Following the invention of the printing press in the German city of Mainz by Johannes Gutenberg c. 1439, Western printing technology spread across the world, and was adopted worldwide by the end of the 19th century. The technology, which mechanized the process of printing with moveable type, displaced the manuscript and block printing.
In the Western world, the operation of a press became synonymous with the enterprise of publishing and lent its name to a new branch of media, the "press" (see List of the oldest newspapers).
Spread of Gutenberg's press
Germany
Gutenberg's first major print work was the 42-line Bible in Latin, probably printed between 1452 and 1454 in the German city of Mainz. After Gutenberg lost a lawsuit against his investor, Johann Fust, Fust put Gutenberg's employee Peter Schöffer in charge of the print shop. Thereupon Gutenberg established a new one with the financial backing of another money lender. With Gutenberg's monopoly revoked, and the technology no longer secret, printing spread throughout Germany and beyond, diffused first by emigrating German printers, but soon also by foreign apprentices.
Europe
In rapid succession, printing presses were set up in Central and Western Europe. Major towns, in particular, functioned as centers of diffusion (Cologne 1466, Rome 1467, Venice 1469, Paris 1470, Buda 1473, Kraków 1473, London 1477). In 1481, barely 30 years after the publication of the 42-line Bible, the small Netherlands already featured printing shops in 21 cities and towns, while Italy and Germany each had shops in about 40 towns at that time. According to one estimate, "by 1500, 220 printing presses were in operation throughout Western Europe and had produced 8 million books" and during the 1550s there were "three hundred or more" printers and booksellers in Geneva alone. The output was in the order of twenty million volumes and rose in the sixteenth century tenfold to between 150 and 200 million copies. Germany and Italy were considered the two main centres of printing in terms of quantity and quality.
Rest of the world
The near-simultaneous discovery of sea routes to the West (Christopher Columbus, 1492) and East (Vasco da Gama, 1498) and the subsequent establishment of trade links greatly facilitated the global spread of Gutenberg-style printing. Traders, colonists, but perhaps most importantly, missionaries exported printing presses to the new European oversea domains, setting up new print shops and distributing printing material. In the Americas, the first extra-European print shop was founded in Mexico City in 1544 (or 1539), and soon after Jesuits started operating the first printing press[citation needed] in Asia (Goa, 1556).
According to Suraiya Faroqhi, lack of interest and religious reasons were among the reasons for the slow adoption of the printing press outside Europe: Thus, printing in the Arabic script, after encountering strong opposition by Muslim legal scholars and manuscript scribes, remained formally or informally prohibited in the Ottoman Empire between 1483 and 1729, according to some sources even on penalty of death, while some movable Arabic type printing was done by Pope Julius II (1503−1512) for distribution among Middle Eastern Christians, and the oldest Quran printed with movable type was produced in Venice in 1537/1538 for the Ottoman market.
Hebrew texts and presses were imported across the Middle East – as early as 1493 – Constantinople, Fez (1516), Cairo (1557) and Safed (1577). Disquiet among Muslims regarding the publication of religious texts in this way may have dampened down their production.
In India, reports are that Jesuits "presented a polyglot Bible to the Emperor Akbar in 1580 but did not succeed in arousing much curiosity." But also practical reasons seem to have played a role. The English East India Company, for example, brought a printer to Surat in 1675, but was not able to cast type in Indian scripts, so the venture failed.
North America saw the adoption by the Cherokee Indian Elias Boudinot who published the tribe's first newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, from 1828, partly in the Cherokee language, using the Cherokee script recently invented by his compatriot Sequoyah.
In the 19th century, the arrival of the Gutenberg-style press to the shores of Tahiti (1818), Hawaii (1821) and other Pacific islands, marked the end of a global diffusion process which had begun almost 400 years earlier. At the same time, the "old style" press (as the Gutenberg model came to be termed in the 19th century), was already in the process of being displaced by industrial machines like the steam powered press (1812) and the rotary press (1833), which radically departed from Gutenberg's design, but were still of the same development line.
