Pioneers in Printing (Routledge Library Editions: Publishing and Printing)

Originally published in 1958, through a series of lively biographies of men important in the history of printing – Gutenberg, Caxton, Baskerville, Caslon, Senefelder, Koenig, Mergenthaler, and Lanston – Pioneers in Printing traces the growth and development of the craft of printing from its invention in the fifteenth century to modern times. The aim of the book is not to recount the technicalities of machinery, but rather to present each character as a living man engrossed in his ideas and pursuing them persistently, in conflict or in agreement with his period. The book is written in a clear and easy style, free of technical terms.