(英译汉)Sometimes books were illustrated with woodcuts. Blocks of wood were carved so that the white parts of the picture were below the surface of the wood. When the surface was inked and stamped onto paper, the dark part of the picture was reproduced. The first attempts, of course, were rather crude, but eventually the block printers were making meticulous and artistic illustrations. Florence, in Italy and Lyons, in France, became famous for their illustrated books.
In the seventeenth century, great numbers of religious pamphlets were printed. These pamphlets were not always neat or artistic because the writers were only interested in spreading their ideas quickly, and the readers did not consider the appearance of the book important.