In the old days gone by, when man was still primitive in nature, and in the early beginning of civilization, people did not have printed books, as paper had not yet been invented. In those days, people used to write on stone tablets, which were bulky, heavy and difficult to store or look after. In ancient India, people would write on dry palm leaves or other types of leaves, or any other material which could absorb the ink and let the text be visible. They would constantly look out for new materials to write on. They used the stem of a plant as a pen, since it was bulbous, and it could retain ink within it. The only problem with those early parchments, is that insects and moths could get at these important documents and destroy them. In China, they used silk and we know that Chinese used to breed silkworms. Writing on silk could not be destroyed as easily as the other parchments.
The Chinese went on to invent paper in the 2nd century and for this, the world will be forever indebted to them. Since then, the paper quality and quality of ink has improved. Later, the Germans invented the printing press, which was a boon to the literary world and a blessing to writers. Multiple pages could be printed with ease, and because of this we saw a boost in the production of books and other written materials.
As books began to be published, they became available in libraries or newspaper stands at busy places, and in bookstores. Initially, in the early part of the 17th century, writers were not treated very well. As a result, there were very few who really went ahead and published books for a living. There were not enough sales to make a career out of it. As the number of writers grew, so too women writers increased in number in the early part of the 19th century. This resulted in an increased number of books available. This led to increases of not only romance or mystery books, but also political, social issues books, and many books acted as a guiding milestone for the working class of people.
Books have always played a role behind the scenes, empowering people to forge ahead and pave new paths. I personally consider them invaluable. In fact, history also mentions that the oldest book known is the Bible and other literature and religious books came out thereafter. It is a great blessing for mankind that books came into existence, as they not only guide, uplift, empower, comfort, encourage, administer to, and counsel, but they can also be your best friends if you let them.
Today, we have Ebooks and at the click of a mouse you can read excellent works of old literature and new works of talent and art. The internet has made it easier for the layman to read and develop an interest in literature.
About the Author:
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A Brief History Of Books
