Prior to the introduction of printing, the production of manuscripts was a laborious and arduous process, often requiring a team of scribes to carefully plan and write a text in parts (Meggs & Purvis, p. 49). Headed by a single scholar who functioned as both editor and designer, each page of the manuscript would be laid out both graphically and informationally, and then passed on to separate writers and illustrators who would respectively letter and draw the contents according to a standard style (Meggs & Purvis, p. 49). This often left manuscripts reserved for religious and status symbols, and, as such, commonly included ornate decoration and precious materials such as gold leaf adorning the margin – giving rise to the term ‘Illuminated Manuscripts,’ which today more generally refers to any manuscript written from the late Roman Empire to the adoption of printing (Meggs & Purvis, p. 49). This span of about a thousand years coincides with what is now known as the Middle Ages, and is responsible for the creation and destruction of many manuscripts and sources of classical knowledge – as well as innovations in graphic design which still persist today (Meggs & Purvis, p. 49,51).
Starting with the classical era in 500 CE, manuscripts were almost entirely Roman and pagan in authorship and content, commonly laid out in a comic-like structure where passages of text were positioned next to associated illustrations along horizontal guidelines matching the image in height and width (Meggs & Purvis, p. 50). Notably, the illustrations often had colorful borders to differentiate their contents from the rest of the page, as well as labels and names depicted on the drawings themselves to identify important figures (Meggs & Purvis, p. 51). Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, many classical-era manuscripts would be lost as former territories started to retract in social isolate and general illiteracy, leaving only their monasteries the tools of writing to preserve sacred Christian texts (Meggs & Purvis, p. 51). From these monasteries emerged the Celtic era of design, where manuscripts were written with increasingly abstract and complex ornamentation -- with thick, geometrically-patterned borders contrasting ornate, scaled lettering, and sometimes even entire ‘carpet-pages’ of patterns inspired by oriental rug designs (Meggs & Purvis, p. 53). Along with this complex styling, Celtic era manuscripts were also the first to create spaces between letters to differentiate words more easily, as well as larger initials to mark the beginning of a section or important passage (Meggs & Purvis, p. 53-54). Notably, many differences in regional design and quality would emerge until King Charlemagne’s unification of central Europe in 800 CE, allying with the church to create the ‘Holy Roman Empire’ and introduce feudalism across its many regions (Meggs & Purvis, p. 55). Under his rule, Charlemagne would also create schools and emphasize writing reform, standardizing lettering such that each character is separate and not connected, as well as creating distinct capital and lowercase character for easier writing and legibility (Meggs & Purvis, p. 55). This so called ‘Caroline’ period would eventually meld into the Romanesque and Gothic eras of design, where feudalism would shift to more stable forms of governance, and manuscripts and literacy would be more available to the general population (Meggs & Purvis, p. 55,59-60). Following in design, these eras would see lettering become more linear and universal across regions, with great care taken to balance against images and borders of flat color (Meggs & Purvis, p. 59-60). Illustrations would become more intricate as well -- shifting from a flat plane to add perspective and depth, and expanding into calendars, maps, and other tools beneficial to the reader (Meggs & Purvis, p. 66). However, though the design and demand of illuminated manuscripts had certainly reached a peak by the turn of the fourteenth century, the labor and skill required of their one-off production made them difficult to mass-produce. By the time printing was adopted in full force, the design and production of handwritten manuscripts would slowly be phased out, with existing illuminated manuscripts relegated to templates for printed layouts (Meggs & Purvis, p. 66).
Printing itself would begin with a modest start in Europe, having taken a long journey from China to get there (Meggs & Purvis, p. 73). The earliest printed works – typically thought to be printed textiles tracing back to the early fourteenth century – were done via traditional relief printing, also known as Xylography, using woodcut blocks with raised designs (Meggs & Purvis, p. 73). Over the next century, however, relief printing expanded into a growing market for playing cards, pictures of saints, and early block books, and would be sought after by all classes of people (Meggs & Purvis, p. 73-75). Compared to traditional manuscripts, these prints tended to be more pictorial and less reliant on text, allowing the illiterate to join the wealthy in the market for visual goods (Meggs & Purvis, p. 75). As such, illustrations were often kept simple and dominant over text, depicting important figures, religious instruction, and even early propaganda for its growing audience (Meggs & Purvis, p. 75). Notably, having just arrived a century prior, paper was essential to empowering the growing market – providing a plentiful and accessible substance to meet the increased speed and need of printers (Meggs & Purvis, p. 73). Together, they were able to fuel the printing revolution, though as demand started to outpace supply, authors turned to more mechanical means of printing (Meggs & Purvis, p. 76).
