Print Culture and the Modern World (Easy Read)

Introduction:

It is difficult for us to imagine a world without printed matter. We find evidence of print everywhere around us – in books, journals, newspapers, prints of famous paintings, cinema posters etc. It has become so common that we take it for granted. However, it has a major role in the making of the contemporary world. Do you know print also has an interesting history? So, let’s discuss it through this chapter.

1. The First Printed Books:

• The earliest kind of print technology was developed in China, Japan and Korea.
• This was the system of hand printing.

China:

• The Chinese developed a form of printing using carved wooden blocks. This printing technique was known as block printing.
• From AD 594 onwards, books in China were printed by rubbing paper against the inked surface of woodblocks.
• The traditional Chinese ‘accordion book’ was folded and stitched at the side, since the sheet was thin and porous.
• To copy down writing in a beautiful manner, there were skilled craftsmen. This artistic style is called calligraphy.
• Moreover, Imperial China remained the major producer of printed material for a long time.
• China possessed a huge bureaucratic system which recruited its personnel through civil service examinations.
  • Textbooks printed in vast numbers for this examination under the sponsorship of the imperial state.
  • Although, from the 16th century, the number of candidates went up and that increased the volume of print.

Diversification in the uses of print:

• By the 17th Century, not only scholar-officials but there were some other groups as well who also started using print in their everyday life.
  • For example: Merchants used prints to collect trade information.
  • Rich women began to read and many women began publishing their poetry and plays.
  • Wives of scholar-officials published their works and courtesans wrote about their lives.
• The new readership preferred fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary masterpieces, and romantic plays.

Influence of Western technology on reading culture:

• New technology of the west developed a new reading culture in China.
  • Western printing techniques and mechanical presses were imported in the late 19th century as Western powers established their outposts in China.
  • Shanghai became the hub of the new print culture, catering the Western style Schools.
• There was a gradual shift from hand printing to mechanical printing.

1 A. Print in Japan:

• Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology into Japan around AD 768-770.
• The oldest Japanese book, printed in AD 868, is the Buddhist Diamond Sutra, containing six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations.
• Japanese people began printing pictures on textiles, playing cards and paper money also.
• In medieval Japan, many poets and prose writers came and published their works.
• Books were cheap and abundant.

The new visual culture in print:

• In the late 18th century, the flourishing urban circles at Edo (present day Tokyo) depicted an elegant urban culture, involving artists, courtesans, and tea house gatherings.
• In Libraries and bookstores, hand printed material of various types was available now.
  • For example: Books on women, musical instruments, calculations, tea ceremony, flower arrangements, proper etiquette, cooking and famous places.

2. Print Comes to Europe:

• For centuries, silk and spices from China flowed into Europe through the silk route.
• In the 11th century, Chinese paper reached Europe via the same route.
• Paper made possible the production of manuscripts, carefully written by scribes.

A great explorer : Marco Polo

• In 1295, Marco Polo, a great explorer, returned to Italy after many years of exploration in China.
• He brought the knowledge of woodblock printing from China back with him.
• Now Italians too started producing books with woodblocks, and soon the technology spread to other parts of Europe.
• There was class wise division of paper.
  • Luxury editions were still handwritten on very expensive vellum, meant for aristocratic circles and monastic libraries
  • Whereas, merchants and students in university towns bought the cheaper printed copies.

Book market of Europe:

• As the demand for books increased, booksellers all over Europe began exporting books to many different countries.
• Book fairs took place at different places.
• To meet the growing demand, new ways of production of handwritten manuscripts were organized.
  • For Example: Producers started producing hand manuscripts in large quantities. Also, they sold cheap as well as expensive scripts.
• Moreover, booksellers increasingly employed scribes and skilled hand writers.
  • Note: Earlier, only wealthy people employed scribes and skilled hand writers.
• More than 50 scribes often worked for one bookseller.

Limitations of the handwritten manuscripts:

1. The production of handwritten manuscripts could not satisfy the ever-increasing demand for books.
2. Copying was an expensive, laborious and time-consuming business.
3. Manuscripts were fragile, awkward to handle, and could not be carried around or read easily. Their circulation therefore remained limited.

