The history of books starts with the development of writing, and various other inventions such as paper and printing, and continues through to the modern day business of book printing. The earliest history of books actually predates what would conventionally be called "books" today and begins with tablets, scrolls, and sheets of Papyrus. Then hand-bound, expensive, and elaborate books, called codices, appeared. These gave way to press-printed volumes and eventually lead to the mass printed tomes prevalent today. Contemporary books may even have no physical presence with the advent of the e-book.