Dates by location
The following represents a selection:
Germany, Austria and German printers in Central Europe
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1452–1453
Mainz
Johannes Gutenberg, Peter Schöffer, Johann Fust (investor)
Gutenberg Bible
c. 1457
Bamberg
Albrecht Pfister, Johann Sensenschmid (from 1480)
Pfister: first woodcut book illustration c. 1461
1460
Strassburg
Johannes Mentelin, Johann Grüninger (1482)
In 1605, Johann Carolus publishes the German Relation aller Fuernemmen und gedenckwuerdigen Historien (Collection of all distinguished and commemorable news), recognized by the World Association of Newspapers as the first newspaper.
c. 1465
Cologne
Ulrich Zell, Busaus, Gymnici, Mylij, Quentell
1468
Augsburg
Günther Zainer
Not later than 1469
Nuremberg
Johann Sensenschmidt, Johannes Regiomontanus (1472–1475), Anton Koberger (1473–1513)Johann Endter (1625–1670)
Nuremberg Chronicle
c. 1471
Speyer
c. 1472
Lauingen
1473
Esslingen am Neckar
1473
Merseburg
1473
Ulm
c. 1473–1474
Erfurt
c. 1474
Lübeck
1488, Missale Aboense and other versions, first books for the Scandinavian and Finnish markets, by Bartholomeus Ghotan
1475
Breslau (now Wrocław)
Kasper Elyan of Glogau
Kasper's print shop remained operational until 1483 with an overall output of 11 titles.
1475
Trento
c. 1475
Blaubeuren
c. 1475
Rostock
1476
Reutlingen
c. 1478–1479
Memmingen
Albrecht Kunne [de]
1479
Würzburg
Georg Reyser
1479
Magdeburg
1480
Passau
1480
Leipzig
Konrad Kachelofen [de], Andreas Friesner
c. 1480
Eichstätt
1482
Vienna
Johann Winterburger
1482
Munich
Johann Schauer
c. 1482
Heidelberg
1484
Ingolstadt
1485
Münster
c. 1485
Regensburg
1486
Schleswig
Stephan Arndes
c. 1486
Stuttgart
c. 1488
Hamburg
1489
Hagenau
1491
Freiburg
1492
Marienburg
Jakob Karweyse
Only two editions printed
Rest of Europe
Italy
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1465
Subiaco
Arnold Pannartz, Konrad Sweynheym
1467
Rome
Ulrich Hahn, Arnold Pannartz, Konrad Sweynheym (from 1467)
1469
Venice
Johann von Speyer, shortly afterwards Nikolaus Jenson from Tours, Aldus Manutius
Johann was granted a privilege for 5 years for movable type printing by the Senate, but died soon after. In 1501, Ottaviano Petrucci produced the first book of sheet music printed from movable type.
1470
Milan
Filippo de Lavagna, Antonio Zaroto, shortly afterwards Waldarfer von Regensburg
1470
Naples
1471
Florence
Demetrius Damilas
Earliest printing in Greek
1471
Genoa
1471
Ferrara
1471
Bologna
Probably in 1477, claimed to have the first engraved illustrations, although the 1476 Boccaccio edition by Colard Mansion in Bruges already had copper engravings
1471
Padua
1471
Treviso
1472
Parma
1473
Pavia
1473
Brescia
c. 1473–1474
Modena
1483
Soncino
Israel Nathan ben Samuel and Soncino Family
1484
Siena
In the 15th century, printing presses were established in 77 Italian cities and towns. At the end of the following century, 151 locations in Italy had seen at one time printing activities, of which 130 (86%) were north of Rome. During these two centuries a total of 2894 printers were active in Italy, with only 216 of them located in southern Italy. Around 60% of the Italian printing shops were situated in six cities (Venice, Rome, Milan, Naples, Bologna and Florence), with the concentration of printers in Venice being particularly high (approximately 30%).
Switzerland
Date
City
Printer
Comment
c. 1468
Basel
Berthold Ruppel
1470
Beromünster
Helias Helye [de]
c. 1474
Burgdorf
1478
Geneva
Adam Steinschaber
c. 1479
Zürich
1577
Schaffhausen
1577
St. Gallen
1585
Fribourg
1664
Einsiedeln
France
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1470
Paris
Ulrich Gering, Martin Crantz, Michael Friburger
1473
Lyon
Guillaume Le Roy, Buyer
c. 1475
Toulouse
1476–1477
Angers
c. 1477–1478
Vienne
1478–1479
Chablis
1479
Poitiers
1480
Caen
1480–1482
Rouen
1483
Troyes
1484–1485
Rennes
1486
Abbeville
c. 1486–1488
Besançon
1490–1491
Orléans
1491
Dijon
1491
Angoulême
1493
Nantes
1493–1494
Tours
1495–1496
Limoges
1497
Avignon
1500
Perpignan
Apart from the cities above, a small number of lesser towns also set up printing presses.