With the growing demand for books, woodblock printing gradually became more and more popular. By the early 15th century, Europeans widely used wood blocks to print textiles, playing cards, and religious pictures with simple, brief texts. However, soon they realized the need for even quicker and cheaper reproduction of texts.

2 A. Gutenberg and the Printing Press:

• At Strasbourg, Germany, Johann Gutenberg (a German inventor) developed the first known mechanical printing press in the 1430’s.
  • Gutenberg was the son of a merchant and grew up on a large agricultural estate.
  • From his childhood, he had seen wine and olive presses. Subsequently, he learnt the art of polishing stones, became a master goldsmith, and also acquired the expertise to create lead molds used for making trinkets.
  • The olive press provided the model for the printing press, and molds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet.
• The first book (in 1448) Gutenberg printed was the Bible.
• It took three years to produce about 180 copies.
• While printing books, he kept the taste and requirement of the consumers.
  • Printing books resembled the written manuscripts in appearance and layout.
  • The metal letters imitated the ornamental handwritten styles.
  • Also, they always left the borders unfilled and decorated by hand.
    • Each purchaser could choose the design and decide on the painting school that would do the illustrations.
• In the hundred years between 1450 and 1550, most European countries set up printing presses.
• Printers from Germany traveled to other countries, seeking work and helping start new presses.
• As the number of printing presses grew, book production boomed.
  • For Example: From 20 million copies of printed books in the second half of the 15th century to 200 million copies in the 16th century.

3. The Print Revolution and its impact:

The Print Revolution transformed the lives of people, changed their relationship to information and knowledge. It influenced popular perceptions and opened up new ways of looking at things.

3 A. A New Reading Public:

• Printing press led to the emergence of a new reading public.
• Printing reduced the cost as well as time and labor required to produce each book.
• Multiple copies could be produced with greater ease.
• Books flooded the market, reaching out to an ever-growing readership.
• Access to books created a new culture of reading.
  • For example: Earlier, knowledge among common people was transferred orally. Only the elite class had access to reading. Now, a wider section of people could read due to sufficient quantity and cheapness.

However, the transition was not so simple.

• Books could be read only by the literate, and the rates of literacy in most European countries were very low till the 20th century.
• In order to make even illiterate masses purchase books, publishers tried several ways.
  • They began publishing popular ballads and folk tales, and such books would be profusely illustrated with pictures.
  • These were then sung and recited at gatherings in villages and in taverns in towns.

Thus, the hearing public and reading public became intermingled.

3 B. Religious Debates and the Fear of Print:

• Print created the possibility of wide circulation of ideas, and introduced a new world of debate and discussion.
• Even those who disagreed with established authorities could now print and circulate their ideas.
• Print made it easy for people to convey their ideas and persuade people to think differently.

The fear of Print:

• Many people were apprehensive of the effects that the easier access to the printed world and the wider circulation of books could have on people’s minds.
• Religious authorities, monarchs, as well as many writers and artists were anxious and criticized the new printed literature.
  • They feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read then rebellious and irreligious thoughts might spread. If this happens the authority of ‘valuable literature’ would be destroyed.

Implication of print revolution in religious sphere of life in early Modern Europe:

• In 1517, the religious reformer Martin Luther wrote ‘Ninety Five Theses‘ criticizing many of the practices of rituals of the Roman Catholics Church.
• He posted one printed copy on a church door in Wittenberg (Germany). It challenged the Church to debate his ideas.
• Vast number of people liked his ideas and read his book. This led to a division within the Church and to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
• Luther’s translation of the New Testament sold 5000 copies within a few weeks and a second edition appeared within a three months.
• Deeply grateful to print, Luther said, ‘Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one,’
• According to several scholars, print brought about a new intellectual atmosphere and helped spread the new ideas that led to the Reformation.

