A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Speaker: Jane Abramson

The talk starts by examining very early printing from woodcuts and how the technology evolved to enable production of magazines and newspapers. The development of photography and moving pictures is explained, including early cameras which ultimately led to mass media of today. In 1810 there was only 8 printing companies in Leeds but in the next 10 years the number exploded, and by 1911 printing was the 4th largest employer, employing more than 8000 people in the region on Leeds. Printing was once one of the city’s most important industries, with prominent local engineering companies manufacturing cutting edge printing machinery and equipment.