A SCROLL detailing the history of writing and printing has been presented to Malvern by an academic from the Czech twin town of Marianske Lazne.

Dr Petr Somol, a regular visitor to Malvern over 15 years, presented the scroll when he gave the annual community partnership lecture at the Lewis Theatre at Malvern College during Civic Week.

And now Malvern Community Partnership is looking for suggestions as to where and how the four-metre scroll should be displayed in the town

Dr Somol's talk, The History of Book, Script and Typeface Culture, outlined the story of written communication and numeracy.

Dr Somol took his audience on a trip back to 900,000 BC and the first evidence of symbols drawn and scratched on rock, through Mesopotamian clay tokens depicting early forms of numbers, to the present-day immediacy of electronic mass communication.

He covered many of the most important developments, such as Gutenberg’s invention of movable type which brought the cost of printed works down to a hitherto-unknown low level, thereby encouraging literacy.

By allowing easy text changes, books and documents could be updated to reflect changes in thinking, the law and medical knowledge.

The scroll displays the imformation Dr Somol gave in his talk in the form of a timeline.

It was printed on linen by a company in Rakovnik, Czech Republic, using the latest computer technology.

Anyone with suggestions about displaying it should contact Mark Young on bohemiaforest@outlook.com.