3 C. Print and Dissent:

• Even little educated people started writing books and gave their own interpretation of faith.
  • For example: In the 16th century, Menocchio, a miller in Italy, reinterpreted the message of the Bible and formulated a view of God and Creation.
  • Although, this attempt enraged the Roman Catholic Church.
  • As a result, the Roman Church began its inquisition to repress heretical ideas. They hauled Menocchio twice and ultimately executed.
  • In order to protect the religious dominance of Catholic Church, they began to maintain an Index of Prohibited Books from 1558.

4. The Reading Mania:

• Through the 17th and 18th centuries, literacy rates went up in most parts of Europe.
• Churches of different denominations set up schools in villages, carrying literacy to peasants and artisans.
• By the end of the 18th century, in some parts of Europe literacy rates were as high as 60 to 80 percent. This led to the development of virtual reading mania.
  • Now people started demanding books of different contents.
  • To target new audiences, producers also began printing new forms of popular literature.
  • Booksellers employed peddlers who roamed around villages, carrying little books for sale.
  • There were almanacs or ritual calendars, along with ballads and folktales.
  • Entertainment began to reach ordinary readers as well.
    • For Example: In England, petty peddlers (known as chapmen) used to carry penny chapbooks.
    • In France, there were ‘bibliotheque Bleue’, small sized low priced books available for even ordinary readers.
  • There were the romances, printed on four to six pages.
  • Books were of various sizes, serving many different purposes and interests.
  • The periodical press developed from the early 18th century, combining information about current affairs with entertainment.
  • Newspapers and journals carried information about wars, and trade, as well as news of developments in other places.
  • Similarly, the ideas of scientists and philosophers now became more accessible to the common people.
    • For Example: When Scientists like Issac Newton began to publish their discoveries, they could influence scientifically minded readers.
    • Likewise, the writings of thinkers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau developed new ideas in readers’ minds.
• So, we can conclude that the age of enlightenment came into being due to these changes in print culture.

4 A. ‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the World!’

• Many people believed that the books could change the world, liberate society from despotism and tyranny, and there will be a time when reason and intellect would rule.
  • Louis-Sebastien Mercier, a novelist in eighteenth-century France, declared: ‘The printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away.’
  • Mercier proclaimed: ‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world! Tremble before the virtual writer!’

4 B. Print Culture and the French Revolution

• Many historians have argued that print culture created the conditions within which the French Revolution occurred. Three types of arguments were:-
  1. Print popularized the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers: writings of great thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition and despotism. They argued for the rule of reason rather than custom. They attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state. Thus, their ideas made people think rationally.
  2. Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate: People re-evaluated and discussed all the values, norms and institutions. They became aware of the power of reason, and recognized the need to question existing ideas and beliefs. As a consequence, new ideas of social revolution came into being.
  3. Outpouring of Literature that mocked the royalty and criticized their morality: Many cartoonists began printing cartoons and caricatures. Through which they suggested that monarchy remained absorbed only in sensual pleasures whereas common people suffered immense hardships. This led to hostile sentiments against the monarchy.
• Since books which favored monarchy and church were also available in the market, people did not get influenced by what they read or saw, they made their own interpretation.
• Therefore, print did not directly shape people’s minds but it opened up the possibility of thinking differently.

5. The Nineteenth Century:

• Mass literacy led to the addition of new readers such as children, women and workers in Europe.

5 A. Children, Women and Workers:

• Children: Children emerged as a new significant readers.
  • From the late 19th century, several changes paved the way for new readers to appear. As primary education became compulsory, children became an important category of readers.
  • Thus, production of school textbooks became critical for the publishing industry.
  • Moreover, in 1857, The children’s press was also set up in France.
    • This press published new works as well as old fairy tales and folktales.
  • There is another example of Grimm Brothers in Germany who spent years compiling traditional folk tales gathered from peasants. Although they modified the old tale by not including unsuitable and vulgar things.
• Women: Readership developed among women also. They too became important readers and writers.
  • Penny Magazines came into the market, especially for women.
  • These magazines were regarding proper behavior and housekeeping.
  • In the 19th century, people began to write novels as well.
  • As the readership of women increased, publishers began producing novels for women.
  • Some of the best known novelists were women: Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, George Eliot.
    • Their writings became important in defining a new type of woman: a person with will, strength of personality, determination and the power to think.

