ting were imitated in the
cutting of the blocks. They were also imitated when the letters, instead
of being cut in groups on a block to form an inscription, were cut on
the ends of single types to be used in printing. The first printing,
whether on blocks or from types, was an imitation of manuscript and this
determined the letter faces.

The early 15th century, then, sees everything prepared for the invention
and use of movable types for printing purposes. There is a greater
demand for books than the hard working copyists can supply. The idea of
making impressions from stamps has become very familiar through long
use. Ink and paper suitable for these impressions have been discovered
and are obtainable at a reasonable price. The rude presses used for so
many other purposes have been adapted to the taking of these
impressions. Everything is ready for the invention which is to
revolutionize the intellectual life of mankind.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

The Story of the Alphabet. Edward Clodd.

The Story of Books. G. B. Rawlings.

Books in Manuscript. Falconer Madan.

Books and Their Makers in the Middle Ages. Vol. I. G. H. Putnam.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. Eleventh Edition.

Articles:
Alphabet (very scholarly and in large part suitable only for very
advanced students.)
Paleography.
Manuscript.
Book.
Libraries.
Bookbinding.
Bookselling.
Papyrus.
Paper.
Ink, and many others which will suggest themselves during the study
of the articles named.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Name some of the earliest devices for communicating ideas to the
absent.

2. What was the most important of these devices, and why?

3. What is an ideogram?

4. What is a phonogram?

5. Tell how phonograms became alphabets.

6. Who were the Egyptians and what kind of characters did they use?

7. Who were the Assyrio-Babylonians and what kind of characters did they
use?

8. Who were the Cretans and what kind of characters did they use?

9. Who invented the alphabet?

10. Where did they get the material for the alphabet?

11. What is papyrus, and how was it made?

12. What is vellum, and how was it made?

13. Who invented paper, and when?

14. Who introduced it into Europe, and when?

15. What made the use of paper common, and why?

16. What writing material was invented in the 19th century?

17. What are some of its advantages and disadvantages?

18. Wh