10 FUN FACTS ON BOOKS
Here at Blissetts, when we aren’t creating, printing or binding books, we like sharing interesting info about them! Here are 10 rather interesting facts about the written word to start your week off! Want to know something specific about books, bookbinding or all things print? Email us today.
The oldest printed book is The Diamond Sutra, also known as the 'Diamond Cutter Sutra' dated at May 868 AD. The oldest mechanically printed book is The Gutenberg Bible, which dates to 1454. There are only 48 known copies in existence of Johannes Gutenberg's industry changing manuscript.
The Guinness World Records lists the smallest book ever created as ‘Teeny Ted from Turnip Town" created by the Chaplin brothers. Their book was etched on a microchip. The dimensions are an incredible 70 micrometers by 100 micrometers.
Although paperbound books have been around for centuries, the paperback as we know it has its start in the late 19th century with Penguin. It was created as an inexpensive way to get books to the masses. The adhesive-bound form, often called “perfect bound,” was only introduced shortly before World War 2.
Shakespeare’s “First Folio” published in 1623, is the most expensive work of literature ever auctioned. A copy sold at Christie's in 2020 fetched a price of $10 million. In 2014, a previously unknown First Folio was found in a library in France, where it had sat for 200 years.
The Xerox Alto computer system was so far ahead of its time that its handbook was actually designed and printed using the machine itself way back in 1973! Sadly, the system cost a staggering $75,000 to manufacture. It did however inspire a visiting Steve Jobs and his team to create the Apple Macintosh, thus kickstarting the desktop publishing revolution in 1984 and changing the print industry forever.
In April 2024, a copy of Action Comics #1, featuring the first appearance of Superman became the most expensive comic book ever sold at auction, netting $6 million. Back in 1938, the comic cost the equivalent of 8 pence!
The use of marbled endpapers in books can be traced back to Persia, where examples of the decoration can be found on manuscripts from the 16th century. During the 17th century, it took off in the UK, and British Authors referred to these papers as ‘Turkish pages’, based on the beautiful designs and pages seen in Turkey.
Cai Lun from China is seen as "the patron of paper making." In 105, Cai publicly declared that he had invented a new papermaking process using bark from trees and introduced the world to paper as we know it. Lun was inspired by watching wasps create their nests and noting how strong but light their craft appeared to be!
The British Library holds over 170 million items. Collecting virtually every book, newspaper and brochure ever printed in the UK.
Until the advent of steam-driven paper making machines in the 19th century, most books were produced using pages printed on papyrus, bamboo and parchment writing material made from the untanned skins of animals. Some were even made from human skin!