This chapter traces the history of print from its earliest forms in East Asia to the print revolution in Europe and its arrival in India. The first kind of print technology was hand printing in China, Japan and Korea, used for books, calendars and texts. In the 1430s Johann Gutenberg developed the printing press with movable metal type, making books cheaper and faster to produce and triggering a print revolution. Print created a new reading public, helped spread the ideas of the Reformation and the Enlightenment, and worried rulers and the church who feared loss of control, leading to censorship. In India, print arrived with Christian missionaries and grew rapidly in the nineteenth century with newspapers, journals, religious texts and cheap books in many languages. Print became a powerful tool for reform and debate on issues such as the condition of women, caste and religion, and for nationalist mobilisation against colonial rule. The colonial government responded with controls like the Vernacular Press Act of 1878. The chapter shows how print shaped public opinion, identity and political life.
Early hand printing in East AsiaThe Gutenberg press and the print revolutionPrint, the Reformation and the reading publicThe coming of print to IndiaPrint, reform, censorship and nationalism
Key terms
Print revolution
The transformation caused by the spread of printed books after the printing press.
Movable type
Reusable metal letters that can be arranged to print any text.
Gutenberg press
The first European printing press with movable metal type, c. 1430s.
Manuscript
A handwritten book or document made before printing became common.
Vellum
A parchment made from animal skin used for writing before paper.
Vernacular Press Act (1878)
A colonial law to censor and control Indian-language newspapers.
Compositor
A worker who composes the text by setting movable type for printing.
Chapbook
A cheap, small pocket-sized book sold by travelling pedlars.
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