Spain
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1471–1472
Segovia
Johannes Parix
c. 1472–1474
Seville
c. 1472–1473
Barcelona
Heinrich Botel, Georgius vom Holtz, Johannes Planck
c. 1472–1473
Valencia
Lambert Palmart, Jakob Vinzlant
1475
Zaragoza
Matthias Flander, Paul Hurus
c. 1480
Salamanca
1485
Burgos
1486
Toledo
1496
Granada
Meinrad Ungut, Hans Pegnitzer
1499
Montserrat
Oldest publishing house in the world still running
1500
Madrid
Belgium
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1473
Aalst
Dirk Martens
1473–1474
Leuven
Johann von Westphalen
c. 1473–1474
Bruges
Colard Mansion
Worked with, and (?) trained William Caxton, printing the first books in English (Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye) and also French, as well as the first book to use engravings for illustrations.
1475–1476
Brussels
1480
Oudenaarde
Arend De Keysere
1481
Antwerp
Matt. Van der Goes
1483
Ghent
Arend De Keysere
Netherlands
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1473
Utrecht
1477
Gouda
Gerard Leeu
1477
Deventer
Richard Paffroad
1477
Zwolle
1477
Delft
Jacob Jacobzoon
1483
Haarlem
Jacob Bellaert
In 1481, printing was already being done in 21 towns and cities.
Hungary
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1472
Buda (now Budapest)
Andreas Hess
The first work printed on Hungarian soil was the Latin history book Chronica Hungarorum published on 5 June 1472.
In the 16th century, a total of 20 print shops were active in 30 different places in Hungary, as some of them were moving several times due to political instability.
Poland
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1473
Kraków
Kasper Straube
The oldest printed work in Poland is the Latin Calendarium cracoviense (Cracovian Calendar), a single-sheet astronomical almanac for the year 1474. Although Straube continued to published in Kraków until 1477, printing became permanently established in Kraków, and Poland, only after 1503. In 1491, the first book in Cyrillic script was published by Schweipolt Fiol from Franconia. In 1513, Florian Ungler printed Hortulus Animae, the first book in the Polish language.
1499
Danzig
Franz Rhode
1538: Wisby'sches Waterrecht, 1540: Narratio Prima
1580
Warsaw
1593
Lwów
Matthias Bernhart
In the 15th and 16th centuries, printing presses were also established in Poznań, Lwów, Brześć Litewski and Vilnius.
Czech Republic
Date
City
Printer
Comment
c. 1475–1476
Plzeň
Mikuláš Bakalář (name known since 1488)
Statuta Ernesti (1476, Latin), The New Testament (1476, two editions in Czech), Passionale, The Chronicle of Troy (c. 1476, Czech)
1486
Brno
Conradus Stahel, Matthias Preinlein
Agenda Olomucensis 1486 and further 20, partly small prints in Latin until 1488.
1487
Prague
The Chronicle of Troy 1487, Psalter 1487, The Bible 1488 (all in Czech); since 1512 printing in Hebrew, since 1517 in Cyrillic, too.
1489
Kutná Hora
Martin z Tišnova
The Bible (in Czech)
England
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1476
Westminster
William Caxton
The first dated prints in England are an indulgence dating to 13 December 1476 (date written in by hand), and the Dicts or Sayings, completed on 18 November 1477. Between 1472 and 1476, Caxton had already published several English works on the continent (see Bruges above).
1478
Oxford
Theoderic Rood
c. 1479
St Albans
'Schoolmaster'; John Haule
The St Albans Press produced eight known prints including The Chronicles of England.
1480
London
John Lettou, William Machlinia, Wynkyn de Worde
Denmark
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1482
Odense
Johann Snell
Snell was the first to introduce printing both in Denmark and Sweden.
1493
Copenhagen
Gottfried von Ghemen
Von Ghemen published in Copenhagen from 1493 to 1495 and from 1505 to 1510. In the meantime, he was active in the Dutch town of Leiden. For 200 years, official policy confined printing in Denmark largely to Copenhagen.
Sweden
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1483
Stockholm
Johann Snell
Snell published the Dialogus creaturarum on Riddarholmen island in Stockholm on December 20, 1483.
Before 1495
Vadstena
1510
Uppsala
Portugal
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1487
Faro
Samuel Gacon (also called Porteiro)
The country's first printed book was the Hebrew Pentateuch, the Faro Pentateuch published by the Jew Samuel Gacon in southern Portugal, after having fled from the Spanish Inquisition.
1488
Chaves
Unknown
According to the German scholar Horch the Sacramental is the first book printed in Portuguese, and not Ludolphus de Saxonia's Livro de Vita Christi of 1495 as previously assumed.
