Book History and Print Culture.
- Origins.
- The Book.
- Early Printing in Europe.
- The Unacknowledged Revolution.
- The Nature of the Book.
- What is the History of Books?
- Authors.
- Modern Times: From Paperbacks To E-Books.
- Booksellers.
- States and Censors.
- Areopagitica.
- What Is Bibliography?
- The Editorial Problem of Final Authorial Intention.
- The Rationale of Hypertext.
- How We Read: Close, Hyper, Machine.
“Origins”
.The introductory section of the assigned reading from The Book in Society was very useful in establishing the groundwork in understanding the importance of the book. The readings first clarified the major contributors of language being the “Egyptians… Chinese… and Mesoamericans”. They are responsible for creating the components to form what would eventually become what we know today as a book. All three of these groups operated at different points in history and added their unique contribution to the development of the book. The importance of the physical pieces that form a book, these being parchment and paper were the most recognizable of their contributions. It is stressed that the need of these developments were used to pass along religious information, theories and influential historical events and document them. Without the development of the pages many important readings would not be able to be passed along and maintained. As per Robinson, the “script’s importance and endurance was ensured” as the knowledge would not have been kept without being placed on the parchments and papers. The remainder of the reading covered the spread of paper across the world being seen in various cultures starting in China and expanding in all directions. As the technology spread the vocabulary of the various cultures developed as the writing systems became more refined. An example of the influence of the Greek civilization was their technique of “borrowed and combined elements” of existing systems that they developed for their own. What eventually resulted became a “basis for all… alphabetic systems”. The enlightening look into the beginning of the book and the contributors that spread the technique in making the parchment and paper, was essential for the book we know today.
Works Cited
Robinson, Solveig C. “Origins” The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2014, Print. (21-2, 33-4, 39-40, 44-6)
Take Me Home.“The Book: Its Visual Appearance”
Covering the works of French historian Lucien Febvre of his journal Annales d’Histoire economique et Sociale with the aid of librarian Henri-Jean Martin. Their journal led the way in study of book history by examining the production, circulation and reception of the book. Minor details we take for granted now such as page numbers, title pages, and bindings took time to develop and be found in printed books. .
Book: Visual appearance
Early printers took immense care in reproducing exact imitations of handwritten copies such as the 42-line bible. The Bible was printed using letter-type to emulate the style seen in the handprinted copies and details such as rubrication (decoration of red ink) was added. Booksellers took interest and sold printed copies and even financed the specialists to perform reproduction.
Type Founts
Type founts varied by 4 types that served a distinct style: Blackletter used in scholastic texts, Gothic (also known as Fraktura) with distinct straight uprights, “bastard” gothic derived from handwritten styles, and roman script which became the standard for printed books. The remainder of the section described regional styles, which were eventually phased out by the roman style.
Inside the book
Title page: was not added to printed books until the mid-1400’s. Readers would have needed to turn pages and read content to determine what the book was. It was around the same time the length of the book grew and other details such as engravings became popular. Section not largely helpful with expanding understanding on the subject.
The Text and Format of the Book
Development of leaf organization such as page number and eventual chapter designation. Format such as quarto and octavo etc… were traditional styles of book printing. Printing was largely divided by large printed tomes for library use or small literary pieces for public distribution.
Illustration
Illustrations were painted by the highest of class painters and placed in books sold by the wealthiest merchants. The common use of xylography (wooden blocks), used in the production of book pre-dating Guttenberg. It was the norm until more intricate methods were developed. Thomas de Bry and Lapland popularized copper engravings. Within the seventeenth century there was a preference for reproducing famed pieces of art and images that aided in telling the story.
Binding
When examining old bindings, the most pristine were often bound in tanned goat skin or other leathers, which could be dyed different colors. As books were precious objects of the time some paid immense amounts to have them decorated with patterns and images detailed in gold leaf. Binding later transitioned from a separate profession to be integrated in the printing process. Printers used layers of carboard to save money, weight, and keep up with demand. Luxury bindings were still performed for the wealthy and willing.
Michael Twyman – Founder of the Printing Historical Society describes three styles of printing process: relief, intaglio, and planographic. There are two distinct stages in printing: orgination and multiplication. Both terms cover the arrangement of words. The multiplication portion focuses on the second stage of printing of identical copies of an item in form of print run. Images being treated as almost a completely other task to printing the book is studied and considered differently than the text portion of printing.
