The Art of Reading: Image and Text in Manuscripts and Early Printed Books

The Transition from Hand Production to Mechanical Production

As one scholar has noted, the transition from manuscript to print was not at all dramatic. Early printed books (incunabula) followed the manuscript tradition very closely--their type was fashioned after letter forms used in manuscripts, they used the same ligatures and abbreviations as scribes, and they generally observed the appearance of manuscripts. The main difference was that because print letterforms were cast from molds, they achieved a remarkable uniformity that not even the most skilled calligrapher could achieve.

The transition from vellum to paper was also not particularly dramatic. Both existed side by side in Europe as early as the 13th century, but the use of paper gradually increased into the 15th century. Paper eventually won out, as it was cheaper and easier to mass produce, was more pliable than vellum, and absorbed ink better.

Another side effect of the transition from hand to mechanical production that may have been dramatic, or at least noteworthy, was the increase, albeit brief, in work opportunities for illuminators and rubricators. With the overall increase in the availability of books as a result of the printing process, the work available to these professionals increased and remained at a high level into the 16th century, when printed initials overtook hand painted initials in printed books. Illuminators, especially, were in high demand to hand color woodcut illustrations and to transfer drawings onto wooden blocks.  

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