Technology

Nicolaus Copernicus’ On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres was published in 1543 in the city of Nuremburg. The second edition of the book came out in 1566, right around the time astronomers like Tycho Brahe were emerging in scientific field. The second editions were published in Basel. The printing press had already been invented by this time. Parchment was still used, and some copies were published on parchment. But the mass copies were printed on paper. The book had a hardcover made from leather and a thread binding. The pages of the book were written in Latin and supported wide margins for notetaking – something common during the era. The ink used was an oil-based one. The printing press at the time was essentially a wine press that pressed inked text and images on a paper. Replica casting was used: text and images were reversed and made into brass. Molten lead was then poured into these brass replicas to create the text and images ‘stencil’ that could be inked and pressed on paper to be printed. Since the printing press was economical, mass copies of this book, and many others were availed by the printing press. Due to the shear increase in printing capacity, relatively easier access to these numerous books were availed by the printing press. Since the book was banned by the church, many copies were burned, torn, and thrown away. Some proponents kept the book in hidden locations to avoid the wrath of the church and its disciples that were against the Copernican model. Furthermore, the rarity and controversy surrounding the book lured thieves. In fact, first edition copies from numerous collections have been stolen. The book’s physical presence has been largely lost due to the thieving and endangerment of the book. Yet, some early editions copies have survived the test of time and are stored in libraries like that in University of Oklahoma, and in museums like the Adler planetarium.