Week 3 – The Print Revolution

Arnold’s article discusses printing technology and book production in the late 1800’s in Australia and in particular, the advancements of the printing press (introduction of the Linotype machine) which resulted in the redundancy of hundred of workers of the superseded cylinder press machine (Arnold 2001).  In the same token however, new improvements to printing illustrations, resulted in a demand for workers in the packaging industry:

In 1901 there were only 285 people employed in the making of paper boxes and paper bags in New South Wales; ten years later there were almost a thousand more.

Arnold 2001, pg. 108.

This is interesting, as it demonstrates how improvements in technology resulted in changes in the demands in employment, thus affecting working culture at the time.  A variety of jobs were created in order to keep up with technology developments (Arnold 2001).

Crowley & Heyer (2011, p. 65) discuss aspects of the print revolution and how the introduction of printed books bought other changes to society, “Rapid silence reading, a rarity in the Middle Ages, became widespread”.  Reading material was changing in the way it was printed - gradually various publications were being printed to be read silently, rather than read allowed (Crowley & Heyer 2011). Traditionally, the sharing of news and public affairs were the reason people gathered, however silent reading changed this social scene; coffee shops, bookshops and reading rooms became the new gathering places (Crowley & Heyer 2011).

This is rather ironic when examining the mobile phone and how the above social changes are prevalent in society today.  The mobile phone originally introduced as a way to increase communication, is now a cause for lack of physical communication between people.   Often you will see in a coffee shops or restaurant, two people out to “socialize”, both staring down at their mobile phones, not interacting with each other.  The innovations of the mobile phone (becoming a smart phone and a cause of distraction) has resulted in a changed social scene much like silent reading did for people of the nineteenth century.  People today are silently reading their mobile phones. 

Reference List

Crowley, D & Heyer, P 2011, Communication in history: technology, culture, society, 6^th edn, Pearson, Sydney.

Arnold, J 2001, “Printing technology and book production”, in M Lyons and J Arnold (eds), A history of the book in Australia 1891-1945, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia.