phantasmagorical

“That so many people in what were then called “the middling walks of life” - and even, to a degree, the “humbler” ones - were lifelong devotees of books is evidence of a cultural climate which stressed the value of education and ideas, and exalted books as the noblest product and symbol of civilization. To the Victorians, the printing press driven by a steam engine was, indeed, the most pregnant emblem of their achievements and aspirations. Gutenberg was virtually a culture hero, and his invention, it was thought, was the most potent instrument of social improvement ever conceived.” Richard D. Altick, Victorian People and Ideas, p 64