Before Bookbinding

• Before the first true books were made, there existed two main types of books. The first were written on stone tablets, dating around 3800 B.C., and this evolved into the scroll or papyrus roll.
  
  

Ancient Orient

• In the East, books were written on pieces of palm leaves. Pieces of wood were placed on either side and everything was joined together with thread on one side, creating the first true book during ancient times.
  
  

Sixth Century

• Around the sixth century, European monks held bookbinding in high regard. These books were first bound with wooden boards, and later with leather.
  
  

Gutenberg

• Monks were mainly responsible for bookbinding for 1400 years. In 1447, the Gutenberg press opened up bookbinding with automated binding techniques. However, the degree of automation was still quite limited by modern standards, and bookbinding continued to be done by hand.
  
  

Paper Improvements

• In the 19th century, the ability to make paper out of wood pulp with machines increased the number of books that could be bound, and so binding machines were altered and improved.
  
  

20th Century

• During the late 19th century and the early 20th century, machines were made that trimmed books and glued the binding together, and were specifically made to develop hard-cover books. These machines further improved the bookbinding process.