Read complete books and articles on: History of the Book

Book - The word book has come to have many meanings, e.g., any collection of sheets of paper, wood, or other material sewn or bound together; a division of a written work (books of the Bible, books of Caesar's Gallic War); and statements of financial accounting (bookkeeping). The primary meaning today is, however, a written work either in manuscript or in printed form that is of substantial

Early Books

Early in the history of bookmaking the printed book was distinguished in size by the number of times the original large sheet of paper on which the type was printed had been folded, i.e., folio, quarto, octavo, and duodecimo. With the advent of machine-made paper, these sizes were standardized. The standard octavo, according to the American Library Association, is between 20 cm and 25 cm in height.

Books apparently did not come into existence until long after writing, e.g., inscription, was widespread. Fragmentary early papyri represent literature in ancient Egypt and may possibly be considered as books, although it is customary to speak of the Book of the Dead as the first of the Egyptian papyrus books. The cuneiform tablets gathered into the great Assyrian library of Assurbanipal represented an enormous collection of works, but the book as we know it may be said to be derived from the Egyptian writings on papyrus.

The vast literature of the Greeks, collected in the greatest library of the ancient world, in Alexandria, was generally written on large sheets of papyrus, which were glued together and rolled up. The rolls varied greatly in size; many were about 1 ft (30 cm) wide and about 30 ft (9 m) long when unrolled. In the Hellenistic era large works were divided into tomes [Gr.,=cutting] that were stored together in cylinders and labeled.

The method of having the leaves held together in quires (24 or 25 sheets) in the fashion of the modern book seems not to have originated until about the 2d cent. a.d. From at least the early part of the 2d cent. b.c. the more permanent vellum (a type of fine parchment first used in the Middle East) was also used for writing books, and this grew to be very popular in the Middle Ages when books were copied by monks in the scriptoria of monasteries. In the scriptoria the art of illumination flourished, making artistic masterpieces of many medieval liturgical volumes.

Book Printing

The production of books in great quantity had to await the mechanical processes of printing from movable type. Printing was invented in China, where the first book printed by means of woodblocks is thought to date from the 9th cent. Korea developed movable metal type during the 13th cent. In the West movable metal type was developed by Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, and to a very large extent the history of the book is henceforth the history of printing.

Book production developed very rapidly, the craft becoming enormously sophisticated by the 16th cent. Italian printers set the standards of format and quality retained in Europe until the 19th cent. Great printing houses also arose in France and the Netherlands and, after a general decline in the 17th cent., in England and the United States. The 19th cent. witnessed machine replacement of all the old manual processes. By the end of the century printing quality had been so debased that a revolution, led by William Morris during the arts and crafts movement in England, was necessary to restore the concept of beauty to bookmaking.

Modern Book Production

In recent years computer technology has revolutionized book production and the printing and distribution of comparatively inexpensive softcover books, or paperbacks, has expanded. During the latter part of the 20th cent. the standing of the book as an information source has been challenged by other media including television, computers, and on-line databases. In addition, the very definition of a book as a collection of sheets of paper has also been challenged, as books recorded on audio tape and CD-ROM have become increasingly common and electronic books (small computers designed to display pages of books on their screens) have been introduced.

Bibliography

For a brief and excellent bibliography, see H. Lehmann-Haupt, One Hundred Books about Bookmaking (1949). See also F. G. Kenyon, Books and Readers in Ancient Greece and Rome (2d ed. 1951); E. Chiera, They Wrote on Clay (1958); F. L. Schick, The Paperbound Book in America (1959); R. B. McKerrow, An Introduction to Bibliography for Literary Students (1965); H. D. Vervliet, ed., The Book through Five Thousand Years (1972); W. Morris, The Ideal Book (reprints of essays and lectures on the book arts, ed. by W. S. Petersen, 1982).

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16 of the Best Books and Articles on: History of the Book

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Printed Book (1941) » Read Now
by Harry G. Aldis, John Carter, E. A. Crutchley. 172 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...survey of the earlier history of the printed book required very few...Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye 1474. , was the first book printed in the English...continuously...
2.

The Book: Its History and Development (1930) » Read Now
by Cyril Davenport. 280 pgs.

Collections: History, Education, Literature, Entire Library

...Binding of "The Gospels of Charlemagne," with Jewels...Century. Frontispiece. THE BOOK ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT BY...To face p. 238 THE BOOK: ITS HISTORY AND...
3.

Cultures of Print: Essays in the History of the Book » Read Now
by David D. Hall. 206 pgs.

Collections: History, Education, Literature, Entire Library

"Hall expertly lays out the state of our knowledge in the areas of printing, literacy, reading, and the interchange between learned and popular culture in early America. He then argues for a new approach to the early American cultures of print. By stressing how print was used rather than dwelling on...
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"Hall expertly lays out the state of our knowledge in the areas of printing, literacy, reading, and the interchange between learned and popular culture in early America. He then argues for a new approach to the early American cultures of print. By stressing how print was used rather than dwelling on quantitative studies of book production and distribution, Hall sketches a fuller, more human picture of early American culture".
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4.

Books and Readers in Ancient Greece and Rome » Read Now
by Frederic G. Kenyon. 138 pgs.

Collections: History, Education, Literature, Entire Library

...without book, what are we to say of Hesiod...to learn the Catalogoi...Leach, History of Winchester...Greek school-book, Homer...also wrote the first Latin...the first...
5.

Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts » Read Now
by Michelle P. Brown. 80 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...Each phase brought new developments to the history of the book. The sub-Roman period witnessed a certain level...Kent Canterbury or Mercia ? Opening of Book I of Bede...
6.

