(a) The Gutenberg Press: The first printing press was developed
by Johan Gutenberg in 1430s. It was a developed form of the
olive and wine presses. By 1448 Gutenberg perfected this
system. The lead moulds were used for casting the metal types
for the letters of alphabet. The first book he printed was Bible.
He produced 180 copies of Bible in 3 years, which was much
faster by standards of the time, at the time.
(b) Erasmus’s idea of printed book: Erasmus was the Latin
scholar and a Catholic reformer. He criticized the printing of
books. He thought that most of the books are stupid, ignorant,
scandalous, raving, irreligious and seditious. According to him
such books devaluate the valuable books.
(c) The Vernacular Press Act: Modelled on the Irish Press Laws, it
was passed in 1878. This law gave the government tyrannical
rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. If
a seditious report was published and the newspaper did not
heed to an initial warning, then the press was seized and the
printing machinery confiscated. This was a complete violation of
the freedom of expression.
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