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Class Date: October 22nd
Location: Your couch! See your weekly e-mail for Zoom link!
Look To The Books
Look To The Books
This week we’re talking about American novels! Since the class will span quite a bit of our timeline, for background we’ll review the overall history of books and printing (very briefly). Enjoy!
Library Background:
Libraries date back to antiquity, as a means of consolidating the written word and cultural knowledge. The Greeks kept libraries, both public and in temples, as far back as the 4th century BC. The copies of Aristotle’s private library eventually formed part of the foundation of the Library at Alexandria, rumored to be one of the greatest collections of human knowledge in the ancient world.
As ships docked at the great port of Alexandria, their books were turned over for copying and archiving in the Library. Though it was once believed that the Library was sacked and burned by the Romans, later texts and accounts dispute that claim.
For a short lesson on the Library at Alexandria, click here:
Religions also drove the collection of texts. After the death of prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, adherents committed their religious texts to papyrus scrolls and encouraged all to read them. As they conquered new lands, they brought their commitment to literacy with them. After learning to make paper from the Chinese, their production and collection of written works only continued to grow. By replacing papyrus and parchment, paper improved trade and led to some of the most extensive libraries in the world, far outstripping the libraries of Europe. By the 9th century, Baghdad boasted more than 100 shops selling books and paper in their central market.
Christian monks and monasteries also sought to collect and preserve the written word. The Benedictine order of monks was particularly known for their beautifully detailed texts, spending countless hours copying and detailing the texts.
Many were used for religious study, though many monasteries also lent books to other monasteries or even neighboring townsfolk, functioning as an early public library.
During the Middle Ages, libraries became a feature of European Universities, as well as monasteries. Unfortunately, books remained extremely expensive and difficult to obtain for most people. In the 1440s, Guttenberg’s moveable type printing press began to make books more accessible to more than just the very wealthy, increasing the prevalence of privately owned book collections. Unfortunately, wars, changing ideologies, and differing attitudes towards religion across the globe in the 15th and 16th centuries wreaked havoc on libraries, especially those housed in religious institutions, Christian and Muslim alike. As ideologies evolved, many sought to get rid of ‘old ways’ of thinking, destroying texts and collections.
It would not be until the 17th and 18th centuries that the idea of collected and shared knowledge in the form of books would establish itself more firmly. In 1731, Benjamin Franklin established the Junto, a membership library for “a club of thinkers that gathered to discuss "queries on any point of Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy," as Franklin described in his autobiography.” Each Junto member paid a fee to be a part of the club, which The Library Company used to procure a collection of books. Benjamin Franklin also contributed to one of the nation’s first public lending libraries when he donated a collection of his books to the town of Franklin (named after him). He insisted that the books be made free to the town, thus establishing a lending library.
The idea of free public libraries continued to spread across the new nation, and the first totally tax-supported library was established in 1833 in the town of Peterborough, New Hampshire. The Boston Public Library was founded in 1848 and is considered to be one of the first substantial libraries in the country.
Printing history
3500 BCE - Symbols on Tablets
Historians generally accept that the first attempt to write down symbols was done by Sumerians living in Southern Mesopotamia.
They created a “cuneiform” alphabet, the symbols of which were etched into clay tablets with a triangle shaped stylus called a “calamus”. They then allowed it to dry or ford it in a kiln to make them last longer. The cuneiform script is the earliest known written system in the world.
2400 BCE - Papyrus Scrolls
The earliest surviving Papyrus scrolls with written words originated in Egypt, though historians believe that papyrus might have been used as early as 3100 BCE. (It doesn’t last quite as easily as fired clay.)
Papyrus was a very thick paper like material made from the “pith” of the papyrus plant, a reed like swamp plant that used to be found all along the Nile river. The pith was cut into thin strips, pressed together, then glued and dried to form a thin, flat surface. A calamus was often used to write, though bird feathers were also an option.
600 BCE - Standard writing system
Mediterranean cultures slowly formed a more developed writing system. They favored the left to right system now standard in Western cultures, though Arabic and Hebrew still use right to left script. Up to this point, many cultures wrote left to right, right to left, up to down, and even down to up.
500 - 200 BCE - Parchment
Parchment is thin, made from calfskin, sheepskin, or even goatskin. It derives its name from the Greek city of Pergamon, where the art of creating it was perfected.
To see how this labor intensive process is accomplished, check out this 10 minute video about how it is still crafted:
200 BC - Wax Tablets
Romans and Greeks developed tablets; blocks of wood coated in was allowing them to be written on with a stylus. They could be erased and re-used. The tablets were sometimes joined together at one end with cords to form a ‘codex’ (originally the Latin for ‘wood’ but later known as a collection of bound pages). This codex became very popular in Europe, replacing the scroll for collecting information.
105 AD - Paper
Paper is a big step forward in the creation of books.
To review the history of paper making, check out this 15 minute video from The History Guy (one of my favorite).
400 - 600 AD - Illustrations
The first illustrated manuscripts appeared. They were still written on parchment, instead of modern paper, due to the quality and durability of parchment. The earliest known examples of illustrated manuscripts originate in Italy and the eastern Roman Empire. Monastic scribes curated and maintained many of these volumes, preserving them for future generations.
868 AD - First Printed Book
The very first block printed book was produced in China. Blocks of wood with characters carved in reverse relief were inked and then pressed onto paper.
