Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl
It was a slave holding society, which limits economic incentives for improvement (slave holders are often the wealthiest members of society and have a vested interest in keeping the status quo) and limits demand for recreational literacy (while Rome had literate slaves, their literacy served the interests of their masters, not the entertainment of the slaves). Without extensive recreational literacy, there is insufficient demand for paper.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer
There was demand for paper. Rome bought lots of papyrus and parchment. There was never enough. Paper, like pepper, would start in the luxury market and as paper got cheaper spread.
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So the question is, would the relatively wealthy, relatively small group of recreational readers be sufficient to support innovation in written materials. I think if the novelty of it could be "sold" to the wealthy then they might provide the initial investment to get printing off the ground. I think it would depend on the salesmanship of the first group of producers.