Medieval Texts and Their First Appearance in Print » Read Now
by E. Goldschmidt. 156 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...the Printer of Dictys B.M.I.A. 3337 . literary history. And in the first place we...providing a reference book in which such...giving a legendary history of Britain with...
7.

Early Italian Writing-Books: Renaissance to Baroque » Read Now
by Stanley Morison, Nicolas Barker. 248 pgs.

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...history of the history of Italian writing...direction now. In the first place...Italian writing-book of the Sixteenth...text of his book was set up...this time at The Times...
8.

Virgil and the Myth of Venice: Books and Readers in the Italian Renaissance » Read Now
by Craig Kallendorf. 251 pgs.

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This book, which is the first comprehensive study of its subject, shows that the Roman poet Virgil played an unexpectedly significant role in the shaping of Renaissance Venetian culture. Drawing on reception theory and the sociology of literature, it argues that Virgil's poetry became a best-seller...
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This book, which is the first comprehensive study of its subject, shows that the Roman poet Virgil played an unexpectedly significant role in the shaping of Renaissance Venetian culture. Drawing on reception theory and the sociology of literature, it argues that Virgil's poetry became a best-seller because it sometimes challenged, but more often confirmed, the specific moral, religious, and social values of the Venetian readers.
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9.

Books and Their Makers during the Middle Ages: A Study of the Conditions of the Production and Distribution of Literature from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the Close of the Seventeenth Century, Vol. II: 1500-1709 » Read Now
by Haven Putnam. 546 pgs.

Collections: History, Literature, Entire Library

...producers. At this stage in the history of book-production, the "producers...authoritative edition of a book which belongs to the distinctive literature not only of the...
10.

Publishing and Readership in Revolutionary France and America: A Symposium at the Library of Congress » Read Now
by Carol Armbruster. 215 pgs.

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This volume presents a comparative framework in which to study the history of publishing and readership in Europe and North America during the eighteenth century. The chapters are grouped in four broad sections devoted to publishing as a profession, publishing and the law, readership, and the...
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This volume presents a comparative framework in which to study the history of publishing and readership in Europe and North America during the eighteenth century. The chapters are grouped in four broad sections devoted to publishing as a profession, publishing and the law, readership, and the collection and use of materials. Chapters in each section are written by leading French and American specialists in this field. The chapter authors address their topics from the perspectives of social, economic, and cultural history; literary criticism; law; and library history. This comparative approach yields new insights into the political cultures of eighteenth-century France and America and into the relationship of print media and political culture.
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11.

Early American Books & Printing (1935) » Read Now
by John T. Winterich. 286 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...considerable importance in the history of the book in America , formed a collection...sensation without parallel in the history of book and autograph collecting in...Eliot...
12.

The Book in America: A History of the Making and Selling of Books in the United States » Read Now
by Hellmut Lehmann-Haupt. 515 pgs.

Collections: History, Literature, Entire Library

...THE BOOK IN AMERICA The Book IN AMERICA A History of the Making and Selling...FOREWORD THIS BOOK, a history of the book in America, has by now its...Miss Granniss section...
13.

The Significance of the Printed Word in Early America: Colonists' Thoughts on the Role of the Press » Read Now
by Julie Hedgepeth Williams. 299 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

The American press played a significant role in the transference of European civilization to America and in the shaping of American society. Settlement entrepreneurs used the press to persuade Europeans to come to America. Immigrants brought religious tracts with them to spread Puritanism and other...
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The American press played a significant role in the transference of European civilization to America and in the shaping of American society. Settlement entrepreneurs used the press to persuade Europeans to come to America. Immigrants brought religious tracts with them to spread Puritanism and other doctrines to Native Americans and the white population. The colonists used the press to openly debate issues, print advertisements for business, and as a source of entertainment. But what did the colonists actually think about the press? The author has gathered information from primary sources to explore this question. Diaries and journals reveal how the colonists valued local news, often preferring American news to European news. This concentrated focus upon colonial attitudes and thoughts toward the press covers the period of colonial settlement from the 1500s through 1765.
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14.

English Dictionaries, 800-1700: The Topical Tradition » Read Now
by Werner Hullen. 548 pgs.

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Between the beginnings of European lexicography and 1700, many glossaries and dictionaries were arranged not according to the alphabet, but in a topical order which followed the influential paradigms of theology, philosophy, and natural history at that time. Together with related text genres like...
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Between the beginnings of European lexicography and 1700, many glossaries and dictionaries were arranged not according to the alphabet, but in a topical order which followed the influential paradigms of theology, philosophy, and natural history at that time. Together with related text genres like treatises on terminology, didactic dialogues, and thesauri, they constitute the topical (or onomasiological) tradition which is an important lexicographical tradition in its own right. This book discusses the tradition's principles and origins, and by way of illustration draws upon early glossaries, treatises for the learning of foreign languages, and didactic dialogues. Later comprehensive works are presented as detailed in-depth studies. Professor Hüllen demonstrates that the English tradition is embedded in a complex Continental tradition whose important representatives, such as Adrianus Junius and Comenius, had a great influence on the English scene.
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15.

Master Makers of the Book: Being a Consecutive Story of the Book from a Century before the Invention of Printing through the Era of the Doves Press » Read Now
by William Dana Orcutt. 278 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...extraordinary facts in the history of the Book is that so large a number...work was epoch-making in the history of the Book. William Caxton was born...THE great figure in...
16.

An Encyclopedia of the Book: Terms Used in Paper-Making, Printing, Bookbinding and Publishing » Read Now
by Geoffrey Ashall Glaister. 538 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...of their history. Perhaps...disquieting than the absence of a comprehensive...works on book production...Scottish book club founded in 1833 for the printing of...