A few years ago I visited Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp. A beautifully restored house and printing house.

They present the printing process from start to finish. A huge collection of manuscripts, lead type of fonts, woodcut printing blocks, very old printing presses, all situated in a magnificent property. A place where the concept of media came to life in the 16th century.

When I had to think about the prompt ‘Media” I immediately remembered this site. One of the first sites where books and leaflets where published at a large scale. And I am sure that in the 16th century there already existed something as Fake News as well!

As can be read at the website:

“Discover the magic of the Museum. In mansion and printing press. In room and studio. In letters and typography. In beautiful books. Experience how, long before our digital age, words and images were spread around the world. ….”

And:

“…Christophe Plantin and his son-in-law Jan Moretus were a revolutionary duo. They were the first printers on an industrial scale – the Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg of their day. Four hundred years later, you can simply drop in on them. Because their home and workplace are still there, as if they had just popped out to the bakery…“

When you ever visit Antwerp I recomend this museum.

Both pictures are from the museum website.