1489
Lisbon
Rabbi Zorba, Raban Eliezer
Eliezer Toledano's Hebrew press was active with his foreman Judah Gedalia from 1489 until the expulsion in 1497
1492
Leiria
1494
Braga
1536
Coimbra
1571
Viseu
1583
Angra do Heroísmo, Azores
1622
Porto
Croatia
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1483
Kosinj, Lika
The Printing house of Kosinj [hr] is known for producing the Missale Romanum Glagolitice on February 22nd 1483. The Croatian text known as "Misal po zakonu rimskoga dvora" was significant as it is the first missal in Europe which was not printed in Latin script; only 28 years after the Gutenberg Bible.
1494
Senj
Blaž Baromić
Blaž Baromić with his co-workers established printing house in Senj based on glagolitic script. Their first work was the Breviary of Senj.
1530
Rijeka
Šimun Kožičić Benja
Serbia and Montenegro
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1493–1494
Cetinje
Đurađ IV Crnojević, Makarije
Đurađ IV Crnojević used the printing press brought to Cetinje by his father Ivan I Crnojević to print the first books in southeastern Europe, in 1493. The Crnojević printing press operated from 1493 through 1496, turning out religious books of which five have been preserved: Oktoih prvoglasnik, Oktoih petoglasnik, Psaltir, Molitvenik and Četvorojevanđelje (the first Bible in Serbian language). Đurađ managed the printing of the books, wrote prefaces and afterwords, and developed sophisticated tables of Psalms with the lunar calendar. The books from the Crnojević press were printed in two colors, red and black, and were richly ornamented. They served as models for many of the subsequent books printed in Cyrillic.
1537
village Vrutci of Rujno Župa near Užice,
hieromonk Teodosije
The Rujan Four Gospels of the Rujno Monastery printing house
1552
Belgrade
Trojan Gundulić
Četvorojevanđelje, Serbulje
By 1500, the cut-off point for incunabula, 236 towns in Europe had presses, and it is estimated that twenty million books had been printed for a European population of perhaps seventy million.
Scotland
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1507 (the earliest surviving item is dated 4 April 1508)
Edinburgh
Walter Chepman and Androw Myllar
William Elphinstone, the Bishop of Aberdeen, was anxious to get a breviary published (see Aberdeen Breviary), and petitioned King James IV to have a printing press set up. Myllar had previously been involved with printing in France, where Scots authors had traditionally had their books printed (see Auld Alliance). The earliest works were mainly small books (approximately 15 cm), but at least one book was printed in folio format, Blind Harry's The Wallace.
1552
St Andrews
John Scot
1571
Stirling
Robert Lekprevik
1622
Aberdeen
Edward Raban
1638
Glasgow
George Anderson
1651
Leith
Evan Tyler
1685
Campbeltown
unknown printer
1694
Maybole
unknown printer
Romania
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1508
Târgoviște
Hieromonk Makarije
Macarie is brought into Wallachia by the prince Radu cel Mare. The first printed book in Romania is made in 1508, Liturghierul. Octoihul is also printed in 1510, and Evangheliarul is printed in 1512
1534
Brașov
Johannes Honterus
At the time, the city was a part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
1545
Târgoviște
Dimitrije Ljubavić
Mostly religious books are printed, among them being Molitvenik. Books printed in Wallachia were also reprinted for use in Moldavia, which at the time did not have its own press.
1550
Klausenburg (Cluj-Napoca)
At the time, the city was a part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
1561
Brașov
Coresi
Întrebare creştinească (Catehismul)
Greece
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1515
Saloniki
1817
Corfu
Lithuania and Belarus
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1522
Vilnius
Francysk Skaryna
The Little Traveller’s Book
1553
Brest
Bernard Wojewódka
Catechism
Iceland
Date
City
Printer
Comment
c. 1530
Holar
Jon Matthiasson (Swede)
Press imported on the initiative of Bishop Jon Arason. First known local print is the Latin songbook Breviarium Holense of 1534.
Norway
Date
City
Printer
Comment
mid-16th century
Trondheim
1644
Oslo
Ireland
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1551
Dublin
Humphrey Powell
The first book printed was the Book of Common Prayer.
Russia
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1553−1554
Moscow
Unknown
According to recent research, the Gospel Book and six others published then.
1564
Moscow
Ivan Fyodorov (printer)
Acts of the Apostles (Apostol) is the first dated book printed in Russia.
1711
Saint Petersburg
1815
Astrakhan
Until the reign of Peter the Great printing in Russia remained confined to the print office established by Fedorov in Moscow. In the 18th century, annual printing output gradually rose from 147 titles in 1724 to 435 (1787), but remained constrained by state censorship and widespread illiteracy.
