Nigerian school stakes claim to have set up Africa's first printing press

The Hope Waddell Training Institution, a school in Nigeria founded in 1895 by Presbyterian missionaries, is laying claim to have set up Africa's oldest press. But could it be so?Hope Waddell, in Calabar, Cross River State, had a functioning printing press from 1903, initially to serve the school but later used to print newspapers. In an interview with Nigeria's Daily Trust, the school's principal, Edet Inyang, was unequivocal: "Our school had the first printing press in Africa."According to Wikipedia a large Wharfedale flat-bed printing press, donated by "friends in Scotland" was still in use in 1960. But another Wikipedia entry, about the development of media in Sierra Leone, states that although the first printing press in Africa, which arrived in Freetown in 1794, was destroyed by a French raiding party, another one became operational in 1800.And a paper on printing presses in sub-Saharan Africa, published last year (July 2013) by Julia Cagé and Valeria Rueda, contends that several mission societies acquired presses in Cape Colony between the 1820s and the 1870s.And, they write, the Methodists acquired a printing press in Grahamstown in the 1830s while the Anglicans set up presses at several places in the eastern Cape in the 1860s and 1870s.So Hope Waddell's claim to printing fame looks rather shaky. On the other hand, to be using a flat-bed printing press as late as 1960 must be some kind of record. More of a last than a first, perhaps. Sources: Daily Trust/Wikipedia... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #sierra leone

Other news stories related to: "Nigerian school stakes claim to have set up Africa's first printing press"


McClure to set up publishing company

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Wed, 09/03/2011 - 08:43 Picture book author and illustrator Gillian McClure is setting up publishing company Plaister Press rather than conform to the "hugely cautious" picture book market. McClure hopes the company will eventually expand to include... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #random house #eventually expand


Amazon has '80% online share', claims new survey

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 09/03/2011 - 09:48 Ten times as many people shop at Amazon than online at Waterstone's, a survey has revealed, while more than half of respondents bought books online. The research, carried out by the Institute of Direct Marketing,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #boosting sales #digital marketing #direct marketing


Adults and teenagers still prefer prints books to ebooks, WBD survey says

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 07:34 Almost half of teenagers have read a book on a computer, according to a new survey to mark World Book Day. As hundreds of events get under way across the country today, 40.8% of teenagers said they had read a book on a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mobile phone


Waterstone's parent buys stake in 'social bookselling' website

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 02/03/2011 - 08:44 HMV Group has "substantially" backed a social networking site called aNobii, which aims to help readers find buy and share books. The website, www.anobii.com, has existed since 2006 but was bought recently by internet... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hong kong #share books


Pearson to investigate Libyan stake

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 08:25 Pearson has begun a legal process to ascertain whether the stake held by its fifth biggest shareholder, the Libyan Investment Authority, needs to be frozen after the government moved to freeze the assets of Muammar Gaddafi... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #biggest shareholder #legal process


B&N Looks for the Right Print, Digital Balance

Barnes & Noble's third-quarter results for the period ended January 29 shows the dilemma faced by companies making the transition from print to digital. In the case of B&N, while its fastest growth is tied to the sale of ebooks and Nook digital readers, its most profitable business... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fastest growth #companies making #third-quarter results #barnes noble


Publishers' school budgets under threat

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 15:56 Almost three quarters of primary head teachers are expecting funding for books to be inadequate in 2011–12, as the Publishers Association has warned of a “challenging year” for book sales to schools. As schools begin to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #learning resources #key stage #book sales #challenging year #publishers association #school budgets


Quadrille set to lead Wills and Kate up the aisle

Written By: Laura Richards Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 11:47 Satirical photographer and filmmaker Alison Jackson will be focusing her eye on the Royal Wedding with a new book from Quadrille about Prince William and Kate Middleton's forth­coming nuptials. Anne Furniss, Quadrille... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #curtis brown #jonny geller #prince william #royal wedding #kate middleton


The Media Equation: 2 Platforms, With 2 Sets of Problems

Magazine publishers have a tough choice: an exclusive, pricey deal with the wildly popular Apple conduit, or Google’s open, less expensive and less trafficked vehicle. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #magazine publishers #media equation


Lewisham campaigners press Hunt to intervene on closures

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 21/02/2011 - 09:00 Lewisham library campaigners have renewed their call for secretary of state Jeremy Hunt to intervene over the borough's library closures. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #library closures


Hearst sets eyes firmly east with Lagardère deal

The decision by the owner of Cosmopolitan to buy Lagardère's international portfolio, and the rights for Elle, reflects the shifting sands of the magazine marketplace. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Phaidon Press to triple children's output

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Thu, 10/02/2011 - 16:03 Phaidon Press is aiming to triple its output of children's titles to 30 new children's books by 2012, up from eight in 2010. Phaidon's children's list covers children aged up to 12 years with a focus on pre-school and picture... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tomi ungerer #phaidon press


Reprieve for Edinburgh's school librarians

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 07/02/2011 - 15:59 Edinburgh City Council has announced it will not be taking forward plans to cut school library services after over 30 children's authors criticised the proposals. Leading names including Gruffalo creator Julia Donaldson,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #working hours #school librarians


Apple sets 31st March deadline for app changes

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 10:49 Apple is set for a collision course with Amazon after setting a 31st March deadline for its changes to its app terms. From that date, all apps must make any content they use available for purchase within the app itself. This... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Trade backs library e-lending, claims Overdrive chief

Written By: Benedicte Page Overdrive c.e.o. Steve Potash has said there is “enthusiastic support” for library e-lending from “many” trade publishing houses, describing fears over remote downloading as “not a real issue”. Potash was visiting London this week for talks with the major publishers,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers association #publishers association #major publishers #real issue #remote downloading #library e-lending


Amazon Claims E-book Sales Beat Paperbacks

The ebook sales milestone "has come even sooner than we expected," CEO Bezos says. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


School library services face closure

Written By: Caroline Horn School library services (SLS) in Birmingham and Sutton are to close or substantially reduce the service they offer to schools, while in Greenwich the service suspended on a temporary basis in 2009 will not now be resumed. The news follows recent closures of services... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Paste Returns? Music Mag Acquired, Set to Relaunch as Digital Edition

The assets of music magazine Paste—which folded in print last fall but kept Pastemagazine.com alive—have been sold to Wolfgang's Vault, owner of a variety of music sites including Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital edition


Digital Soars, Print Improves For Meredith in Second Quarter

Total revenue jumped 9 percent to $367 million for Meredith Corp in the second quarter of fiscal 2011, driven by strong advertising growth and integrated marketing services. Total advertising revenue for the first six months of fiscal 2011 jumped 11 percent to $420 million (with total revenue of... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #large part #total revenue #$420 million #meredith corp