https://heyscott.substack.com/p/gutenberg-in-the-whirlwind
"Back in the days when I was doing a lot of speechifying at conferences and
writing the occasional column for one or another professional journal, I would
often talk about our “Gutenberg moment”.
Somewhere around 1447, Gutenberg (and others) construct a printing press with
reusable movable type. Not a singular invention
de novo, it's the clever
combining of existing innovations. The press borrowed from the vintners,
beautiful permanent rag paper, precision metal casting with just the right
degree of durability, inks that would adhere in a thin film to the type and
resist bleeding into the paper, a rising commercial sector with mercantile
fairs and trade routes crossing the continent.
Surely there was money to be made. All over Europe, entrepreneurs leap in,
setting up print shops, intent on making their fortunes. The demand for luxury
goods is high among the nobility, the upper clergy, the richest among the
merchant classes. But the traditionalists frown on the notion of printed
missals and religious tracts. They hear rumors of a 42 line Bible.
Duplicated! Multiple copies scribed by a machine! Which borders on sacrilege!
Does it not, Father? Their sons, however, building their own fortunes, find
the printed works to be worthy markers of attainment, particularly when they
can hire the finest illuminators to ink in the Initial Cap.
Most of the printers quickly go bust. Some clever few survive. Turns out
there wasn’t enough of a market for those luxury items. The successful
printers turned to indulgences, playing cards, and, of course, pornography.
Demand ramps up so much that there’s a paper shortage near the end of the
century. A printer in the Netherlands shifts all their books from quarto to
octavo, multiplying their supply. And, oh, these smaller books fit neatly into
a saddlebag. Portable.
From quirky, ridiculously expensive luxury items that most people couldn’t see
much of a use for, and that many knowledgeable people saw as a diabolic
danger, to objects desired and affordable by the middle class."
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/273-cathedral-thinking/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