• Workers:
  • In the 19th century, in England, lending libraries became instruments for educating white collar workers, artisans and lower-middle-class people.
  • When the self educated working class got access to reading and a little free time from work, they began writing autobiographies, political thoughts etc.

5 B. Further Innovations:

• Gradually, many changes took place in the printing press.
  • By the late 18th century, the press came to be made out of metal.
  • Through the 19th century, there were a series of further innovations in printing technology.
    • For Example: The power driven cylindrical press of Richard M. Hoe (He was from New York).
    • This was capable of printing 8000 sheets per hour. This press was particularly useful for printing newspapers.
    • In the late 19th century, when the offset press developed, it made it possible for printers to print up to six colors at a time.
    • In the 20th century, the electric press took the place of mechanical press.
    • These innovations accelerated printing operations in several ways:-
      • Method of feeding paper improved.
      • The quality of plates became better.
      • Automatic paper reels and photoelectric controls of the color register were introduced.
• Thus, these improvements changed the world of printing.

New strategies of Printers and publishers:

• Printers and publishers continuously developed new strategies to sell their product.
  • Periodicals serialized important novels, which gave birth to a particular way of writing.
  • In the 1920’s, in England, sellers sold popular works in cheap series, called the Shilling Series.
  • They also innovated dust cover or the book jacket.
  • When the Great Depression came in 1930’s, publishers brought out cheap paperback editions. As they wanted to sustain buying.

6. India and the World of Print:

• Now think, what would be the case of India before the age of print? Well, if you don’t know then read the given topic below.

6 A. Manuscripts Before the Age of Print:

• India had a very rich and old tradition of handwritten manuscripts– in Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian as well as in various vernacular languages.
• Here are some features of manuscripts.
  1. Manuscripts were copied on palm leaves or on handmade paper.
  2. Pages were sometimes beautifully illustrated.
  3. They would be either pressed between wooden covers or sewn together to ensure preservation.
  4. Manuscripts were highly expensive and fragile.
  5. They had to be handled carefully.
  6. They could not be read easily as the script was written in different styles.
• Due to these reasons, people did not use manuscripts in their everyday life.
• However, Pre-colonial Bengal had developed an extensive network of village primary schools.
  • Student did not read texts. They only learnt to write.
  • Teachers dictated portions of texts from memory and students wrote them down.

6 B. Print Comes to India:

• The printing press first came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries in the mid-sixteenth century.
• Jesuit priests learnt Konkani and printed several tracts.
• By 1674, about 50 books had been printed in Konkani and in Kanara languages.
• By 1710, Dutch Protestant had printed 32 Tamil texts.
• Often they translated the older works.

Note: The English language press did not grow in India till quite late even though the English East India Company began to import presses from the late 17th century.

The Bengal Gazette: The first English language newspaper in India.

• The person who began English printing in India was James Augustus Hickey.
• From 1780, he began to edit the Bengal Gazette.
• It was a weekly magazine that described itself as ‘a commercial paper open to all, but influenced by none’.
  • It was a private English enterprise which was independent from colonial influence.
  • Hickey published a lot of advertisements, including those that related to the import and sale of slaves.
  • He also published a lot of gossip about the Company’s senior officials in India.

However, this made the Governor-General Warren Hasting enraged. Thus, he persecuted Hickey and encouraged the publication of officially sanctioned newspapers.

• By the end of the 18th century, a number of newspapers and journals appeared in print.
• Indians too began to publish Indian newspapers.
  • For Example: Gangadhar Bhattacharya published a Bengali weekly newspaper named Bengal Gazetti.

7. Religious Reform and Public Debates:

• From the early 19th century, intense debates on religious issues began to occur.
  • These debates carried out in public or in print.
• Different groups interpreted the changes within colonial society in different ways.
  • Some criticized existing practices and campaigned for reform, while others countered the arguments of reformers.
• Here also, print played a role in introducing debate and discussion. Let us understand how.
  • Printed tracts and newspapers spread the new ideas and shaped the nature of the debate.
  • A wider public could now participate in these public discussions and express their views.
  • New ideas emerged through these clashes of opinion.

