Print Media & Imagery as Knowledge Disseminator and Agent of Control

The invention and of the Gutenberg printing press in fifteenth century Europe initiated a change in the way people created and perceived media. The printing press's subsequent developments allowed easier reproduction and faster distribution of materials, without the fear of various forms of human error. This helped create a culture, or at least a facade, of unprecedented uniformity in both substance and truth. At the same time, many publications were subject to and restrained by censorship of State institutions. Academic works, informational pamphlets, royal decrees, and advertisements were often altered to preserve and reinforce preexisting power structures in European society.
             This presents an interesting dichotomy, as the reliability of print media, and thus the diffusion of knowledge and information, is both helped and hampered by the technological advancements made during this period. Understanding the multifarious roles of early modern print media is all too important, as the way in which information is recorded, received, and reproduced has a tremendous effect on humanity. 

William Caxton showing specimens of his printing to King Edward IV and his Queen (late 15th c)

This image was printed in 1877, in reference to Caxton's bringing of the printing press to London in the 15h century.

An image from Vesalius's De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543) print, showing muscle intricacies

       

Images like the two above say "true" witches, and purport drawings as legitimate renderings of visual observation. 
Obviously, witches do not exist and the artist could not have seen a being that looked like the one in the 
picture on the left (printed by John Hammond 1643). 
The title page on the right says "published by authority", which gives an aura of legitimacy. (If its printed, especially by the crown, its true)

World Map from 1630, showing the European view of the known world

Links for Further Exploration on this Topic:

: Recent story on Elizabeth Eisenstein and some contemporaries like Marshall McLuhan

: Short article on the invention of the Western printing press in mid-1400s