To see how this is created, check out this 2.5 minute video on the process:
To down a little wood block rabbit hole, check out this longer video about wood block printing that was used for art:
1041 - 1230 AD - First Moveable Type
Moveable type certainly pushes the technology of printing and book making forward by leaps and bounds. A Chinese man named Bi Sheng created individual wooden pieces, or tablets, then placed them onto a wooden board to create prints. The wood has its problems, namely that the ink would eventually soak into the wood pieces. Due to the complexity of written Chinese, movable type wasn’t really popular for hundreds of years, since it required thousands of individual pieces.
Around 1230AD, metal moveable type was created in Korea, leading to the first moveable metal print book in 1377AD called “Jikiji”.
1250 AD - Block printing in Egypt
Called Tarsh in Arabic, block printing developed in Egypt. It’s difficult to say if it developed separately or was inspired by the printing already being done in Asia. Most of the surviving prints suggest that the printing technique was used mainly for religious texts.
1439 - 1450 AD - Moveable Type in Europe
Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, developed the moveable type system in Europe. He was already adept at cutting punches for coins and molds, so he moved the technique over to letters.
To see how the printing press worked, check out this video.
By 1455, he printed the Gutenberg Bible; the first major book to be printed on the moveable type printing press. There are thought to be 21 complete copies still in existence today and they are considered to be the most expensive books in the world (if they were ever put on sale).
For a great 10 minute overview of the press and the Bible, check out this video:
1490 - 1500 AD - The Printing Revolution
The moveable type printing press led to a spree of mass printing across Europe. By the end of the 15th century, printing had spread to roughly 230 countries in Europe and more than 20 million books had been produced. As trade routes were established, books made their way around the world, leading to best sellers and a whole new branch of media with newspapers.
1639 - 1640 AD - America’s First Book
After Puritans arrived on the North American continent (not yet America), bringing with them a printing press. They used it to print “the Bay Psalm” in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1640 AD. The book contained the book of Psalms, 150 sacred poems from the Hebrew Bible, which are sung, translated into English.
That’s where our timeline leaves us for the week. Tune in to learn more about books in the United States!
Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading
To read more about this period, here are some great books to get you started:
For Kids:
Pressed for Ideas: The History of Printing for Kids by James Smith
Long before tablets and touchscreens, a simple invention changed the world forever—one crank of a press at a time. This exciting nonfiction book for kids ages 7 to 12 takes young readers on a fascinating journey through the invention that sparked a revolution in how we learn, connect, and share ideas.
From ancient scrolls and hand-copied books to Gutenberg’s genius and the rise of newspapers, this book explores the wild and wonderful story of printing. With a kid-friendly voice and surprising facts tucked into every chapter, it shows how ink, fonts, machines, and a whole lot of curiosity helped spread knowledge across the globe. Readers will meet bold inventors, learn how books were made before printers existed, discover the power of pamphlets and protests, and even get hands-on ideas for creating their own printed projects at home.
Perfect for curious minds and future creators, this book turns history into an adventure—showing that big ideas often start with small questions. Whether it’s a book, a zine, or a poster taped to a wall, every printed page has the power to shape the world—and kids will come away inspired to make their mark with words of their own.
The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and R. Gregory Christie
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, ALA Notable Children's Book, CCBC Best Children's Book of the Year, Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Kirkus Best Children's Books, NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts
In the 1930s, Lewis's dad, Lewis Michaux Sr., had an itch he needed to scratch―a book itch. How to scratch it? He started a bookstore in Harlem and named it the National Memorial African Bookstore.
And as far as Lewis Michaux Jr. could tell, his father's bookstore was one of a kind. People from all over came to visit the store, even famous people―Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Langston Hughes, to name a few. In his father's bookstore people bought and read books, and they also learned from each other. People swapped and traded ideas and talked about how things could change. They came together here all because of his father's book itch. Read the story of how Lewis Michaux Sr. and his bookstore fostered new ideas and helped people stand up for what they believed in.
For Adults:
The Cambridge History of the American Novel: by Leonard Cassuto, Clare Virginia Eby, and Benjamin Reiss
This ambitious literary history traces the American novel from its emergence in the late eighteenth century to its diverse incarnations in the multi-ethnic, multi-media culture of the present day. In a set of original essays by renowned scholars from all over the world, the volume extends important critical debates and frames new ones. Offering new views of American classics, it also breaks new ground to show the role of popular genres – such as science fiction and mystery novels – in the creation of the literary tradition. One of the original features of this book is the dialogue between the essays, highlighting cross-currents between authors and their works as well as across historical periods. While offering a narrative of the development of the genre, the History reflects the multiple methodologies that have informed readings of the American novel and will change the way scholars and readers think about American literary history.
A Little History of Literature by John Sutherland
Literature has inspired every civilisation, from Greek myth to today’s graphic novels. John Sutherland, who has researched, taught and written on the entire glorious span of human literary activity, here guides readers on a journey ‘through the looking glass’ to show how literature from across the world can transport us, transfix us, and teach us about ourselves.
He introduces key works, from the Epic of Gilgamesh and Shakespeare to T.S. Eliot, George Orwell and Margaret Atwood, and looks afresh at literature’s links to power, identity and taste. From the rude jokes within Anglo-Saxon riddles to the guilty pleasures of potboilers and fan fiction, this celebratory guide offers wit, humour and deep learning to all who enjoy literature, and who want to understand it anew.
Works Cited
Works Cited
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