Books Throughout the Ages

Have you ever noticed that throughout the millenniums, there have always been advancements in all sorts of media and communications? The human race is perpetually and doggedly trying to improve both technology and communication. Despite all the changes that mankind has undergone, there is one thing that remains the same – books.

Back then, there wasn’t the convenience of the keyboard or even pen and paper to write everything down. The earliest substances used for the development and writing of ancient books were wood and bark. The early Greeks and Latins used soft metal tablets coated with wax to write their material required. Moreover, a stylus was used to inscribe these writings upon a tablet. It was only later that papyrus took over as the primary material used for writing in ancient times in Egypt, Greece and Rome. The first books used parchment or vellum, calf skin, as its pages and the covers were made up of wood and wrapped in leather and during those times were extremely expensive as almost all of it was copied by hand. The Chinese, the nation that eventually invented paper, began the earliest forms of writings by carving and inking an entire page on tablets of bamboo bark. It was not until the tenth century AD that Europe discovered the invention of paper.

It was not until the early 1800s that the steam powered printing press became a popular method for book printing and the earliest typewriters were invented in the late 1700s and early 1800s though it is very subjective to who could have invented it. Many variations of typewriters were manufactured and only recently, in 1989, was the final stage and first digital typewriter invented by Canon.

In the modern day, technology has advanced greatly and the latest form of books comes as an online version and is commonly known as an e-book. Most of the writing is done on keyboard now and through the years technology has allowed Man to conveniently type and publish books.
Despite all the advances and changes, one thing still remains the same, the way books are read. That is one thing that I think will forever remain the same.

If you’d like to read up more on the history of books, this is the website I recommend: A Brief and Understandable History of Them from the Earliest Times
It’s really interesting.

Until next time, goodbye.