Works Cited
Fabvre, Lucien and Martin, Henri-Jean. “The Book: Its Visual Appearance” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Broadview Press, Levy, Michelle, and Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp. 15-36.
Twyman, Michael. “What is Printing” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Broadview Press, Levy, Michelle, and Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp. 37-44.
Take Me Home."Early Printing in Europe"
Within the fifteenth century the transition in Europe was seen from handwritten works to printed works. Short one-page prints were common as many early readers were partially or completely illiterate. Longer pieces of print were commonly biblical texts used by scholars and the church.
Gutenberg
Creator of the printing press and moveable metal type. Made with extreme quality and care, his instruments were able to be used in multiple impressions.
Biblia Pauperum
The “poor man’s bible”, was a simplified illustrated text of Christian instruction. The print was more image heavy blending old and new testament. The first copies were discovered in southern Germany. In public form for the poor, the copies were simplified and minute and private copies were more elaborate. Printing took immense concentration and precision as the type and many other steps of the process was still done by hand. A skilled compositor could set roughly 1200 characters per hour or 3 pages per day.
Type Design
Many types were designed to find the most aesthetic and legible fonts that mimicked handwriting. Different regions utilized various font types such as William Caslon who developed a roman typeface that became very popular throughout England. John Baskerville is noted to have developed a type font that was widely used in western society even being used by Benjamin Franklin within the US federal government. It was crucial to have an even coat of ink and even hard pressure to be sure of a fine print.
Common Press
The Visual appearance and function of Gutenberg’s printing press, although interesting, it does not provide help in course information. Although many changes and improvements were made to the original printing press, Gutenberg’s original remained the basis of all presses for an extended period.
Gutenberg Bible
The first letterpressed book ever printed and is known for the attention to detail to replicate the appearance of a manuscript copy. The timeframe for producing a print run of a printed Gutenberg Bible was cut from three years to be handwritten to roughly one year. The Gutenberg Bible was considered to be an incunabula given to the first generation of printed books.
The Press and Reformation
Blending of the church and the printed book. Lutheran followers utilized the Gutenberg press to spread their religious teachings across Europe. The Reformation being a shift from the religious status quo and the following counter-reformation caused a surge of printing.
Printing and the Protestant Churches
Protestantism was the first movement to exploit printing’s potential. The vernacular Bible was seen as the steppingstone to pass protestant print across Europe. A translation of the Bible written by Martin Luther expanded the spread of the Bible, more than 300 translations were published making Luther the first bestselling print author. Later the ascension of King James brought the translation of the Bible to English. That translation became one of the most circulated books in history.
Printing and the Catholic church
Some prints of this period were deemed heretical and banned by the church. Some prints such as the vernacular could be read with approval of the church or enhancement of Catholic notes. Suppression seemed to be a common case according to names such as for Galileo. His beliefs the Church and the Inquisition were responsible for the burning of the Mayan codices and elimination of any heresy.
The Expansion of Print Culture
Print culture expanded to the Americas shortly after the expansion of colonies. New forms of print such as periodicals, newspapers and magazines seemed to become more prevalent.
The Officina Plantiniana
An early successful printer was Christopher Plantin, situated in Antwerp. His printing house became one of the largest in the 16 and 17th centuries. His house was named the Officina Plantiniana and printed various books and religious texts. He survived the various religious reforms as he operated within a grey area appeasing his catholic country by printing works for the king and maintain his relationship printing for his Protestant investors.
Printing and the Enlightenment
This age was said to begin with the printing of a book, the Principia Mathematica of English scientist Isaac Newton. His book began the scientific upheaval that brought immense change to the way people perceive information. It led to debate, discovery and application.
Works Cited
Robinson, Solveig C. “Early Printing In Europe” The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2014, Print. (82-100)
Take Me Home.“The Unacknowledged Revolution”
Elizabeth Eisenstein, a Professor Emerita at the university of Michigan and American historian of the French revolution. She places focus on the shift from script to print following the invention of the printing press. Eisenstein claims that the press had three main functions of: standardizing, preserving, and disseminating knowledge. She attempts to emphasise some of the problems with attempting to understand the shift from script to print.
