Printing Press

Gutenberg's movable metal type cuts the price of books sharply and lets knowledge spread in weeks instead of years.

Developed in Mainz around 1450; precursors exist in China (Bi Sheng, ~1040) and Korea (metal type, 1377). By 1500 an estimated 10 to 20 million printed volumes existed in Europe. The press accelerated the Reformation, science and literacy.

Prerequisites

Writing~3200 BC
Metallurgy (Bronze, Iron)~2500 BC
Alphabet~1800 BCAbout 26 letters suit movable type; thousands of characters do not
Paper~105 ADGutenberg's books were printed on cheap paper from the papermaking tradition
East Asian Printing868Gutenberg's movable type had East Asian forerunners in woodblock and type printing

Unlocks

Anatomy and blood circulation1543
Heliocentric world view1543
Scientific Method~1600-1620
Newspapers & the Public Sphere1605
Scientific Societies & Journals1665
Copyright (Statute of Anne)1710
Enlightenment & Encyclopedia1715-1789
Linnaeus and classification1735
Compulsory Schooling & Literacy1763
Source-Critical History (Ranke)1824
Public Libraries1850
Typewriter & Keyboard1868
Peer Review & Research Bodies1945-1975

More in Foundations of Civilization · Middle Ages & Renaissance

Baghdad Translation Movement~800
East Asian Printing868
Universities1088
Scientific Method~1600-1620
Scientific Societies & Journals1665

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