History of Printing Technology

This is a single leaf of parchment from an illuminated Book of Hours. Books of Hours contained prayers to be prayed at specified hours of the day. Intended for the secular community as a riff on the rituals of monks and nuns, Books of Hours were small so they could easily fit in one's hand and be portable and some had a hook for hanging off one's belt as a way to show off one's wealth. This example contains illuminations made from real gold and lapiz lazuli and the text itself takes a small portion of the leaf, likewise showing off the wealth of the owner, that he or she could afford to have so much parchment not carrying text. Dating to about 1450, this one was made at the height of the illuminated manuscript, when scribal work was transitioning to secular artisans due to the high demand for it thanks to increased literacy.