The Unacknowledged Revolution
Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, viewed that very few paid attention to crucial details. He claimed that very few examined the “force, effect and consequences” of Gutenberg’s invention. The printing press left no field of human life untouched. However, it is found to be difficult to determine each individual improvement the printed word has done. The printed book provided improvement to learning, as well as thinking among the elite. The book is also largely responsible for closing the literacy gap among the common man. Although the improvements brought some issues too, such as standardization. Laws and mindsets were passed along as standard to each subject that lowered the abundance of the variety of written records. Not to forget the control the elite had over the printed material. The change was seen in the first generations of children following the change to printed word with increased oral and literacy skills. Literate elites collected expansive collections of books which were now slowly becoming irrelevant as many of their prized books were being reprinted at an accelerated rate. As paper was available to all, a literate man was likely to be his own scribe, slowly pushing the profession out. Many forms of print that held immense importance had become simply common but still held their influence on daily life. Typography, the art of arranging type to be legible, was still seen as a indispensable skill. Throughout the enlightenment publishers and mechanic printers had not yet come to a parting. Within the industrialization of the printing trade it created new labor and issues with censorship and ideology.
Works Cited
Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. “The Unacknowledged Revolution” The Broadview Reader in Book History, edited by Michelle Levy, Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp 215-30
Take Me Home.“The Nature of the Book”
Adrian Johns, Professor of History at the University of Chicago specializing in history of sciences, history of the book. His focus on media and intellectual piracy and property from renaissance to present allowed him to become a prominent figure in the book history world. Within The Nature of the Book Johns challenges Eisenstein’s views on the print revolution. He argues that early texts were not more uniform, accurate and reliable than their predecessors. Johns states that “the very identity of print itself had to be made…by the virtue of hard work”. Without effort, tenacity and desire, print would never have made the effect that it has. His excerpt attempts to show the arrival of print was not an instantaneous process.
Introduction
Professor Johns sees the modern book as a commodity where the luster of owning a book has completely disappeared. Previously when a book was printed the credibility of everything was questioned from where it was produced to who wrote it where now it means very little if the author has any credibility at all and had earned the privilege of having their book printed rather than just paying for it.
Piracy was a constant worry in the early generations of printing. The illicit use of the printing press at the time led to the credibility of printed books being questioned. Many books were not authorized by their respective country which created the desire to obtain a copy. The instability of credible knowledge allowed uncertainty of the presented knowledge. Today if there is a text with questionable information it can be answered quickly with the various pieces of information available to us.
Problems of “Print Culture”
Tycho, the constructor of an Observatory named Uraniborg, just north of Copenhagen. His research made him an icon of astronomy and became an uncriticizable expert. His local craft transformed his scientific discoveries into globally accepted science. The printing of this significant information allowed it to be placed beside another text and be used as a standard. Having socially accepted information allowed for viewers can be confident in their conclusions.
Johns proposes that a “print logic” rather than a singular print culture is imposed on humanity. A print logic would allow examination of various print cultures historical circumstances. A more individual approach allows for the texts and the readers of that space to be examined closely.
Galileo wanted to establish a new authority for natural knowledge. He organized scientific debates and challenged other court philosophers, while attempting not to lose; he maintained a professionalism during the debates. Galileo did not have a private press, which allowed his book to be leaked and re-printed by multiple unauthorized printers. Although it allowed for a wider audience to view his work, not many have likely seen his original drawings within them. Unfortunately, due to various conflicts of the time and radial views, the Pope called for Galileo to be placed under house arrest for suspicion of heresy. It became one of the most severe downfalls of history of science.
From Fixity to Credit
Johns calls for a new understanding of historical print. Two points are needed, the first is the respect and regard provided to the labors of who print the physical book and second is to respect their representation of the printed material. As accounted by persons such as Edmond Halley, an ocean navigator, had always preferred the first editions as the later copied editions can lose their reliability. Piracy itself threatened the credibility of the original ideas put forward by the original authors.
Works Cited
Johns, Adrian. “Introduction: The Book of Nature and the Nature of the Book” The Broadview Reader in Book History, edited by Michelle Levy, Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp 267-84.
Take Me Home.“What is the History of Books?”
Robert Darnton, professor of European History as Princeton University before becoming the director of the Harvard Library. He is a leader in era of revolutionary France and well regarded in the field of book history. He introduces the concept of “communication circuit” following the history from author to reader and its process.
New book historians had little interest in rare and fine editions to discover the literary experience of the common reader. Books generally passed through the same cycle; from author to the publisher, the printer, shipper, to bookseller and finally the reader. Book history concerns each phase of this process and the process as a whole. Its variations influenced the cycle are economic, social, political and cultural systems.
I.
Rigaud as example was a bit of a radical when it came to the publishing of literature. He found that many of his customers objected to receiving what they considered to be inferior texts. Rigaud maintained a tight ordering system ordering only a dozen book titles at a time to have a light shipping charge. This allowed for only just the most popular books that he could sell completely every time. If a particular copy could not be acquired, Rigaud had some ulterior methods.
II.
Rigaud was also a cutthroat businessman. He merged with another bookseller for self benefit paying off debts and saving himself. When other sellers were in the situation he once was he eliminated the competition. He absorbed them by organizing a cabal of their creditors, not allowing the competition to make payments where then Rigaud purchased their stock. At the time booksellers were not overly wealthy individuals and did what was necessary to stay afloat in the constantly shifting economy.
III.
Rigaud was attempting to collect copies of Questions to make quick profit. He attempted to order copies from multiple providers to ensure receiving a first edition, and reduce the inventory of his competitors. This plan did not workout for Rigaud in this case, it was much more complex needing to go through back channels. He utilized an army of middlemen shipping the order from a much greater distance than his previous orders and maneuver around the booksellers’ guild and royal book inspectors. His gamble did not payoff as many of the books either came late or were heavily damaged. Soon France imposed a heavy tax on any imported books and Rigaud terminated any foreign importation.
IV.
Authors – Much about the authors’ relations with the various pieces of the cycle are still in question. However, a century following Rigaud, Zola stated independence for writers came following selling their prose to the highest bidder.
Publishers- The role of the publishers became clearer during the upswing of printing incorporated into society. They utilized their placement within the social and economic world to their benefit. Strategy was fluid and the concept of early publishing in Darnton’s opinion must be examined more closely.
Printers- Considered to be the most well known of all pieces of the cycle. Although we know a great deal of the early stages of printing, the later years are blurred. The main questions are things such as cost and what part they influenced the political scene.
Booksellers- Books were sold as commodities just about everywhere and a closer study on the economic status of many of these larger sellers would provide more information. The backchannels and various countries they used to move their product was done secretively and for personal gain.
Readers- It is difficult to determine how readers made sense of the signs on the printed page and the social effects of that experience. However, books have overall had a profound effect on the retention of knowledge and spread of literacy. If it was possible to re-capture the inner experience of ordinary readers it would tell us so much more of the significance of the printed word. The social context of early reading we understand that early texts were treated as commodities that can be discarded as casually as scrap paper.
Works Cited
Darnton, Robert. “What is the History of Books?” The Broadview Reader in Book History, edited by Michelle Levy, Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp 231-247.
Take Me Home.“Authors”
Historian Robert Darnton argues that in order to properly understand how books come into the world and shape it, we should start by asking key questions about authorship. Mainly when did authors become independent, what kind of career did a writer of this time have and how did writers interact with other pieces of the cycle.
Authors are highly respected by Darnton, as authors being only an autonomous genius is an “inadequate one”. He finds they have a much deeper ability than to think and explore than to write. He states that authors do not live in a vacuum, that their worlds are shaped by the worlds around them. Authors currently are someone who originates or creates with words, who adds something new to the store of ideas, knowledge, imagination. The rise of the writer allows for the flourishing of print.
Rise of the Modern Author
The shift came with the Reformation and the Enlightenment when the emphasis was placed more on the individual. Personal responsibility became increasingly more prevalent as before many artists were sponsored by individuals, state, or church. If authors before independence went against their sponsors they were quickly handled. An example of this was French author Voltaire who was exiled for his anti-state and anti-church writing. As lower ranked writers began being more independent, the upper-class authors started circulating their works as manuscripts or adopting strategies to conceal their identities.
Anonymous and Pseudonymous Publishing
These methods were used to provide a blanket identity. A motivation for concealing identity had to do with the prestige of the genre being circulated. As an example, William Shakespeare was not concerned about the publication of his plays. This meant very little authorial attention was paid to them. Publications that came after his death contained errors and opacities. Many writers simply wished for their work to be taken seriously and be appreciated. To be heard more loudly, authors use pen names. Used to explore a writerly persona distinct from their everyday life, and allow socially unacceptable authors be heard. Multiple female authors utilized male names in order to publish their early works.
