The Evolution of the Book The History of the book:

1. The Evolution of the BookThe History of the book: By: Mia Andrews

2. Circa 3500 B.C. • Sumerian clay tablets and the origin of writing. • Around this time, an ancient people in southern Mesopotamia called the Sumerians used a cuneiform alphabet, which symbols were pressed into clay with a triangular stylus. • http://www.tylenolliverdamages.com/timeline.html

3. 2400 B.C. • This is the date of the earliest surviving papyrus scroll with writing on it. • Papyrus scroll were made out of a grass-like, aquatic plant grown in the Nile delta region of Egypt. • Parts of the plant were cut into thin strips, pressed together and dried to form a writing surface the ancient Egyptians used for paper. • http://www.jessicarpatch.com/2011/04/in-word-wednesday-pick-up-pen-and-do-it.html

4. 600 B.C. • Writing systems developed. • Around this time, a general consensus among Mediterranean cultures slowly emerged, favoring left-to-right writing and reading. • Before that, there was left-to-right, right-to-left, top-to-bottom and back-to-front. • The Hebrews and some others kept right-to-left writing. • http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Ideographic+Writing

5. 105 A.D. • A Chinese eunuch names Cai Lunis credited with inventing paper making, using bark, hemp, old rags and used fish nets. • The process was improved and spread to the rest of the world. • http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/Kaleidoscope3bye10.html

6. 400-600 A.D. • The earliest illuminated manuscripts were written on parchment, which by this time was replacing papyrus. • These handwriting books were decorated with gold and silver, striking colors and detailed designs. • Muslim countries also illustrated their manuscripts, but the process became highly developed in Europe. • http://www.whatisall.com/miscellaneous/what-are-illuminated-manuscripts.html

7. 868 A.D. • The first book is printed on paper in China. • The Chinese used a block of wood that had characters carved in reverse relief. • Ink was placed on the woodblock to create multiple copies on paper or parchment. • http://www.mnnorml.org/mnnorml/chinese/early-books

8. 1041 A.D. • The Chinese invent movable type, but it proved unsuccessful because of the numerous characters in the Chinese language. • European movable type, invented much later, was successful due to the limited characters in the languages. • http://www.computersmiths.com/chineseinvention/movtype.htm

9. 1400 A.D. • German inventor Johann Gutenberg completes his work on the first printing press, the key to the spread of the printed word in books. • http://elizabethspenser.edublogs.org/2011/03/07/the-history-of-print-media/

10. 1501 A.D. • Aldo Manuzio designs a smaller and less expensive book to replace the large codex. • This is the precursor to the modern paperback. • http://abeautifulbook.wordpress.com/category/15th-century/italian-printers/

11. 1774 A.D. • Chlorine is discovered and will eventually bleach the paper used in books, the pages of which are moving more toward their modern appearance. • http://salksperiodictable.wikispaces.com/Chlorine

12. 1929 A.D • The Charles Boni Paper books, a mail-order book club in the U.S., offers paper covers, influencing the start of book clubs and furthering paperback novels. • http://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/bookshopdoor/signature.cfm?item=82#1

13. 1991 A.D. • The Internet is made available for commercial use. • Also, HTML code is written, allowing for the creation of the World Wide Web. • The advent of the Internet also contributed to the technological advancement of the book, creating many of it’s modern uses • http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/his1005spring2011/author/jw096606/

14. 2007 A.D. • The birth of Amazon Kindle, an automated reading device and a platform for displaying e-books or other text for user to read. • http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/2009/07/26/disruptive-leaders-jeff-bezos-and-the-kindle/