Modern man draws a significant part of his knowledge from the mass media. But there were times when one could get new knowledge only from books. The sheets of papyrus or parchment written in neat signs, rolled or stapled together, were the first books.
From the history of the appearance of books
For some time, oral legends were the only source of information. The transfer of knowledge and experience was carried out in ancient times from person to person, from mouth to mouth. At the same time, information was often lost or distorted beyond recognition. To get rid of this shortcoming, people began to look for ways to consolidate knowledge on some material basis, using drawing writing, and then writing.
The most advanced ancient civilizations eventually invented writing. For this purpose, wooden planks, clay or wax tiles, sheets of soft metal were widely used. In ancient Egypt, for example, information was recorded on sheets of papyrus cut in a special way. The earliest records on papyrus rolled into long scrolls date from the third millennium BC. It can be considered that the Egyptian scrolls were the first books known in history.
The first handwritten books on parchment appeared much later, not long before the onset of a new era. The sheets of such books were fastened together, making up small volumes. Since one could only dream of copying technology in those years, specially trained people conscientiously copied the first books by hand. Several masters could work on one book at once: one prepared sheets of parchment, another diligently inscribed signs on them, the third worked on illustrations.
Further distribution of books
Time passed, writing spread more and more widely and required a large number of books. Parchment was a rather expensive material, and therefore it was unprofitable to make large editions of it. This material has been replaced by paper. Where and when it was first invented is unlikely to be reliably established. According to some reports, in China, paper began to be used for the manufacture of books in the 1st century.
Later, this material, excellent for books, began to be made in Japan, Korea, Central Asia and India. Paper came to Europe around the 10th century. The best varieties that were used to make books were made from cotton or linen rags, and then finely chopped wood was used. Paper books were much cheaper than those made from parchment, and therefore spread much more widely.
The revolution in book publishing took place in the middle of the 15th century, when the German master Johannes Gutenberg proposed an original way of printing. In his printing device, he used metal letters and a ruler, with which it was possible to type whole pages relatively quickly. Then the letters were smeared with special paint and the required number of prints were made on paper. This method of making books became widespread relatively quickly. After that, the books became the property of a wide range of readers.
