Most events did not require images to be clearly understood.
The most appropriate explanation for why early print sources had very few illustrations is:
Most events did not require images to be clearly understood.
The best explanation for why early print sources have very few illustrations is that they required a lot of ink, which was very costly. To understand this answer, it is important to consider the technical limitations of early printing methods. In the early days of print, illustrations were typically created using intricate woodcuts or engravings. These illustrations required a significant amount of ink to reproduce on the page, which resulted in higher production costs for the publishers. As a result, early print sources were often limited in the number of illustrations they included in order to keep printing costs manageable. Therefore, the cost and availability of ink played a crucial role in determining the number of illustrations in early print sources.