7 A. Print affects the society:

A. Social and religious reformers V/s Hindu orthodoxy:

• Print led to intense controversies between social and religious reformers and Hindu orthodoxy.
• They often debated on some delicate matters of society such as widow immolation (sati), monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood and idolatry.
  • For example: In Bengal, debate caused the increase in tracts and newspapers which circulated a variety of arguments.
• Furthermore, they used to print their ideas in spoken language of ordinary people.
  • For example: Raja Rammohum Roy published the Sambad Kaumudi from 1821. And the Hindu orthodoxy commissioned the Samachar Chandrika.
  • From 1822, two Persian newspapers were published, Jam-i-Jahan Nama and Shamasul Akhbar.
  • Gujarati newspaper, the Bombay Samachar also appeared in 1822.

B. Ulama V/s Colonial rulers:

• In north India, the ulama were deeply anxious about the collapse of Muslim dynasties.
• Muslims had fear that colonial rulers would encourage conversion, change the Muslim personal laws.
• To counter this, they used cheap lithographic presses, published Persian and Urdu translations of holy scriptures, and printed religious newspapers and tracts.
• In 1867, the Deoband Seminary published thousands of fatwas telling Muslim readers how to conduct themselves in their everyday lives and explaining the meanings of Islamic doctrines.
• All these Muslim sects and seminaries came with different interpretation of faith and tried to counter their opponents by using Urdu print.

C. Impact of print on Hindus:

• Print encouraged reading of religious texts ¹ among Hindus, especially in the vernacular languages.
  • For example: The first printed edition of the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, a 16th century text, came out from Calcutta in 1810.
• By the mid 19th century, cheap lithographic editions flooded north Indian markets. Thus, this made the print affordable for more people.
  • From 1880’s the Naval Kishore Press at Lucknow and the Shri Venkateshwar Press in Bombay published numerous religious texts in vernaculars.
• Religious texts could be read out to large groups of illiterate men and women. It led to the spread of religious texts among masses. Therefore, these texts encouraged discussions, debates and controversies within and among different religions.
• Print did not only stimulate the publication of conflicting opinions ² amongst communities, but it also connected communities and people ³ in different parts of India.

8. New Forms of Publication:

• Printing created an appetite for a new kinds of writing.
• As more and more people could now read, they wanted to see their own lives, experiences, emotions and relationships reflected in what they read. Hence, novel writing began in India to cater the need.

Note: The culture of Novels which developed in Europe, also came to India. However, Indian writers wrote novels in their Indian forms and styles.

• Other literary forms also entered the world of reading- lyrics, short stories, essays about social and political matters.

A new visual culture:

• By the end of the 19th century, new visual culture emerged. Since the number of printing presses were increasing, it became easy to reproduce multiple copies of visual images.
  • For Example: Painters like Raja Ravi Varma produced images for mass circulation.
• This visual culture also provided employment to poor wood engravers.
• Since cheap prints and calendars were easily available in the bazaar (market), poor people could also buy and decorate them on the walls of their homes or work place.
• These prints began shaping popular ideas about modernity and tradition, religion and politics, and society and culture.
• By the 1870’s, caricatures and cartoons were published in journals and newspapers, commenting on social and political issues.
• For example: Mocking caricature of Indians, imperial caricature, satirical caricature etc.

8 A. Women and Print:

In the mid-19th century, writings began to reflect women’s lives and feelings. Let’s understand how it created an impact on the lives of Women.

• Liberal Hindus:
  • Women’s reading increased enormously in middle-class homes.
  • Liberal husbands and fathers began educating their womenfolk.
    • Some taught them at home.
    • Some sent them to schools when women’s schools opened up in the cities and towns.
  • Many journals began carrying writings by women.
    • They explained why women should be educated.
    • They also carried a syllabus and attached suitable reading matter which could be used for home based schooling.
• Conservative Hindus:
  • Conservative Hindus believed that a literate girl would be widowed and Muslims feared that women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances.
• Some women resisted such beliefs.
  • For example: A Muslim Girl secretly learnt to read and write in Urdu even after her parents opposition.
  • In Bengal, Rashsundari Debi secretly learnt to read and write. And later, she wrote her autobiography ‘Amar Jiban’ in Bengali.
  • Similarly, Kailashbashini Debi wrote about the experiences of women.
  • Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai (from Maharashtra) wrote with passionate anger about the miserable lives of upper-cast Hindu women, especially widows.
• In the early 20th century, the journals written or published by women became extremely popular.
• They discussed issues like women’s education, widowhood, widow remarriage and the national movement.

