So Now You Know
Johannes Gutenberg is often credited as the inventor of the printing press in 1454. But neither printing nor movable type was actually invented by Johannes Gutenberg, nor did he print the first book. The Chinese actually printed from movable type in 1040, but later discarded the method.
Even before printing books from movable type, the Chinese used wooden blocks to print Budhist writings by hand on scrolls in the 9th Century. While there are no surviving examples of the Chinese printing presses of the 11th Century, the oldest surving printed book on record is the Budhist Diamond-Sutra of 868 AD.
Nevertheless, before 1454, there were only about 30,000 books throughout the whole of Europe, nearly all Bibles or biblical commentary. By 1500, there were more than 9 million books.
Even before printing books from movable type, the Chinese used wooden blocks to print Budhist writings by hand on scrolls in the 9th Century. While there are no surviving examples of the Chinese printing presses of the 11th Century, the oldest surving printed book on record is the Budhist Diamond-Sutra of 868 AD.
Nevertheless, before 1454, there were only about 30,000 books throughout the whole of Europe, nearly all Bibles or biblical commentary. By 1500, there were more than 9 million books.