Author By Profession
Within the 17th and 18th centuries authors began to separate from the patronage system. It was likely due to the social and economic changes. With the expansion of the middle class, the commoners outweighed the high class as the primary audience. Copyright began coming into the scene, where printers can produce and distribute someone else’s creative work. The copy portion is key that gave the texts life, influence, and economic value. Paul Aiken and James Shapiro of the Authors guild state that the copyright is “One of history’s great public policy successes” .
The Royal Literary Fund
Developed in 1790 by philosopher David Williams. Designed to assist writers in their efforts. Due to the patronage system becoming less and less common the need for author aid was appreciated. Since the Royal Literacy Fund was established, multiple other funds and aid systems were put in place that are still in place to assist authors. Examples of groups supporting authors are the Authors League Fund, the ASJA, Emergency Assistance Fund, and the Haven Foundation. Their effect has aided authors in need.
Subscription Publication
A publishing system that was popular for both author and publishers was the subscription system. As the prints were ready, they would be distributed to the various sponsors. Some of whom would have been listed on an acknowledgement page. If the demand was high enough another edition would be produced. Even with the downside of possible delays it was still a popular method to pass along printed books. Subscriptions were used for everything from cookbooks or Bible study guides.
From Profit to Sharing Royalties
Another scheme developed during the period was shared profits. Rather than a large upfront payment, the author would choose a lesser sum but profit on each sale. This would be the normal agreement for both parties come the 19th century. They began as low as approximately 50 cents per sale which was relatively low at even that time. Most publishers payed per sale, some gave advances paying the author in anticipation of the book’s success. As an example, J.K Rowling was given an advance of $1500 for her first Harry Potter novel which increased to 6-7 figure sums for the following novels.
Copyright and Contracts
This is possibly the most important aspect for publishers as it provides them the legal ability to print the specific material. Even with an issued copyright the author can still gain extra income with sponsors and royalties.
Literary Agents and Professional Societies
Since the 19th century authors have had agents to aid them. The purpose of these agents were for negotiating contracts and navigating the printing world. They usually operated on a percentage of the authors earnings, sometimes as 10 – 20%. The first important agent was A.P. Watt who had multiple roles as an agent. Some of his tasks included placing the manuscripts, selling or licensing copyright, collecting royalty money, and seeking reviews. Agents were integral for authors to be successful.
Authors’ Association
Many associations arose roughly the same time to assist authors. In addition to financial aid the Author’s Foundation, one of the first established, offered awards and grants to select authors. Some associations such as the Canadian Authors Association put their efforts into improving copyright protections for writers in Canada. The PEN association also offered legal support to authors in need. They created a network to promote and also protect authors.
Translation, Adaptation and Other Transformations
The most modern equivalent of transformations would be an e-Book, and others such as stage and film are all protected by the authors’ agents. Translations are some of the most common but most difficult challenges in literature. It is like “a drawing after the life” where it is seen like the double likeness. However very few authors had their own facility with multiple languages, so they relied on others to generate their translations. The most challenging translation to be done is prose poetry. To communicate the same precise message can be distorted with a different language. For those who are able to do so and maintain the message, they are considered authors in their class. Special formats such as audio books or brail are alternate forms of translations that make the multiple forms of translations
Self-Publishing
Self-publishing was a much more volatile market. The previous established formats were much more stable were the risk was much lower for the writer. It was often seen as “vanity” writing. However it was one of the few options for controversial or experimental writings. By the end of the 20th century electronic publishing and promotion was becoming more popular and printing can be done in the comfort of the authors home. Self-publishing became another option for authors to put their works in the hands of more readers.
Works Cited
Robinson, Solveig C. “Authors”, The Book In Society An Introduction To Print Culture. Toronto: Broadview Press, 2014. Print PP 145-73
Take Me Home."Modern Times: From Paperbacks To E-Books"
The early half of the 20th century was undoubtedly still controlled by physical books as the choice for readers. As such an immense quantity of books were printed and wanted by the masses. The paperback was developed as an inexpensive but relatively durable format. As technology progressed, into more digital formats, how people receive and perceive literature changed. Televisions and tv hosts began promoting books and offering mail order subscriptions to send the book directly to the door of the consumer. It then developed into an entirely new electronic format, were libraries are becoming digital and reading a book means clicking a button rather than turning the page. By 2011, the Association of American Publishers stated e-book sales had surpassed traditional forms of books for adults and children.
