An Inquiry Concerning the Invention of Printing: in Which the Systems of Meerman, Heinecken, Santander, and Koning Are Reviewed; Including Also Notices of the Early Use of Wood-Engraving in Europe, the Block-Books, Etc

An Inquiry Concerning The Invention Of Printing: In Which The Systems Of Meerman, Heinecken, Santander, And Koning Are Reviewed; Including Also Notices Of The Early Use Of Wood-Engraving In Europe, The Block-Books, Etc by William Young Ottley. The work offers a rigorous documentary investigation into the origins of typography, balancing Haarlem (Haerlem) against Mainz (Mentz/Gutenberg) as potential birthplaces and foregrounding early woodcuts, xylography, and the block-book tradition as evidentiary anchors. Relying on primary sources—chronicles, court records, letters, colophons—and the work of French, Dutch, German, and Italian bibliographers, Ottley assesses competing claims and tests translations, interpolations, and dating assumptions. The narrative moves from general methodological cautions to focused discussions: the Strasbourg process (1439) over movable types versus moulds; Mainz prints and Fust–Gutenberg partnerships; and the status of the art as an “industry.” The book is supplemented by plates and illustrations to illuminate typographic and artistic evidence. Throughout, Ottley pursues a careful, evidence-based reconciliation of rival traditions, setting up a broader, more nuanced evaluation of the invention of printing in subsequent parts.