(i) India had a very rich and old tradition of handwritten manuscripts in Sanskrit, Arabic,Persian as well as many vernacular languages. (ii) Manuscripts were copied on palm leaves or hand-made paper. Pages were sometimes beautifully illustrated. They would be pressed between wooden covers or sewn together for preservation. Manuscripts continued to be produced till the late 19th century inspite of the introduction of print. (iii) Manuscripts were highly expensive, fragile, could not be read easily as script was written in different styles. They were, thus not widely used in everyday life.