The Axis Publishing & Distribution Company, LLC

"Letters are symbols which turn matter into spirit."  - 1858

"How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book."

"It is astonishing how many books I find there is no need to read at all."

October 23, 2009.  Huntsville, Ala.  Congratulations to author Debra E. West, her "Best Education Possible Blog" has recently started attracting over 50 readers per day!

September 11, 2009. Huntsville, Ala. Today's date will always carry a special meaning in history. Also today, on a new page of history, at 12:02pm EST Huntsville, Alabama author Debra E. West delivered two volumes of her new book How to Get the Best Education Possible for Your Child - Kindergarten through Sixth Grade to the U.S. Library of Congress to be catalogued and included in their prestigious collection of printed books.

A Gutenberg Bible in the collection of the U.S. Library of Congress

The first attempts at mechanical printing featured each page carved in reverse on a solid block of wood which was then pressed against the paper.  But the blocks quickly broke and new letters would have to be carved and glued into position.  From this state of affairs came the idea of carving each letter seperately.  This movable type could be easily assembled to form each page of a book and if produced in metal the letters would last for many impressions.

Several printers in Europe were working on these ideas but in 1450 Johann Gutenberg was keen enough to borrow money from Johann Faust to perfect his conception of a printing press.  But when no book had been printed from Gutenberg's press five years later, Faust sued for his money and bankrupted Gutenberg.  Then, with Peter Schoeffer, a type designer, Faust brought out the first printed book in Mainz, Germany, in 1456.  But Gutenberg had the last word in the matter.  The book is known as the Gutenberg Bible.