Printed Images and Books. Most histories of printed images begin with Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century, but printing textiles from woodblocks was a technique that dates back to the sixth century. In the later Middle Ages woodblocks were widely used to reproduce religious images that were hand-colored and sold to the public. Fourteenth- and fifteenth-century woodcuts were usually single-sheet prints, but the production of picture books known as block books were an important craft in the Lowlands. One of the most popular block books was the Biblia Pauperum (Bible of the Poor) in which New Testament scenes were inscribed in the middle of an architectural frame surrounded by Old Testament images and explanatory text. Eleven editions of the Biblia Pauperum were printed in the fifteenth century. Members of the minor clergy were often the intended audience for such editions...