, active at Augsburg between 1493 and 1536.

1494 AD -- SHIP OF FOOLS

DAS NARRENSCHIFF by Sebastian Brant, first publication. Within fifteen years the work appeared in one Latin, three French, one Dutch, one Low German and an English version. One reason often cited to explain Brant's far-reaching appeal was that he wrote in short chapters, mixed his "fools" skillfully, and maintained a fluid style that engaged his readers. Illustrated with 114 woodcuts.

1497 AD -- NEUDÖRFER

Neudörfer, Johann, d. 1563, writing master of Nuremberg, his 'Fundament' was the first writing book to be published.

1498 AD -- PETRUCCI

Music Printing using movable type invented by Ottaviano Petrucci of Venice

1516 AD -- BIBLE

Johan Froben of Basle published New Testament in Greek

Luther's fight against the Roman Catholic church starts. This is considered to be the first revolution of ideas supported by the fast and wide spread of written information thanks to the invention of printing.

1521 AD -- CAMBRIDGE

Cambridge University Press founded.

1522 AD -- LUTHER BIBLE - New Testament

Melchior Lotter printed the first edition of Luthers' translation of the New Testament.

First complete Luther bible translation, illustrated, was printed by Hans Lufft at Wittenberg

All French presses should deliver a copy of every book they printed to the royal library

Book of Common Prayer, first complete edition in England.

1618 AD -- BLAEU

Blaeu firm, renown for their atlasses, active from 1618 to 1672

1626 FACSIMILE

First facsimile edition by Plantin, 16th century Martyrologium Hieronymianum (engraved on copper plates)

First bible published in America by Samuel Green (John Eliot's Algonquin Indian version)

1690 AD -- PAPER

Paper, first papermaking in America

1702 AD -- COLOR PRINTING

Jakob Christof Le Blon (1667-1741) was the first to produce an engraving in several colors. He took as his starting point Newston's theory, published in 1702, which stated that all colors in the spectrum are composed of the three primary colours -blue, yellow and red. In practice, however, in order to obtain a satisfactory impression, a fourth plate had to be added, bearing black lines.

1709 AD -- COPYRIGHT

Copyright Act in England

Johnson's Dictionary, made in England, between 1746 and 1773

1785 AD -- BAER OF FRANKFURT

Oldest German used book business founded by Joseph Baer of Frankfurt

1785 AD -- THE TIMES

Foundation of Daily Universal Register, from 1788 to be called The Times.

Lithography invented by Senefelder

1800 AD -- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Library of Congress Washington founded.

George Baxter patented letterpress process for color printing

1812 AD -- CYLINDER PRESS

First built in Britain by Friedrich Konig

1822 AD -- PHOTOGRAPHY

Heliography invented by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1822. He made his first photograph in 1826.

1829 AD -- BRAILLE

Invention of embossed printing for the blind by Louis Braille.

Invention of sewing machine by Philip Watt of London

1833 AD -- DAGUERREOTYPE

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre invented the daguerreotype process in France.

1838 AD -- COLOR PRINTING

Charles Knight patented a method of color printing in which four relief blocks of wood or metal rotated and impressed in turn on to a sheet of paper

1840 AD - PHOTOGRAPHY

18 April 1840 Dr. Joseph Berres, professor of anatomy in Vienna, stated in the Wiener Zeitung that he had succeeded in converting daguerreotypes into printing plates.

1840 AD -- ILLUSTRATED NEWSPAPERS

Illustrierte Zeitung first issue published in Germany, first issue of Illustrated London News

1841 AD -- PAPERBACK

First paperbacks by Tauchnitz Verlag Germany

1843 AD -- PAPER

First time wood was used for making paper

1856 AD -- HEIDELBERG PRESS

First Heidelberg press made by Andreas Hamm

John Pouncy's Dorsetshire Photographically Illustrated was the first book illustrated by photolithography, two volumes containing 79 plates in total.

Rotary web-fed letterpress machine invented by William Bullock.

1874 AD -- TYPEWRITER

ChristopherSholes, inventor of typewriter, first perfected typewriter was marketed by Remington

Frederick Wicks of Glasgow invented typecasting machine

Linotype invented by Otto Mergenthaler

Newbery Medal of American Library Association for the most distinguished book for children.

The first bookseller's catalogue devoted exclusively to detective fiction as a collecting specialty. London dealer George Bates entitled "Murder--Catalogue the Seventh of Rare and Interesting Books Illustrating the Development of the Detective and Mystery Story."

Bookburning by Nazis.

Xerography (Xerox copies) invented.

World Copyright Union founded in Geneva.

ISBN started in Britain

Colour scanner Crosfield Electronics 'Magnascan'

Ink-jet printing announced by IBM