It wouldn’t be until around 1450 CE that typography, or moveable type, would be perfected and put into production in any meaningful way (Meggs & Purvis, p. 76). Though many related innovations were made along the way, – separating blocks for each individual letter, creating the first metal typeset, etc. – the field was plagued by logistical problems in material and design (Meggs & Purvis, p. 76). In adapting traditional relief printing, woodblocks struggled to withstand the force and durability needed for moveable type, and created problems regarding the spacing and alignment for characters of different widths (Meggs & Purvis, p. 77). As well, switching to metal type required material soft enough to mold, but hard enough to hold up over time, as well as new ink that would appropriately stick to it (Meggs & Purvis, p. 77-79). Metalsmith Johannes Gutenberg would be the first inventor to balance all these considerations, developing a two-part mold for creating the typeset, as well as the iconic printing press for impressing them on paper (Meggs & Purvis, p. 77-79). Using this system, Gutenberg would try to mimic the design and lettering of existing manuscripts, creating the gothic font now known as ‘Textura’ and omitting decorative features that would set it apart from a handwritten version (Meggs & Purvis, p. 77,81). Though Gutenberg would begin the production of the first set of printed books – a forty-two-line Bible – he would be forcibly cut out of the business by Johann Fust, a wealthy Burgher to whom he owed money (Meggs & Purvis, p. 79-81). Together with Gutenberg’s assistant, Fust would continue production near its end, and form the first the printing firm to sell typographical books (Meggs & Purvis, p. 81).
For a while, typographic printing remained close to its origins in the German city of Mainz, creating small firms associated with Gutenberg’s original assistants as well as innovations in the scale and color of typefaces (Meggs & Purvis, p. 82). However, it would take less than a decade until the city was plunged into war by a wider power struggle in the German nobility, sending the firms and technology migrating across the continent (Meggs & Purvis, p. 82). By the end of the decade, printing firms would be open in cities all along central Europe, with each region developing their own styles and typefaces (Meggs & Purvis, p. 83). In Germany, the new center of typography had migrated to the city of Nuremberg, where new firms began experimenting with format and typefaces (Meggs & Purvis, p. 89,93-94). Mixing typography with traditional relief printing, these firms were among the first to create illustrated manuscripts depicting important figures and maps (Meggs & Purvis, p. 87-89). As well, copperplate engravings were developed to produce complicated and light patterning along the borders and margins of these text, balancing against the heavyset imagery and font (Meggs & Purvis, p. 83). To plan and layout these illustrated books, so-called ‘exemplars’ were used and passed amongst scribes, detailing important editorial notes about the printing and design of each page (Meggs & Purvis, p. 87,90). As well, as target audiences evolved to capture the general population, so did the contents and design of the books to meet their needs, shifting from extensive religious texts to smaller works in both contents and size (Meggs & Purvis, p. 89). Outside of books, new formats such as broadsides were often printed, spreading important notices and advertisements through one-sided pages (Meggs & Purvis, p. 85). Eventually, broadsides themselves would give way to posters, pamphlets, and newspapers in both design and function (Meggs & Purvis, p. 85).
Meanwhile, the beginnings of the Renaissance would sweep across Italy and France and into the rest of the continent, inspiring a renewal in classical lettering and design (Meggs & Purvis, p. 103,110-112). Starting in fifteenth-century Italy, designers would create a typeset based on the lettering of old Roman monuments and manuscripts, mixing gothic traits with Roman formalities such as serifs (Meggs & Purvis, p. 97). Compared to the traditional Gothic typeface, the new Roman characters were found to be less dense and therefore more legible, creating new considerations in typography (Meggs & Purvis, p. 103,113). This led calligraphers and designers to experiment with typefaces and styles, varying the weight, dimensions, and geometry of characters to find balances that would best complement a page (Meggs & Purvis, p. 107-109). Popular motifs of this era included the one-to-ten ratio of stroke width to height for distinguishability of characters, and the introduction of italics, whose slanted nature allowed for emphasis and denser characters (Meggs & Purvis, p. 109). Innovations in letter design also led designers to re-examine the layout of books, particularly when it came to the structure of text, illustrations, and further decoration (Meggs & Purvis, p. 104,107-109). During this time, structural tools would begin to be added to the pages of books, including title pages which denoted the author, editor, and publishers, as well as page numbers and notes along the bottom margin of pages (Meggs & Purvis, p. 109). Illustrators, too, would look for methods to mechanize the printing of graphics and decorations, developing new systems of wood and metal blocks that could attach to the press itself (Meggs & Purvis, p. 103-104). This revolution in printing and design would allow more complex characters and graphics to be printed and distributed, contributing to a growing repertoire of typefaces and graphics unique to each region in Europe, and even the colonies in America (Meggs & Purvis, p. 119,122-124). Typographic innovation would eventually die down going into the seventeenth century, where the design of books would standardize into a more consistent format (Meggs & Purvis, p. 122).
Over the coming centuries, the inception of typography in Europe didn’t just revolutionize the design and production of books, but of literacy itself – democratizing information across all classes of people in a way never before seen (Meggs & Purvis, p. 73,85). Books and printed word not only became increasingly accessible, but a primary means of communication, spreading news and ideas as a fraction of the previous cost and time (Meggs & Purvis, p. 85). Language and typefaces would be standardized across regions of Europe, and the unity in printed design and ideals brought with it rising nationalism, contributing towards the modern nation-state (Meggs & Purvis, p. 85). The Renaissance and Enlightenment would have arguably been impossible without printing, needing a way to consistent learn, record, and share ideas with a growing audience (Meggs & Purvis, p. 87). From the humanistic philosophy of their writings sprung new reform and revolution fueled by printing; Martin Luther’s 95 these were distributed amongst the public via printed broadsides, and many early works of revolutionary America and France consisted of illustrated books and printed philosophies questioning the role of the Monarchy (Meggs & Purvis, p. 85-87). Though some regions would attempt to resist it through heavy censorship enacted by the church and state, printing would become a fact of life leading into the industrial revolution, bringing with it change in both ideas and design (Meggs & Purvis, p. 85).