4. Crafting the Codex; From Pen to Press and Back Again
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The invention (in the European context) of movable type in the Rhine Valley around 1455 was a pragmatic technological response to a centuries-long buildup in the demand for books. Logically, the first printers sought to have their editions resemble manuscripts as much as possible. Since the ability to print in multiple colors remained limited, decorations were frequently added by hand after printing. Accordingly, the classically inspired all’antica vocabulary explored in the previous section could be carefully applied around the printed text block, as was done for handwritten books. Techniques for printing images had been developed toward the beginning of the fifteenth century, first through the woodcut technique and later through engraving. However, for high- output purposes like the mass printing of Books of Hours that occurred in Paris from the 1480s onwards, metalcuts were used. The quick coloring and gilding of these replicated images could result in a remarkably manuscript-like appearance. In other cases, a new printed volume could be joined to an existing manuscript. These flexible compendia were a useful means of transmitting specific information and a reminder that simply because a printed edition existed did not mean it was universally accessible. Such a variety of options, all commonly practiced in the first century of print, disproves the traditional idea that Gutenberg’s discovery heralded an abrupt rupture with the manuscript tradition. Manuscript transmission remained a mainstay, and, indeed, its ongoing practice in the age of print allowed it to take on new meanings.