The invention of printing occupies a natural place in the sequence of events. In point of time the subject falls within the last five hundred years and coincides with the era commonly accepted as the modern period of history. The scope of the present volume is limited to a brief outline of the origin and development of the printed book of the western world, printed for the most part on paper, occasionally on vellum, and more rarely on other material. But these, as well as the block-printed books of China dating from the tenth century, the similar books of Japan, and the block-printed books of Tibet which resemble in shape the palm leaf manuscripts of India, do not concern us here. In the East a large part of the reading world is accustomed to books of quite other fashion, such as the manuscript books of India, written or incised on strips of dried palm leaf the birch-bark books of Kashmir and the liturgical books of Burma, some made of thin plates of lacquered metal, others manufactured from the cast-off clothes of the native sovereign. Many centuries have passed since papyrus and vellum rolls gave place to the form of book which is now used throughout the western world. Of these written or printed treatises there are many varieties besides the printed volume familiar to us by daily use.
#Prepare for printing as movable type crossword full
Dr Johnson, in the first edition of his Dictionary (1755), defined a book as 'a volume in which we read or write.' The Oxford Dictionary finds it no simple matter, and requires six columns for its full exposition, the main definition being 'a written or printed treatise or series of treatises, occupying several sheets of paper or other substance fastened together so as to compose a material whole.' We turn to them instinctively for information of all and every kind, for intellectual recreation, and even for recreation that cannot be called intellectual.īut, what is a book? Doubtless we all think we know, but to define it in words may not be easy, so it will be well to seek the help of a book. Books have come to be one of the commonest objects of everyday life. We are, it is true, heirs of the ages, but our heritage consists to a large extent of books, and what we are pleased to call progress is made possible mainly through their aid. In them is preserved the record of human thought, action, experience, and intellectual activity. It is only by some such feat of imagination that it is possible to realize in any degree the great part that books play in the daily life of the civilized world.īooks are the world's memory. What would it mean? Practically, the record of the accumulated sum of human knowledge swept away, and the processes of civilization limited to the experience of a single life-time, supplemented only by tradition and hearsay, dependent upon the memory of individuals. Imagine, if you can, the world suddenly bereft of books. From Luiken's Spiegel van het Menselyk BedryfĪn English gold-tooled Binding. London, 1620Ī Bookbinder's Workshop in the Seventeenth Century. Illustration from Breydenbach's Peregrinationes.
Part of a column of the 42-line Bible printed at Mainz before August 1456 Part of a page from a Fifteenth-century Manuscript
THE HANDLING AND MISHANDLING OF BOOKS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THE SCHOLAR-PRINTERS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. This 2011 edition published by Barnes & Noble, Inc.Īll rights reserved.
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