History

Abstract

To cover the history of visual communication since its inception would require multiple books, since its story is nearly as long as the story of humanity itself. The story of mechanized visual communication, which begins in the early stages of industrialization, is a bit more manageable subject, spanning centuries rather than millennia, though that too constitutes considerable territory. Histories of mechanized visual communication have tended to be organized around technology and biographies, with approaches ranging from the traditional chronology to cultural criticism.