Though the advent of excitement surrounding the printing press had come nearly four hundred years earlier, there was a significant rebirth in the interest surrounding print media during the Victorian Era, especially as it blended into new communication developments, namely the use of steam power to mass produce texts. At its inception in 1440, the printing press allowed for religious texts, like the Bible and other ancient writings, to be mass produced, permitting those who could read to independently formulate their own opinions, namely about religious doctrine. Interestingly, the developments in printing during the Victorian Era seem to again have enabled a generation to question their surroundings and furthermore, to question previously perceived absolutes concerning the known world. This is evidenced by the reflection of science in writing and publishing during the Victorian time period.
In addition to this, the mass publication of newspapers and periodicals also enabled much writings about who would soon be called “celebrities” – especially because of the simultaneous rise and development of film-making, photography and radio broadcast. This would have directly influenced the lives of all three women in Vanishing Point: Aimee Semple McPherson preached on the radio, Amelia Earhart’s journeys were documented via radio and film and photograph and Agatha Christie’s books were now mass produced and available on a large scale.
DATES
1440 – The printing press is invented by Johannes Gutenberg.
1800 – The first steam powered printing press is invented.
Early 1930s – The printing press is now capable of performing 2,500 to 3,000 impressions per hour.
1866 – Mahlon Loomis, an American dentist, successfully demonstrated "wireless telegraphy." Loomis was able to make a meter connected to one kite cause another one to move, marking the first known instance of wireless aerial communication.
1933 – FM radio was patented by inventor Edwin H. Armstrong.
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