Print Culture and the Modern World - Class 10 History

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key concepts, historical figures, technological innovations, and publications from the Class 10 History chapter 'Print Culture and the Modern World'.

Akhlaq-i-Nasiri (1595)

A sixteenth-century Indian illustrated work depicting a royal workshop where books were dictated, handwritten, and illustrated before the introduction of printing presses.

Accordion Book

An early Chinese book format printed by rubbing paper against inked woodblocks, then folded and stitched at the side because paper was too thin and porous to print on both sides.

Diamond Sutra

The oldest known Japanese printed book, dating to AD 868, containing six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations.

Ukiyo

An art form meaning 'pictures of the floating world' that depicted ordinary urban human experiences, made famous by Edo artist Kitagawa Utamaro.

Vellum

A parchment made from animal skin, traditionally preferred by European aristocrats and wealthy elites for handwritten luxury manuscripts.

Jikji

One of the world's oldest books printed with movable metal type in fourteenth-century Korea, containing key teachings of Zen Buddhism and inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2001.

Johann Gutenberg

A German goldsmith from Strasbourg who drew on his knowledge of wine and olive presses to develop the first-known movable type printing press in the 1430s.

Gutenberg Bible

The first major book produced on Johann Gutenberg's printing press around 1448, with about 180 copies printed over a period of three years.

Print Revolution

The historical transition from hand printing to mechanical printing between 1450 and 1550 that transformed the production of books, popular perceptions, and public access to ideas.

Ninety-Five Theses

A text written by Martin Luther in 1517 criticizing Roman Catholic Church practices, which was widely printed and circulated, sparking the Protestant Reformation.

Menocchio

A sixteenth-century Italian miller who read vernacular books, formed his own dissenting interpretations of God and Creation, and was executed for heresy by the Roman Catholic Church.

Index of Prohibited Books

An official register of banned publications established by the Roman Catholic Church in 1558 to control heretical writings and maintain religious authority.

Penny Chapbooks

Inexpensive pocket-sized booklets sold by traveling pedlars known as chapmen in England for a penny, making printed literature accessible to poorer classes.

Bibliothèque Bleue

Low-priced popular French books printed on cheap paper and bound in simple blue covers, widely read by common audiences.

Louise-Sebastien Mercier

An eighteenth-century French novelist who declared the printing press to be the most powerful engine of progress and proclaimed: 'Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world!'

Richard M. Hoe

An inventor who perfected the power-driven cylindrical printing press in the mid-nineteenth century, dramatically increasing printing speeds for newspapers.

Bengal Gazette (James Augustus Hickey)

A weekly English-language newspaper founded in 1780 in India, marketed as 'a commercial paper open to all, but influenced by none,' which criticized British officials.

Sambad Kaumudi

A Bengali newspaper started in 1821 by Rammohun Roy to advocate for social and religious reform, including opposing widow immolation.

Samachar Chandrika

A publication started by orthodox Hindu groups to counter and debate the reformist arguments presented in Rammohun Roy's Sambad Kaumudi.

Deoband Seminary

An Islamic institution founded in 1867 that utilized cheap lithographic presses to publish thousands of fatwas guiding Muslim daily conduct and explaining Islamic doctrines.

Amar Jiban (1876)

The first full-length autobiography published in the Bengali language, written by Rashsundari Debi, describing how she learned to read in secret within her kitchen.

Istri Dharm Vichar

A widely circulated Punjabi booklet written by Ram Chaddha that taught women how to adhere to the ideals of an obedient and virtuous wife.

Battala

An area in central Calcutta noted in the nineteenth century for publishing cheap popular prints, religious scriptures, and scandalous literature peddled to households.

Gulamgiri (1871)

A book written by Jyotiba Phule that exposed and attacked the injustices of the Hindu caste hierarchy.

Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal (1938)

A book written by Kashibaba, a Kanpur mill worker, addressing the links between caste discrimination and class exploitation among factory laborers.

Vernacular Press Act (1878)

A British colonial law modeled on the Irish Press Laws that empowered the government to censor reports, issue warnings, and confiscate printing machinery of vernacular newspapers publishing seditious content.

Kesari

A prominent Marathi nationalist newspaper edited by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, whose writing in defense of deported Punjab revolutionaries led to his imprisonment in 1908.

Akhlaq-i-Nasiri

A 1595 work illustrating a 16th-century Indian royal workshop where books were dictated, handwritten, and illustrated by hand before mechanical printing.

Hand Printing

The earliest print technology developed in China, Japan, and Korea, involving rubbing paper against the inked surface of woodblocks (practised in China from AD 594 onwards).

Accordion Book

A traditional Chinese book folded and stitched at the side, developed because thin, porous paper could not be printed on both sides.