Early 20th century literature in Punjab:

• Ram Chadda published the fast-selling ‘Istri Dharam Vichar’ to teach women how to be obedient wives.
• The Khalsa Tract Society published cheap booklets with a similar message.

Literature in Bengal:

• In Calcutta, there was Battala publication which produced cheap editions of religious tracts, scriptures as well as obscene and scandalous literature.
• Peddlers took the Battala publications to homes, enabling women to read them in their leisure time.

8 B. Print and the Poor People:

• In 19th century, Indian markets began to sell very cheap small books. Now poor people too, could buy and read the books.
• From the early 20th century, public libraries which were located in towns and cities, expanded access to books.
• These libraries could be seen in prosperous village also.
  • Rich local patrons set up these libraries in order to acquire prestige.

Caste and Printing:

• From the late 19th century, many writers started writing on the issues of caste discrimination.
  • For Example: Jyotiba Phule wrote about the injustices of the caste system in his ‘Gulamgiri‘ (1871). He was also known as the Maratha pioneer of ‘low caste’ protest movements.
  • In the 20th century, B.R. Ambedkar in Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, better known as periyar (respected or elder in tamil), wrote powerfully on caste. People all over India read their writings.
    • As a result, many local protest movements arose.
    • Journals about the caste issues began to publish in separate columns. In these columns, they criticized the ancient scriptures and envisioned a new and just future.
  • Another example is of Kashibaba who was a cotton mill worker in Kanpur. He wrote and published ‘Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal’ in1938 to show the links between caste and class exploitation.
  • Another Kanpur mill worker, Sudarshan Chakr wrote several poems between 1935 and 1955. Later he combined them and published a book called ‘Sacchi Kavitayan’.
    • Note: Sudarshan Chakr was his pen name. He never mentioned his real name.
• By the 1930’s, Bangalore cotton millworkers set up libraries to educate themselves, following the example of Bombay workers.
• Social Reformers sponsored these libraries and promoted reading among workers as they wanted to restrict excessive drinking, bring literacy and propagate the message of nationalism.

9. Print and Censorship:

• Before 1798, the colonial state under the East India Company was not too concerned with censorship.
• However, when Englishmen like Augustus Hickey wrote about misrule of the Company, the colonial government began to control printed matter.
• By the 1820’s, the Calcutta Supreme Court passed certain regulations to control press freedom and the Company began encouraging publication of newspapers that would celebrate British rule.
• In 1835, when editors of English and vernacular newspapers filed petitions, Governor-General Bentinck agreed to revise press laws.
• Thomas Macaulay, a liberal colonial official, formulated new rules that restored the earlier freedom.

After The Revolt of 1857:

• The attitude to freedom of the press changed.
• Enraged Englishmen demanded a clamp down on the ‘native’ press.
• As the vernacular newspapers became assertively nationalist, colonial government began to take strict measures of control.
  • In 1878, the colonial government passed ‘the Vernacular Act’ also known as ‘The Gagging Act’.
    • It provided the government the extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press.
    • The government kept the regular track of the vernacular newspapers published in different provinces.
    • The colonial government warned the newspaper if it found any report seditious. It could also seize the press and confiscate the machinery, if the editor ignored the warning.
• However, these repressive measures could not stop nationalist newspapers from growing.
• Newspapers became the medium of spreading nationalistic sentiments.
  • For Example: Balgangadhar Tilak wrote with great sympathy about the Punjab revolutionaries in his newspaper ‘Kesari’. This led to his imprisonment in 1908, provoking in turn widespread protests all over India.