Education Literacy and Mass Readership
Around the 19th century, educational forms were adopted to provide residents of a country or region with a better quality of education. It also gave longer, more sustained period of focus on the education of reading. Having more access to literature enabled more demanding and sophisticated literacy skills, which in turn required equally advanced texts. Literature was a basis for learning and entertainment and a window into the culture of a particular region.
Periodicals
Much of the early forms of reading material was not fiction or non-fiction but was the various daily periodicals. These took forms of newspapers, magazines and quarterly journals. These rapid forms of print were helpful during the rise of the early advertising industry. This also gave various industries incentive to promote their brands within the various periodicals since they are consumed by many and published often
Paperback Revolution
The library concept of borrowing books became slowly out of style when consumers would have been equally happy to purchase the book. To allow for such a surge of printing and to lessen the demand for printed book materials paperback books were the answer. The extreme reduction in cost was also very well liked by the consumers.
Digital Revolution
The digital age of print did not arise from e-books as many would think but rather photocopying. It was a relatively inexpensive and allows for small-scale printshops to produce books.
Works Cited
Robinson, Solveig C. “Modern Times: From Paperbacks to E-Books”, The Book in Society: An Introduction To Print Culture. Broadview Press, 2014. PP 115-125
Take Me Home.“Booksellers”
The business of bookselling is an ever-evolving form that had major change within the last 200 years. They have transitioned from trains to the speed of internet to sell their products. Independent sellers are now being pushed out by larger big-box retailers. Examining book trade and the retail book industry. The process of publisher to distributor and all the important steps in between will be covered
Independent Booksellers
Independent booksellers were the core of the book-buying industry for an incredible length of time. Steven Fisher connects the spread of independent sellers to the expansion of the Roman Empire. Works were able to be seen across Europe and African colonies from various influential writers owing the publisher of the works, Vespasiano da Bisticci, the moniker of “prince of publishers”. A large reason of why the independent sellers were so popular was their ability to establish personal connections with their buyers. Knowing what buyers personally are looking for in the book market.
Independents Today
Unfortunately, many independent sellers are closing shop and being pushed out by larger corporations. Some sellers have opted to giving offers to their customers to keep them coming back to their business. Other sellers chose to specialize in specific books and items to keep afloat in the shifting bookseller economy. Independents changed and adapted as society required them to stay afloat.
Used and Antiquarian Booksellers
Created a niche market for select customers. Used book sellers have an extreme wealth of knowledge while antiquarian dealers are well versed on the historical context of the book being sold. The antique trade was based on provenance; quality, authenticity and age, where the most minor flaw effects the sale of the book drastically. A whole slew of terms was made for the little details a reader would be looking for. An example such as foxing, which is small discoloration on the pages, or dog-eared to denote a folded page. A common term used for buyers is that the book had been shaken, meaning the books pages are separating from the binding of the book.
Bookstore Chains
Larger, stores do not have the same personal connections of the more intimate personal sellers. The chains utilized convenient stores that allowed for easy access and organization of the books, so customers rarely needed assistance while choosing. Having such a network of stores also required a network of distribution to move products from one to another. Book chains used sales and half-price incentives to keep customers in while also selling off the last portions of a stock.
The Superstores
The pinnacle of the book – selling machine, selling books on an immense scale to an equally large customer base. The other smaller chains and independents could not keep up with the scale and stock the superstores offered to their customers. Many of the superstores made an ambiance that readers would find calming. Superstores did this by using easy to find products, comfortable and quiet reading sections, and many times, coffee shops to make the high-end experience possible. They soon controlled the majority of the market until needing to adapt to the newest form of book selling, the online format.
Online Booksellers
The online marketplace was an ever-expanding market that was the arch nemesis of the superstore chains. Online juggernaut Amazon for example carries a massive catalogue of physical books and the new electronic book formats. Using that and the rapid if not instantaneous shipping methods readers have never been able to order any book so quickly from the comfort of their own home.
Distributors and Wholesalers
Distributers work more closely with publishers providing warehouses for stock. While wholesalers work alongside retailers and libraries. The two groups collect products for below market value and sell for substantial profits. The other option is to sign contracts with their customers to receive product. These groups have an immense drawback that makes their business a very fluid deal. Due to the fact that various countries distinguish books from other customer goods, distributors and wholesalers are subject to sale-or-return, where if a bookseller is unable to sell the product, they can return the product for a credit. If the books ever become unsold, the distributors and wholesalers can be out of pocket a very large sum of money.