Latvia
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1588
Riga
Nikolaus Mollin
Ukraine
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1574
Lviv
Ivan Fedorov
Apostol (the Acts and Epistles in Slavonic)
1593
Lviv
Wales
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1587
Llandudno
Roger Thackwell
Y Drych Cristianogawl ("The Christian Mirror"). Printed covertly in a cave on the Little Orme.
Estonia
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1632
Tartu
Jacobus Pistorius (Jacob Becker)
PostOrdnung (28 September 1632) was the first document printed in Tartu with date and printer's name. The printing press operated in connection with Tartu University (Academia Gustaviana) that was opened on the same year. The reverse side of the document contains a resolution of Johan Skytte about Academia Gustaviana.
Finland
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1642
Turku
Peder Walde, Swedish
The print shop was set up at The Royal Academy of Turku which was the first university (created in 1640) in what is now Finland.
Georgia
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1709
Tbilisi
Mihail Ishtvanovitch
Established by the decree of Vakhtang VI in Abanotubani, Tbilisi
The first books printed in Georgian were Alphabetum Ibericum sive Georgianum cum Oratione and Dittionario giorgiano e italiano published in Rome in 1629.
Armenia
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1771
Vagharshapat
St. Grigor Lusavorich, Simeon Yerevantsi (Catholicos of Armenia)
The first published book in Etchmiadzin was titled Սաղմոսարան (Psalms). The printing house was St. Grigor Lusavorich.
The first book which had Armenian letters was published in Mainz in 1486. The first Armenian book to be published by the printing press was Urbatagirq—Book of Friday prayers—which was published by Hakob Meghapart in Venice in 1512.
Greenland
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1860
Godthaab
Latin America
Mexico
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1539
Mexico City
Juan Pablos of Brescia at the House of the First Print Shop in the Americas
Established by the archbishop Juan de Zumárraga, using Hans Cromberger from Seville, the first book printed was Breve y Mas Compendiosa Doctrina Christina, written in both Spanish and native Nahuatl. Esteban Martín of Mexico City has been determined to be the first printer in the Western Hemisphere. Between 1539 and 1600 presses produced 300 editions, and in the following century 2,007 editions were printed. In the 16th century, more than 31% of locally produced imprints were in native Indian languages, mostly religious texts and grammars or vocabularies of Amerindian languages. In the 17th century, this rate dropped to 3% of total output.
1640
Puebla
Peru
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1581
Lima
Antonio Ricardo
Presses produced 1,106 titles between 1584 and 1699.
Guatemala
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1660
Guatemala City
The first book is Un tratado sobre el cultivo del añil, which, not coincidentally, was printed in blue ink.
Paraguay
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1700
Jesuit mission of Paraguay
Established with local materials by local Guaraní workers who had converted to Christianity.
Cuba
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1707
Havana
Colombia
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1736
Bogotá
Ecuador
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1759
Quito
Chile
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1776
Santiago
Press functioned only briefly. In 1812 permanently established.
1810
Valparaíso
Argentina
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1780
Buenos Aires
Puerto Rico
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1806
Uruguay
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1807
Montevideo
Brazil
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1808
Rio de Janeiro
Venezuela
Date
City
Printer
Comment
1808
Caracas
Africa
Date
City
Country
Printer
Comment
1516
Fez
Morocco
Jewish
Refugees who had worked for the printer Rabbi Eliezer Toledano in Lisbon
1557
Cairo
Egypt
Gershom ben Eliezer Soncino
First printing press in the Middle East, known only from two fragments discovered in the Cairo Geniza.
As early as the 16th century
Mozambique
Portuguese
Luanda
Angola
Portuguese
Malindi
Kenya
Portuguese
1795
Cape Town
South Africa
Johann Christian Ritter German
Almanach voor't jaar 1796. The possibility of printing may be as early as 1784 when Ritter arrived in the Cape but no earlier output has surfaced.: facing p. 157 p. 160 Ritter is also said to have printed Almanacs for 1795 to 1797 suggesting a start to printing of 1794.
1798
Cairo
Egypt
French
c. 1825
Madagascar
English
Malagasy translation of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism
1831
Grahamstown
South Africa
Grahamstown Journal
1833
Mauritius
1841
Pietermaritzburg
South Africa
Ivangeli e li yincucli, e li baliweyo G'Umatu
1841
Umlazi
South Africa
Incuadi yokuqala yabafundayo
1856
Bloemfontein
South Africa
Orange Vrystaad A.B.C. spel en leesboek
1855
Scheppmansdorf (now: Rooibank)
Namibia
Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt
On 29 June 1855, Protestant missionary Kleinschmidt published 300 copies of Luther's catechism in the Nama language which represent the first printed works in that tongue. Political unrest seems to have prevented further printing activities. The press was reported as being functional as late as 1868, but whether printing was resumed is unknown.
