A Manual of Bibliography: Being an Introduction to the Knowledge of Books, Library Management and the Art of Cataloguing, with a List of Bibliographical Works of Reference, a

From the beginning of the first chapter. Without attempting to trace the origin of printing among the Chinese, Persians, Greeks, or Romans, we may assume it as certain that typography, or the art of printing with movable types, had as a forerunner "xylography," or engraving on wood; and it was the successive application of this art that led to the discovery of printing. The earliest products of wood-engraving were playing cards and single leaf woodcuts, with or without text, known as "Helgen," or Saint Pictures. At first, probably, these latter bore an image alone, but as the images closely resembled one another, it became necessary to add the name of the Saint depicted. To the name was soon added a word or a line, then, two lines, and, finally, an entire page of letters was engraved. Several of these pages, printed on one side only of a piece of paper, were placed together in continuous order in the form of a book, thus forming what is now known as a xylographic or block-book, - one of the greatest of bibliographical rarities. Heineken, Sothby, and others have described the various block-books, indicating the different editions of each and the libraries in which they are to be found. The most notable are the following: "Historia Veteris et Novi Testamenti," or "Biblia Pauperum"; in Latin and German. Folio, about 40 leaves. "Historia Sancti Joannis Evangilistae ejusque Visiones Apocalypticae." Folio, 48 or 50 leaves. "Historia seu Providentia Virginis Mariae ex Cantico Canticum." Small folio, 16 leaves. In these three works there are only a few lines of words scattered here and there among the engraven figures, whilst in the following, the words-or, better still, the text-are engraven on separate blocks. They are: - "Der Entkrist" [Historia Antichristi], with an appendix of the signs which will precede the final judgment. Small folio, 39 leaves. "Ars Memorandi Notabilis per Figuris Evangelistarum." 15 leaves of figures and as many of text, folio. "Ars Moriendi," or "De Tentationibus Morientium," or "Tentationes Daemonis," in Latin, German, or Dutch. Folio and 4to, 24 leaves partly figures and partly text. "Speculum Humanae Salvationis," or "Spieghel onser Behoudenisse." Small folio, 5 leaves of preface and 58 leaves of vignettes, with Latin and Flemish sentences at the foot. "Die Kunst Cyromantia" of Hartlieb, partly printed on both sides. There remained but one step to be made, and movable types and typography were discovered. Who made this step?"