Bookmaking From around the world!

The History of Bookmaking  Bookmaking really began with the invention of writing.  The first forms of writing were ideas expressed through pictorial forms such as hieroglyphics, inscriptions on rocks and clay tablets.  There are many examples of such early forms of writing.  Chauvet Cave, France

Early forms of writing:  Early writing techniques began with the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Mayans and Chinese.  These early forms of writing gave birth to all other styles of writing.  For example, Mesopotamians kept great libraries of records using cuneiform writing on clay tablets.  Egyptians and Mayans developed forms of picture writing called hieroglyphics.  Chinese developed writing from a few brushstrokes of a pictorial symbol to represent an idea or object.

Cuneiform Writing Some of the earliest writings come from Mesopotamia and Egypt. (3000 BC) Mesopotamians wrote in cuneiform on clay tables. Some of the earliest writings come from Mesopotamia and Egypt. (3000 BC) Mesopotamians wrote in cuneiform on clay tables. 1. pictorial example, 2. Cuneiform clay tablet, 3. Cuneiform Epic of Gilgamesh clay tablet, 4. Assyrian cuneiform in rock

Mayan Hieroglyphs Mayan culture began around 1800 BC and developed through 1500 CE. The Mayan people became the people in Mexico today.

The Egyptian Scroll  The first book to be made was the scroll. This was made from many sheets of papyrus which were glued together in a long strip, then rolled up and stored in a jar.  The Egyptians had official scribes that were trained in writing hieroglyphs on papyrus scrolls. In 300 B.C. there was a great library in Alexandria, Egypt that was said to contain over 500,000 papyrus scrolls.  The papyrus scrolls below are from the Egyptian Book of the Dead!

The Papyrus Plant  The word "paper" is derived from the word "papyrus," which was a plant found in Egypt along the lower Nile River.  About 5,000 years ago, Egyptians created "sheets" of papyrus by harvesting, peeling and slicing the plant into strips. The strips were then layered, pounded together and smoothed to make a flat, uniform sheet.

Chinese Characters and scrolls While the Egyptians used papyrus, the people of Asia used several different materials to write on and preserve their thoughts; silk, palm leaves, birch bark and stems of bamboo were made into scrolls.While the Egyptians used papyrus, the people of Asia used several different materials to write on and preserve their thoughts; silk, palm leaves, birch bark and stems of bamboo were made into scrolls. 1.Chinese characters, 2. Chinese document, 3. Chinese scroll

The Chinese Invent Paper!! It was the Chinese that were given credit for inventing paper about the 2nd century A.D.  According to Chinese historical accounts, paper was first invented by Ts'ai Lun (about 104 CE), who lived in the Eastern Han Dynasty. He took the inner bark of a mulberry tree and bamboo fibers, mixed them with water, and pounded them with a

wooden tool. He then poured this mixture onto a flat piece of coarsely woven cloth and let the water drain through, leaving only the fibers on the cloth. Once dry, Ts'ai Lun discovered that he had created a quality writing surface that was relatively easy to make and lightweight. He presented the invention to Emperor He Di in 105 CE, and knowledge of papermaking was passed along to Korea, Samarkand, Baghdad, and Damascus.

The Codex  In the 4th century B.C. the Mayan, Greeks and Romans wrote on plaster or wax covered wooden tablets that were hinged together with leather thongs or pieces of metal, and were called a codex. This style construction was the earliest form of what we would define as a book. The Mesoamerican codex was first. (The Mediterranean continued to use the papyrus scroll as well.)

Parchment & Vellum Paper  Christian monasteries produced hand made books from 476 to  With a shortage of papyrus a new material was needed.  The people of Europe, Africa, and Asia for over 2,000 years used the skins of animals to reserve their thoughts.  Sheep and goat skins were the first to be made into writing sheets called parchment.  For a complete picture library see the web site: exhibit/Default.html exhibit/Default.htmlhttp://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Paper- exhibit/Default.html  It would take 12 sheep to make a 150 page book. It was discovered the calf’s skin would make an even finer type of parchment called vellum.  15 th Cent. Spanish Vellum

From China to the world...  The Muslim bible, the Koran, was compiled by copyists by 651 A.D.  These same copyists worked to translate the works of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. The Koran  Cities like Damascus and Baghdad were centers for book production. (Middle East)

The First Printed Books  The first block printed scroll was a Buddhist document called the Diamond Sutra from China in 868.  Then printing with movable type was invented by Gutenberg during the Renaissance (15 th century) and permanently changed the way books were made. 1. Diamond Sutra, 2. Gutenberg Bible

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