1863
Massawa
Eritrea
Lorenzo Biancheri
An Italian Lazarist missionary set up the first printing press in Ethiopia to print missionary texts in Amharic. Biancheri called himself "Printer to His Majesty Emperor Theodros", but there is no evidence he had an imperial appointment. He died in 1864 and his press did not outlive him.
1870s
Malawi
1892
Salisbury
Southern Rhodesia (now: Zimbabwe)
Rhodesia Herald in print, may have started earlier : 169
1901
Harar
Ethiopia
Fifth press in the Ethiopian Empire, but the first in what is today Ethiopia. Established by Franciscans, it printed periodicals in French and Amharic. It was later moved to Dire Dawa.
Asia
South Asia
Date
City
Country
Printer
Comment
1556
Goa
Portuguese India
Jesuits
The press was attached to St Paul's college. See Printing in Goa.
1674–1675
Bombay
British India
Bhimjee Parikh / Henry Hills
East India Company supplied press, with only a Latin typeface
1712
Tranquebar
Danish India
Danish-Halle/SPCK Mission
1736
Colombo
Ceylon, Dutch India
Dutch reform Church / Dutch East India Company
Printing in Dutch, Sinhala, and Tamil
1758
Pondicherry
French India
Thomas Arthur, comte de Lally
Captured by the East India Company, and moved to Madras in 1761
1761
Madras
British India
Johann Phillip Fabricius
Printing in Tamil, using the captured Pondicherry press
1772
Madras
British India
Shahamir Shahamirian, Armenian
The first book published here was Այբբենարան (Aybbenaran – Reading Primer) in Armenian.
1777, November
Calcutta
British India
James Augustus Hicky
Publisher of Hicky's Bengal Gazette
1778, January
Calcutta
British India
Robert William Kiernander and John Zachariah Kiernander
SPCK Missionaries
Between 1777 and 1779
Hooghly
British India
Charles Wilkins and Nathaniel Brassey Halhed
1780, November
Calcutta
British India
Barnard Messink and Peter Reed
Publishers of the India Gazette
1792
Bombay
British India
1800
Serampore
Danish India
Baptist Missionary Society
Printing Bibles and books in several Indian languages
1848
Lahore
British India
Syed Muhammad Azeem
Lahore Chronicle Press, located in the old Naulakha palace, and printing in English and Farsi (Persian)
Ottoman Empire
Date
City
Printer
Comment
Dec 13th, 1493
Constantinople
David and Samuel ibn Nahmias, Hebrew
First ever printed book in Ottoman Empire was Arba'ah Turim in Hebrew. Some argue the year and suggest 1503 or 1504.
1519–1523
the Church of Saint George in Sopotnica, Sanjak of Herzegovina, Ottoman Empire (today village in Novo Goražde, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The books were printed in Church Slavonic of the Serbian recension.
Božidar Goraždanin
hieratikon (1519), psalter (1521) and a small euchologion (1523)
1554
Bursa
1567
Constantinople
Apkar Tebir, Armenian
The first book printed here was Փոքր քերականութիւն (Poqr Qerakanutyun – Brief Armenian Grammar) in Armenian
1577
Safed
Eliezer and Abraham ben Isaac Ashkenazi (apparently no relation)
First printing press in Western Asia, publishing in Hebrew. Eliezer, a native of Prague, operated in Lublin and Constantinople before settling in Safed. First printed Lekach Tov, a commentary on the Book of Esther by 18 year old Yom Tov Tzahalon.
1584
St. Anthony's Monastery, Qozhaya, Lebanon
Introduced by Maronite Patriarch Sergius ar-Rezzi; psalter was printed the first time in 1585
1610
St. Anthony's Monastery, Qozhaya, Lebanon
Second printing press set up by Christian Maronites in Lebanon; printed both Syriac and Arabic in Syriac script
1627–1628
Istanbul
Nicodemus Metaxas
First printing press of Greek books in Ott.Empire. Closed down by the authorities in 1628
1706
Aleppo
Athanasius Dabbas
First press for printing in the Arabic script in the Ottoman Empire; operated until 1711. Funded by Constantin Brâncoveanu and established with the assistance of Anthim the Iberian.