Diamond Sutra

The oldest Japanese printed book, dated AD 868, consisting of six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations.

Ukiyo

A Japanese art genre meaning 'pictures of the floating world,' depicting ordinary human experiences, especially urban culture, artists, and teahouses.

Kitagawa Utamaro

An Edo-born Japanese artist (1753) celebrated for his ukiyo prints, which later influenced European painters such as Manet, Monet, and Van Gogh.

Vellum

A parchment made from animal skin, preferred by European aristocrats and the wealthy elite who considered printed books cheap and vulgar.

Marco Polo

The Venetian explorer who returned to Italy from China in 1295 and introduced the knowledge of Chinese woodblock printing technology to Europe.

Jikji

One of the world's oldest books printed with movable metal type in late 14th-century Korea, containing Zen Buddhist teachings and inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2001.

Johann Gutenberg

A German goldsmith and inventor who developed the first-known mechanical printing press in Strasbourg during the 1430s, using models from olive presses and metal moulds.

Movable Type

A printing system where 26 individual metal Roman letters could be rearranged to compose words; remained the basic printing technology for 300 years.

Compositor

A workshop craftsperson who manually selected and arranged individual metal letter types for the printing process.

Print Revolution

The shift from manual scribal copying and hand printing to mechanical printing between 1450 and 1550, transforming society's relationship with information and knowledge.

Ninety-Five Theses

A 1517 publication by Martin Luther criticizing various rituals and corrupt practices of the Roman Catholic Church, which sparked the Protestant Reformation.

Menocchio

An Italian miller who reinterpreted the Bible using printed books, expressed radical views on God and Creation, and was executed by the Roman Inquisition for heresy.

Index of Prohibited Books

An official list established by the Roman Catholic Church in 1558 to control, censor, and ban publications deemed heretical or critical of Church authority.

Penny Chapbooks

Small, cheap pocket-books sold in England by itinerant pedlars (chapmen) for a single penny, making literature affordable to the poor.

Bibliothèque Bleue

Inexpensive, low-quality French paperbacks bound in cheap blue paper covers, sold widely to common readers in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Louise-Sebastien Mercier

An 18th-century French novelist who declared the printing press the 'most powerful engine of progress' and warned tyrants of the world to tremble.

Grimm Brothers

German scholars who collected traditional folk tales from peasants and compiled them for children after removing content deemed unsuitable or vulgar.

Cylindrical Press

A power-driven printing press perfected by Richard M. Hoe in the mid-19th century, capable of printing thousands of sheets per hour.

Offset Press

A late 19th-century mechanical press capable of printing in up to six colours simultaneously.

Shilling Series

A collection of cheap, popular books published in 1920s England to maintain and expand popular readership.

Bengal Gazette

The first English-language commercial weekly newspaper in India, launched in 1780 by James Augustus Hickey as 'open to all, but influenced by none.'

Sambad Kaumudi

A reformist Bengali newspaper started by Raja Rammohun Roy in 1821 to debate social issues such as widow immolation, monotheism, and idolatry.

Samachar Chandrika

A newspaper established by orthodox Hindu groups to counter and oppose the reformist ideas propagated in Rammohun Roy's Sambad Kaumudi.

Deoband Seminary

An Islamic institution founded in 1867 in North India that published thousands of fatwas via cheap lithographic presses to instruct Muslims on daily conduct and Islamic doctrine.

Naval Kishore Press

A famous Lucknow-based vernacular press founded in the 1880s that published large volumes of religious texts in everyday languages.

Rashsundari Debi

A 19th-century Bengali woman who secretly taught herself to read in her kitchen and authored Amar Jiban (1876), the first full-length autobiography in Bengali.

Istri Dharm Vichar

A popular book written by Ram Chaddha in Punjab that outlined the duties, virtues, and conduct expected of an obedient wife.

Battala

A publishing quarter in central Calcutta famous in the 19th century for printing cheap illustrated religious texts, folklore, and popular literature.

Gulamgiri

An 1871 book written by Jyotiba Phule addressing the injustices, exploitation, and discrimination of the caste system in India.

Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal

A 1938 publication by Kanpur mill worker Kashibaba highlighting the links between caste oppression and industrial class exploitation.

Sudarshan Chakr

The pen name of a Kanpur factory worker whose poems criticizing exploitation were published as Sacchi Kavitayan between 1935 and 1955.

Vernacular Press Act (1878)

A repressive colonial law modeled on the Irish Press Laws that gave the British government extensive powers to censor, monitor, and seize vernacular printing presses.

Kesari

A prominent Marathi nationalist newspaper edited by Bal Gangadhar Tilak that reported on colonial misrule and defended deported Punjabi revolutionaries.