Print Distribution and Dissemination.

As you can tell from my previous blog posts, I am intrigued by the idea of printing and how it affected society today. I'm grateful that Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press during the Renaissance Era, because it changed how people back then and even still today receive and distribute knowledge. Without it, the education system, the legal system and many other aspects of society today would be completely different and would most likely be more oral based and involve a great deal of memorization.

To show my appreciation for print, distribution and dissemination during the Reniassance Era, I decided to do some investigating on this subject. I searched the Harold B. Lee Library and made my way to the fifth floor to scope out some books on the topic.

Branscombe, Peter. Black Arts: Renaissance and Printing Press in Nuremburg, 1493-1538. In this article, Branscombe discusses the importance of the printing press as the driver of a cultural dynamic, which transitioned life in the Middle Ages to the Renaissance Era. He specifically studies the life of Albrecht Durer and his achievement as printmaker. [This article was found by searching the Harold B. Lee Library online databases. Although the link directs you to Oxford's website, BYU owns copies of this article which can be found in print or online.]

Butler, Pierce. The Origin of Printing in Europe. University of Chicago, 1940. In his book, Butler argues that Gutenberg was not the first person to invent the printing press, but was in fact the first person to practice printing. He goes into detail about how print was (and still is) used to convince, persuade and spread beliefs throughout cultures. [This book was a reference in the back of the book "The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe" by Elizabeth Eisenstein.]

Eisenstein, Elizabeth. The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press, 1983. In this book, Eisenstein analyzes the affect that printing had on Western Civilizations. In the chapter titled "Some features of print culture," Eisenstein points out that old texts were duplicated more rapidly, work in scholarly and scientific fields were done privately outside of academic centers and written ideas were exchanged between various cultures. [I found this book while browsing in the printing section of the Harold B. Lee Library on the 5th floor.]

Geck, Elisabeth. Johannes Gutenberg: From Lead Letter to the Computer. Inter Nationes, 1968. This book gives an accurate account of the life of Johannes Gutenberg from childhood to adulthood. It goes into great detail about the inspiration and invention of the Gutenberg Press, the first printing press which is known for printing the Bible (Gutenberg Bible). Throughout the book, but mostly in the chapter entitled "The Spread of the Art of Printing in the 15th Century," Geck analyzes the distribution of the printed word and the affect that it had on the world. [I found this book in through the Harold B. Lee Library search engine and discovered that it was located on the 5th floor as are most of the books related to printing. Sorry for the less than helpful link, this book was published in 1968 and has yet to be scanned online.]

Rhodes, Dennis E. Studies in Early European Printing and Book Collecting. The Pindar Press, 1983. Rhodes offers a broader view of printing throughout Europe and analyzes various printed documents in multiple countries during the Renaissance Era. These countries include: England, France, The Netherlands, Spain and Germany. Rhodes also provides some facts on the early starts of book collecting and the beginnings of libraries. [I found this book while searching for "The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe." It is located on the 5th floor of the Harold B. Lee Library.]

Misa Morreall. Print Distribution and Dissemination Bibliography. Print Knowledge.