The first books were made by hand, using materials such as papyrus, parchment, and vellum. The earliest known book is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which dates back to approximately 2100 BCE. Books were produced by hand-copying manuscripts until the invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century. The first printed book was the Gutenberg Bible, which was produced in 1455. After this, the development of the printing press and other technologies allowed for the mass production of books, which made them more widely available.