1729
Constantinople
Ibrahim Muteferrika
First press for printing in the Arabic script established by Muslims in the Ottoman Empire, against opposition from the calligraphers and parts of the Ulama. It operated until 1742, producing altogether seventeen works, all of which were concerned with non-religious, utilitarian matters.
1734
Monastery of St. John of Choueir, Khenchara, Lebanon
ʻAbd Allāh Zākhir
1759
Smyrna (Izmir)
Markos, Armenian
1779
Constantinople
James Mario Matra (Briton)
Abortive attempt to revive printing in the Ottoman lands
According to some sources, Sultan Bayezid II and successors prohibited printing in Arabic script in the Ottoman Empire from 1483 on penalty of death, but printing in other scripts was done by Jews as well as the Greek, Armenian, and other Christian communities (1515 Saloniki, 1554 Bursa (Adrianople), 1552 Belgrade, 1658 Smyrna). Arabic-script printing by non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire began with the press of Athanasius Dabbas in Aleppo in 1706. In 1727, Sultan Achmed III gave his permission for the establishment of the first legal print house for printing secular works by Muslims in Arabic script (Islamic religious publications still remained forbidden), but printing activities did not really take off until the 19th century.
Southeast Asia
Date
City
Country
Printer
Comment
1590
Manila
Philippines
1668
Batavia
Indonesia
1818
Sumatra Island
Indonesia
East Asia
Date
City
Country
Printer
Comment
1590
Nagasaki
Japan
Alessandro Valignano
The Jesuits in Nagasaki established The Jesuit Mission Press in Japan and printed a number of books in romanised Japanese language.
1833
Macau
China
The first presses were imported by Western priests for their missionary work from Europe and America. The earliest known, an albion press, was set up in the Portuguese colony Macau and later moved to Guangzhou and Ningbo.
1883
Seoul
Korea
Inoue Kakugoro (Japanese)
The first printing press was imported from Japan for publishing Korea's first Korean-language newspaper Hansong Sunbo. After the press was destroyed by conservatives, Inoue returned with a new one from Japan, reviving the paper as a weekly under the name Hansong Chubo. Presses were also established in Seoul in 1885, 1888 and 1891 by Western missionaries. However, the earliest printing press was apparently introduced by the Japanese in the treaty port of Pusan in 1881 to publish Korea's first newspaper, the bilingual Chosen shinpo.
Iran
Date
City
Country
Printer
Comment
1636
New Julfa, Isfahan
Persia
Khachatur Kesaratsi, Armenian
The first book printed here was Սաղմոս ի Դավիթ (Saghmos i Davit – Psalter) in Armenian
1820
Tehran
Persia
1817
Tabriz
Persia
Zain al-Abidin Tabrizi (?)
United States and Canada
Date
City
Country
Printer
Comment
1638
Cambridge, Massachusetts
USA
Stephen Daye, Samuel Green (from 1649)
This printing shop was located in the home of the first president of Harvard College, Henry Dunster. It printed the first Bible in British North America in 1663, in English as well as Algonquian.
1682
Jamestown, Virginia
USA
1685
Philadelphia
USA
William Bradford
1685
St. Mary's City, Maryland
USA
William and Dinah Nuthead started a press in Annapolis in 1686
1693
New York
USA
William Bradford
1731
Charleston, South Carolina
USA
1735
Germantown
USA
Christoph Sauer
1749
New Bern, North Carolina
USA
1752
Halifax
Canada
John Bushell
The Halifax Gazette, Canada's first newspaper was published initially in this year.
1761
Wilmington, Delaware
USA
1762
Savannah, Georgia
USA
1764
New Orleans, Louisiana
Spanish Louisiana (later USA)
1783
St. Augustine, Florida
La Florida (New Spain) (later USA)
1787
Lexington, Kentucky
USA
1791
Rogersville, Tennessee
USA
1828
New Echota, Arkansas
USA
Elias Boudinot (Cherokee)
Boudinot published the Cherokee Phoenix as first newspaper of the tribe.
1833
Monterey, California
Mexico (later USA)
1834
Santa Fe
Mexico (later USA)
1846
San Francisco
USA
1853
Oregon
USA
1858
Vancouver Island
Canada
Australia and Oceania
Date
City
Country
Printer
Comment
1795
?
Australia
George Hughes
1802
Sydney
Australia
George Howe
1818
Hobart, Tasmania
Australia
1818
Tahiti
French Polynesia
1821
Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
1835
Paihia
New Zealand
William Colenso
The first book was a Maori translation of part of the Bible commissioned by the Church Missionary Society: "Ko nga Pukapuka o Paora te Apotoro ki te Hunga o Epeha o Piripai" (The Epistles of St Paul to the Philippians and the Ephesians).
