Print Culture

Origins of Print Culture

East Asia Beginnings

Print technology originated in East Asia, particularly in China.
Hand-printing methods were established as early as AD 594.
Imperial states supported printing to create textbooks for civil service examinations, fostering a reading culture.

Japan’s Introduction to Print

Buddhist missionaries introduced print techniques in Japan around AD 768-770.
The oldest Japanese book, the Diamond Sutra, was printed in AD 868, marking a flourishing print culture alongside urban life.

The Print Revolution in Europe

Marco Polo and Woodblock Printing

In 1295, Marco Polo brought knowledge of woodblock printing back to Italy from China.
The technology spread to other parts of Europe, but luxury editions were still handwritten on very expensive vellum.
The students and merchants bought the cheaper woodblock books.

Spread of Woodblock Printing

Problems with Handwritten Manuscripts

1. Copying is an expensive, laborious and time consuming task.

2. Manuscripts were hard to handle, fragile and not very portable

Therefore, to satisfy the growing demand for books woodblock printing was adopted at a fast rate across Europe. By the early 1400s woodblock printing spread across the whole continent.

Johann Gutenberg’s Printing Press

Early Printing Press

Johann Gutenberg was the son of merchant who grew up on a large estate.
He had seen olive and wine presses since his childhood. He learnt stone polishing and became a master goldsmith.
Drawing on this knowledge he set out to innovate a printing machine.
The olive press was the model for the printing press, and moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet
Gutenberg had developed the first known printing press by 1448, revolutionizing book production.

Effects

The Gutenberg Bible was one of the first major books printed, 180 editions were made in 3 years, highlighting the shift from handwritten manuscripts to printed texts.
Importantly, printed books did not displace handwritten book entirely. As new products tend to do, they closely imitated the style of their cousins (handwritten books).
The metal letters imitated the ornamental handwritten styles.
The books were decorated with illustrations seen in handwritten books, such as foliage and other patterns. Rich clients had books made with empty spaces for illustrations so they could hire illustrators and have a ‘unique’ book, not possessed by the peasants.
The reading mania was unstoppable. In the second-half of 15 ^thcentury there were about 20 million books in the European market. In the 16 ^thcentury the numbers shot up to 200 million.
This shift, from handwritten manuscripts to the printing press, led to the print revolution.

Print Culture in the Nineteenth Century

Emergence of New Readerships

With compulsory education, children became a significant readership category.
In France, a children’s press was established in 1857 to publish literature specifically for children, including fairy tales.

Women in Literature

Women emerged as both readers and writers during this period.
Novels written by women, notably by authors like Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, began to shape the narrative of a new, empowered woman.

Rise of Periodicals

The periodical press gained prominence, merging current affairs with entertainment.
Scientific discoveries and Enlightenment ideas became more accessible to the public through newspapers and journals.

The Spread of Ideas

Impact on Society

The spread of printed material fostered a new culture of reading, moving from oral to reading traditions.
Increased literacy rates allowed a wider population to engage with literature, including works of philosophers like Voltaire and Rousseau.

Financial Accessibility

Cheap printed materials like penny chapbooks made literature accessible to the working class and poor individuals.

Print and the French Revolution

Books as Catalysts for Change

Print culture is fundamentally linked to the ideas that fueled the French Revolution.
Enlightenment thinkers critiqued traditional norms, fostering a discourse centered on reason and intellectual enlightenment.

The Role of Satirical Literature

Printed literature began to mock royalty, leading to public discontent and the questioning of authority.

The Global Dimensions of Print

Technological Advancements

The late eighteenth century saw further innovations in printing technologies, leading to faster and cheaper production of literature.

Counter-Movements and Control

Due the nature of print, even dissenters could publish their ideas and challengenge the establishment.
Even people who welcomed print were apprehensive about it’s unfettered usage. They were fearful of losing control of flow of information. They thought that no control on books would lead to circulation of irreligious thought. This was the basis of most criticism of the print revolution.
Martin Luther King, the protestant reformer, wrote the 95 theses. He stuck it outside the Catholic church and went to be the founder of protestant christianity.

Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one.
— Martin Luther King

A italian named Menocchio who interepreted the Bible differently than the church was executed in 1558, during the inquisition to repress heretical ideas.
His translation of the old testament sold 5,000 copies.
The Catholic Church and monarchies expressed concern over the spread of dissenting ideas through print, leading to efforts to censor and control printed materials.

Arrival of the Printing Press

The printing press was introduced to India by Portuguese missionaries in the sixteenth century.
Marked the beginning of a literacy revolution, enabling the dissemination of religious and political ideas.
Newspapers and tracts sparked intense public debates on various issues, such as widow immolation and religious roles.

Impact on Literacy and Public Discourse

Pre-colonial Bengal had an extensive network of village primary schools but focused more on writing than reading.
Students often learned to write by dictation from memory, resulting in a lack of actual reading of texts .

Evolution of Literary Forms

With the rise of print, diverse literary forms emerged, including novels and essays reflecting personal experiences and societal changes .
New forms of publication were explored, particularly focusing on the lives and emotions of women.

Women’s Access to Education

The interest in women’s experiences grew in novels and social reforms, leading to female authors like Kailashbashini Debi and Tarabai Shinde writing about women’s issues .
Women’s reading increased, supported by journal publications advocating for women’s education .
Despite resistance from conservative families, several women secretively sought education, such as Rashsundari Debi, who published the first full-length autobiography in Bengali .

Print and Caste/Class Issues

Workers in factories expressed their experiences through writing, as seen with millworker Kashibaba’s publication .
Caste discrimination was critiqued in printed tracts, with notable figures like Jyotiba Phule challenging the caste system .

Print’s Role in Religious Reforms

Print facilitated religious reforms by allowing the circulation of different interpretations and criticisms of existing practices .
Ulama were deeply anxious about the collapse of Muslim dynasties. They thought that the British would facilitate conversion, so they bought cheap lithographs and printed religious scriptures in Persian and Urud to distribute.
Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, started bein printed in 1810 in Kolkata. The Naval Kishore Press at Lucknow and the Shri Venkateshwar Press in Bombay published various cheap religious lithographs, and they flooded north India in the 1880s.
Vernacular translations of holy scriptures emerged, enabling broader public engagement in religious discussions.

Impact of Print on Society

Print culture connected communities and contributed to the development of a pan-Indian identity .
Early newspapers and journals facilitated the free discussion of ideas, leading to political movements and social reforms.

Censorship and Regulation

Following the revolt of 1857, the colonial government imposed stricter controls on the press, including the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, providing the government extensive rights to censor reports .
Despite repression, nationalist publications flourished and stirred public protests against government measures.