For centuries, governments have restricted inventions for fear of disruption with notable examples including the Ottoman Empire banning the printing press, the Chinese empire outlawing voyages of discovery, Pope Urban VIII imprisoned Galileo Galilei because of his ideas related to the position of the Earth within the universe, and Queen Elizabeth I prohibited weaving machines which would displace tapestry workers
Tag: printing press
The Advent of Chinese Moveable Type
The Chinese developed moveable type around 1040 A.D. during the Northern Song Dynasty by the inventor Bi Sheng. Moveable type were essentially dies which were inked and pressed onto parchment of some kind (e.g. silk or paper). This invention was developed a full 400 years before Johan Gutenberg invented the printing press
The Rarity of Incunable Books
Any book printed before 1500 (or within 50 years of the invention of the printing press) is referred to as an “incunable” book. Book printing started around 870 A.D.. but the limitation of literate people who could read and write restricted books from being mass produced until Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440. Books before 1500 are considered incredibly rare and expensive because they are one of a kind and essentially artwork, pieces which only the very wealthy could afford during the period of their introduction. Incunable means “in the cradle” in Latin which refers to the infancy period of book prints