1836
Maui
Kingdom of Hawaii
See also
Editio princeps
Sources
Altman, Albert A. (1984), "Korea's First Newspaper: The Japanese Chosen shinpo", The Journal of Asian Studies, 43 (4): 685–696, doi:10.2307/2057150, JSTOR 2057150, S2CID 154966097
Appel, Klaus (1987), "Die Anfänge des Buchdrucks in Russland in der literaturfähigen Nationalsprache" [Beginnings of printing in Russia], Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German), 62: 95–103
Blake, Normann F. (1978), "Dating the First Books Printed in English", Gutenberg-Jahrbuch: 43–50
Bolza, Hans (1967), "Friedrich Koenig und die Erfindung der Druckmaschine" [Friedrich Koenig and the invention of the printing press], Technikgeschichte (in German), 34 (1): 79–89
Borsa, Gedeon (1976), "Druckorte in Italien vor 1601" [Printing locations in Italy before 1601], Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German): 311–314
Borsa, Gedeon (1977), "Drucker in Italien vor 1601" [Printers in Italy before 1601], Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German): 166–169
Borsa, Gedeon (1987), "Die volkssprachigen Drucke im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert in Ungarn" [Vernacular printing in the 15th and 16th centuries in Hungary], Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German), 62: 10903–109108
Clogg, Richard (1979), "An Attempt to Revive Turkish Printing in Istanbul in 1779", International Journal of Middle East Studies, 10 (1): 67–70, doi:10.1017/s0020743800053320, S2CID 159835641
Dal, Erik (1987), "Bücher in dänischer Sprache vor 1600" [Books in Danish before 1600], Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German), 62: 37–46
Gerhardt, Claus W. (1971), "Warum wurde die Gutenberg-Presse erst nach über 350 Jahren durch ein besseres System abgelöst?" [Why was the Gutenberg press replaced by a better system after more than 350 years?], Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German): 43–57
Gerhardt, Claus W. (1978), "Besitzt Gutenbergs Erfindung heute noch einen Wert?" [Does Gutenberg's invention still have value today?], Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German): 212–217
Horch, Rosemarie Erika (1987), "Zur Frage des ersten in portugiesischer Sprache gedruckten Buches" [On the question of the first book printed in Portuguese], Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German), 62: 125–134
Krek, Miroslav (1979), "The Enigma of the First Arabic Book Printed from Movable Type", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 38 (3): 203–212, doi:10.1086/372742, S2CID 162374182
Kvaran, Gudrun (1997), "Die Anfänge der Buchdruckerkunst in Island und die isländische Bibel von 1584", Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German), 72: 140–147
Man, John (2002), The Gutenberg Revolution: The Story of a Genius and an Invention that Changed the World, London: Review, ISBN 978-0-7472-4504-9
McGovern, Melvin (1967), "Early Western Presses in Korea", Korea Journal: 21–23
Moritz, Walter (1979), "Die Anfänge des Buchdrucks in Südwestafrika/Namibia", Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German): 269–276
Watson, William J. (1968), "İbrāhīm Müteferriḳa and Turkish Incunabula", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 88 (3): 435–441, doi:10.2307/596868, JSTOR 596868
Weber, Johannes (2006), "Strassburg, 1605: The Origins of the Newspaper in Europe", German History, 24 (3): 387–412, doi:10.1191/0266355406gh380oa
Wydra, Wieslaw (1987), "Die ersten in polnischer Sprache gedruckten Texte, 1475–1520" [First texts printed in Polish, 1475–1520], Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (in German), 62: 88–94
Charles Henry Timperley (1839). "Chronological index of the towns and countries in which the art of printing is known to have been exercised". Dictionary of Printer and Printing. London: H. Johnson.
Henry Cotton (1866). A Typographical Gazetteer (2nd ed.). Clarendon Press – via HathiTrust.
Hessels, John Henry (1911). "Typography" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 509–548.
On the effects of Gutenberg's printing
Eisenstein, Elizabeth L., The Printing Press as an Agent of Change, Cambridge University Press, September 1980, Paperback, 832 pages, ISBN 0-521-29955-1
McLuhan, Marshall, The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man (1962) Univ. of Toronto Press (1st ed.); reissued by Routledge & Kegan Paul, ISBN 0-7100-1818-5
Febvre, Lucien & Martin, Henri-Jean, The Coming of the Book: the impact of printing 1450–1800, Verso, London & New York, 1990, ISBN 0-86091-797-5
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