Was the new technology able to displace the existing art of producing books by hand?
OR
Why did printed books initially resemble written manuscripts in appearance and layout?
Answer:
- In fact, printing books at first closely resembled the written manuscripts in appearance and layout.
- The metal letters imitated the ornamental handwritten styles.
- Borders were illuminated by hand with foilage and other patterns and illustrations were painted.
- In the books printed for the rich, space for decoration was kept blank on the printed page.
- Each purchaser could choose the design and decide on the painting school that would do the illustrations.