Book Fairs
These trade shows are intended to connect publishers with booksellers. Book fairs are a preferred environment for deals to be made, people to meet and trends to be examined and predicted. They can be large and intended for the superstores and book chains while others can be on the local scale to encourage regional writing and printing.
Works Cited
Robinson, Solveig C. “Booksellers”, The Book in Society: an Introduction to Print Culture. Broadview Press, 2014. PP 245-268
Take Me Home.“States and Censors”
Political and religious circles have had immense influence over the history of the book. They discouraged certain challenging opinions and were effective in silencing anyone who could compromise their ideals. It was in the author’s and printer’s interest to keep the higher powers on good terms as their influence could decimate an author. The political scene would control the networks of transport and price for their product. The religious scene controlled the mindset of the society and could suppress those who contradict the hierarchy.
Regulating Print
Censorship and control of print was largely contributed to by civil, church and trade regulations. If two countries were experiencing a dispute, it is likely that strict regulations on print would be imposed on the rival country. To attempt to reduce unwanted printing, England would put into place that no book in England may be printed without a royal licenser. Another more economic form of control used by the political powers are specific tariffs to specifically target book products and materials. English politicians even went as far as raising the price on newspapers in the 1800s as they were more predominantly “opinion based”. This price jump moved newspapers out of the reach of the common middle class as they could no longer afford them.
Trade Associations
Local guilds and trade associations also played a role in control and censorship over the authors.
Books Bans and Challenges
Although many forms of censorship are performed by government entities some acts are done by unofficial entities. A commonly seen attempt of censorship to censor is when a book is challenged. This is when a group can make a case that a book may be inappropriate for public release. If the book is challenged and found to be inappropriate it would be banned and only permitted for private ownership. According to the Radcliffe Publishing Course out of the 100-classic works of the twentieth century, many were either challenged or banned altogether.
Censorship and the Inquisition
The first official list of banned books chosen by the church was in 1559 and was the basis of censorship for nearly 400 years.
State Censorship
States intervened when they were feeling a text may be seditious, urging resistance or rebellion against the state, or treasonous urging overthrowing the government and sovereignty. If a book is found to be inimical to the current regime it is quickly barred and censored. Governments did not only kill books by doing this but also people. During the French revolution anyone who showed or wrote anti-sovereign remarks would be executed. Roughly 40,000 would be killed.
Censorship in the Modern Era
Following WWII censorship was divided based on government standings. If an eastern author or artist promoted western ideals and anti-Stalinist views, they would simply disappear to a gulag and their work would be erased from any know existence. If a western citizen promoted communist ideals their work would be blacklisted, and they would be investigated indefinitely. Ideals kill if the oppose the current structure.
Promoting Print
A rise of support for the concern of free expression and free press was needed during the 18th century.
Freedom of the Press
Freedom of press was requested and urged for change by multiple news providers. This call for change brought a strong change as providers wished for an informed and educated populous. It wouldn’t be until the late 1700’s until free press laws came into place, Scandinavia being the first. The United States required Article 19 in the Declaration of Human Rights to ensure the rights of free speech and freedom of expression, in 1948.
History of Copyright
The first governing copyright law in England was enacted in 1710. The Copyright Act that was re-written protected the printers and authors; the rights are covered for 28 years from the time of creation. During that time only the author can sell or license the right to copy their book. Any breaches of this agreement would lead to heavy fines or other penalties. By 1911 the copyright laws in England extended the protection to 50 years post author’s death. For England and the United States their copyright laws protect works that are printed within their own country, so colonies such as Canada were placed in a rather compromising situation. It would be illegal in Canada to print a book if it were previously printed in England. They would eventually need to reach out to the United States to establish enclaves, areas where Canadian literature can thrive within the US.
International Copyright Protections
The first breakthrough for international copyright was known as the Union for the Protection of Literacy and Artistic Property. This granted copyright protection to all authors of signing countries. Each nation promises to create, maintain and enforce their own copyright laws.
Limits on Copyright: fair use
Fair use is dependent on four factors; the intended nature or purpose of use; the nature of the original work; how much, or what proportion, of the original will be used; and the effect the potential use is likely to have on the original work.
Copyright Law Today
A rather straight forward process for an author that consists of completing a form, paying a fee and submitting their work for review before approval.
