Synthesized answer
The text challenges the idea of invention as a singular "eureka" moment by presenting the development of copper-plate printing and lithography as complex, iterative, and multi-faceted processes. For copper-plate printing, the exact date of its complete invention is unfixed [1]. While Vasari suggests Finiguerra's discovery was made in 1450, the Italian practice of making plate prints began around 1460 [1]. The alleged discovery in 1450 of how ink in incised lines could transfer to paper by pressure was not the complete invention, as "much more had to be done" [1]. Similarly, lithography's progression is shown through distinct stages: Senefelder's first suggestion was entertained in 1796, but his "vague notions about printing from stone did not assume a practical shape before 1798" [1].
Furthermore, the text implies that invention is a process of "progressive development from an imperfect to a perfect method" [2]. The introduction of xylography, typography, and copper-plate printing, occurring at different times and places, demonstrates a general need that "had given a strong impulse to the inventive spirit" [2]. This suggests that improvements and developments in mechanical…
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From the book
← Index The Invention of Printing by Theodore De Vinne Additional Notes and Corrections → 2442618 The Invention of Printing — Additional Notes and Corrections Theodore De Vinne ADDITIONAL NOTES AND CORRECTIONS. Page 24. In the second line of foot-note, change two-thirds to four-ninths. 27. The exact date of the complete invention of copper-plate printing is unfixed. Vasari says that Finiguerra's discovery was made in 1450, but that the Italian practice of making plate prints began about 1460. It is obvious that the alleged discovery in 1450 of the feet that the blacking placed in incised…
f fifty years. If the statements of some historians could be accepted, this period should be contracted to thirty years. There is no disagreement, however, as to the order of their introduction. Xylography, the rudest method, was the first in use; typography, a more useful method, soon followed; copper-plate printing, the artistic method, was the proper culmination. The order of invention was that of progressive development from an imperfect to a perfect method. The introduction of three distinct methods of printing, by different persons and in different places, but during the same period,…
in the dictionaries may be justified. The method of printing which is most useful may rightfully claim the generic name. Xylography is the scientific word for the art of making engravings on a single block of wood, in high relief, for use on the typographic printing press. A xylographic block may be an engraving of letters only, of pictures only, or of both letters and pictures, but in all cases the engraving is fixed on the block. The fixedness of the design on the block is the great feature which separates xylography from typography. The printing surfaces of the two methods are alike.…
On ordinary work on a large plate, three hundred impressions per day is the average performance of a copper-plate press. Steel and copper-plate printing is largely used for bank-notes, portraits, fine book illustrations, revenue and postage stamps, and sometimes for commercial formularies, but it is in every way unfitted for the printing of books. It has not been much improved since its invention. Steel plates may be duplicated by means of electrotyping, or by the process of transfer to soft steel, but these duplicates cannot be made so cheaply as typographic stereotype plates, nor so…
with pen on paper, is transferred by a greasy ink upon the smooth surface of a stone of peculiar fineness and firmness. This stone, which is found in its best state only in Bavaria, where the art was invented, is a variety of slate, which faithfully responds in printing to the slightest touch of a graver or a crayon, and permits the use of fine shades and tints which cannot be produced on wood or on copper. The transferred lines of the design cling to and dry upon the surface of the stone, which is then subjected to the action of a weak acid, which hardens the ink in the transferred lines,…
More questions about this book
- The quote from Fox's Acts and Monuments asserts that through printing, "truth discerned, falshood detected, and with finger pointed." Beyond simply disseminating information, what does this specific phrasing imply about the transformative power of printing in shaping public discourse and critical thought?
- The text distinguishes between the "alleged discovery" in 1450 and the "complete invention" of copper-plate printing. What crucial elements or processes must occur for an initial technical "discovery" to evolve into a fully realized and impactful "invention" within a field like printing?
- Given the text's mention of "unfixed" dates, "alleged discoveries," and disputed attributions (like those rejected by Passavant), what inherent challenges do historians face when attempting to establish definitive timelines and origins for significant technological breakthroughs, and what does this reveal about the nature of historical evidence itself?
- De Vinne dedicates his work to an individual for "instruction about types, not to be had by reading." In a book dedicated to the *invention of printing*, what does this statement suggest about the fundamental limitations of textual knowledge, and what kinds of understanding, particularly in technology, might only be gained through experiences "not to be had by reading"?