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Found in Mesopotamia, these tablets are some of the earliest proof of writing and reading. They were small, handmade tablets made of gathered clay. Pictographs were drawn using a pointed stylus (Galbraith, 2020). -
Papyrus scrolls were found in Saqqara dating back to about 2900 BCE, estimated to be created in around 3000 BCE (Galbraith, 2020) -
Wax tablets were used in ancient Greece and Rome (Galbraith, 2020) -
In the final two centuries BCE, parchment was developed and used for writing (Galbraith, 2020).
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In early 200 CE, paper is invented in China (Galbraith, 2020)
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The codex becomes the preferred format over scrolls in around 400. This changes book storage in the Middle Ages (Galbraith, 2020) -
In around the fourth century, the codex format began to spread through Europe. -
Woodblock printing begins to spread throughout Asia (Galbraith, 2020) -
The Diamond Sutra is the earliest-dated printed book (Galbraith, 2020). -
In China, the first movable type is invented by Bì Shēng (Galbraith, 2020) -
In South Korea, bronze printing type is developed (Galbraith, 2020).
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First mentioned in a lawsuit in 1439 (Augustyn, 2018), this printing press was -
In the early 1450s, Gutenberg's 42-line bible is printed and circulated. This is his most famed work (Galbraith, 2020) -
In about 1800, the iron press is developed and revolutionizes printing. It is much more durable and larger than the wooden press that it eventually replaced (Galbraith, 2020). -
Friedrich Koenig produced the first steam powered printing press, which is installed in The Times of London (Galbraith, 2020).
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The E. Remington Sons Arms Company produced the first commercial typewriter which became a massive success (Galbraith, 2020). -
Ottmar Mergenthaler creates the linotype typesetting machine which rapidly speeds up the process. It allowed for the production of entire lines of type at once (Galbraith, 2020). -
Tolbert Lanston patented the monotype machine, similar to the linotype but more complex. It allowed for easier typographic corrections (Galbraith, 2020)
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The Kindle, the most popular e-reader, hits the market to massive success. Earlier e-readers were not as popular (Galbraith, 2020)