Copyleft
A movement to underscore the contrary attitude to restricting and profiting from creative works,
Harnessing Print
Government also while promoting print, learned how to employ it to further their own ideals. One of these products would be propaganda, used to target a specific message using government authority. Although sometimes used for rebellious purposes it has equally been used by governmental authorities. States and other authorities have immense power to shape book culture by promoting or preventing the publication and circulation of texts.
Works Cited
Robinson, Solveig C. “States and Censors”, The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture. Broadview Press, 2014. PP 177-207.
Take Me Home.Areopagitica, by John Milton
John Milton tries to establish a new level of freedom of speech by arguing against the various kinds of censorship within England. He puts forward three principles. “First, when that only is praised which is solidly worth praise, second greatest likelihoods are brought that such things are truly and really in those persons to whom they are ascribed and lastly when he who praises, by showing that such his actual persuasion is of whom he writes, can demonstrate that he flatters not” (2). Milton feels that he can defend his argument fairly easily and is a valid voice on the topic of writing and authorship as he is fairly experienced himself.
Milton argues that the knowledge that is suppressed when denying the printing of a book suppresses the possible gain the society can gain. If the various books are not censored, Milton states that “ (he) would obtain to be thought not so inferior” (3) closing the gap between the common people and the powerful influencers that would be able to gain that book’s influence. The openness of print can even further the wisdom provided religiously and civilly
Milton also admits that that the church and commonwealth have one of the largest concernments of books. He finds that the authority treats the books as equally to men as they are confined and imprisoned and demeaned all the same as criminals. If that treatment is to be true, then it can be argued that each individual book has a unique life and experience to give. Without books, according to Milton we will never be full as men. Books provide the “precious life-blood of a master” (4), providing a knowledge that would otherwise have been lost.
To add some merit to his argument he calls back on historical context to explain why censorship is unneeded. The various nations that came before, such as the Greeks and Romans had a sort of see-saw effect when it came to control over print. For the most part Milton saw them to be liberal and allowed for most books to be viewed freely. However, when a book was outlawed by higher powers it was done so brutally and swiftly. Some authors were imprisoned, and other books were burned, these cases were infrequently performed. It was only when Christianity and the church gaining power where censorship became more common.
If all previous book were band so consistently the banks of knowledge and experience that we have been able to call on would be significantly reduced. He calls on the bible, a text that the church holds in such close hands as the word of God but also full of censorship. Even it has various passages of blasphemy and evil acts, which would have had any other book banned. Even Adam was giving the freedom to choose as God provided him reason, if for not he would be an “artificial adam” (16). If the higher powers remove the ability for readers to choose and writers to express themselves then they are taking away a trait given to them by God. To add, Milton sees books as an incredibly important teaching tool that would assure the improvement of society. A more informed and educated society exposed to the various books and culture allowing it to be less easily influenced by coercive material. A society with their heavenly right taken away and more easily coerced may only lead to undesired effects.
Milton wishes for England to be the greatest and brightest it can be. If the harshness of the government and church continues to encroach on the printing world he feels England is doomed to become “a nation slow and dull” (28). Where there is much to learn there is also much to write, and Milton would desire such a “bond of peace” (34) between the two groups to bring such quarrels to a quiet end.
Works Cited
Doyle, M. (n.d.). The Project Gutenberg EBook of Areopagitica, by John Milton. 44.
Take Me Home.“What Is Bibliography?”
Greg compares bibliographers in both old and new views. The old as archaeological or artistic essay writers with only accidental connection to books. If bibliographies today were to be considered a science, then we co-ordinate facts and trace the operation of constant causes. A modern bibliographer is constantly evolving, reconstructing the past and shedding new light with untapped evidence. He stresses however, it is not a sterile science like most others, biographies are essential to the advancement of knowledge in Greg’s eyes.
To further understand Greg’s science, we must establish that to him, bibliography is confided to the study of printed books. He sees manuscripts as a separate department all together and do allow for bibliographers to express their talents. He is concerned with a system of investigation. Also, that the separation of printed and written books irrelevant.
A systematic bibliography presupposes an acquaintance with the elements of the science. Collecting the elements allows for this form to be elementary as the aspects that form the bibliography are fundamental, they are required for any further study. He however has an issue with the overall status of the system that is focused too greatly on the bibliographer and not of the principles and processes. As such, those who lay beyond the horizon of the work suffers
To properly write a bibliography a wealth of knowledge of the various sections of what makes up a book from typography to bindings. If the writer does not have an strong understanding of these traits, other experts would need to be consulted with to ensure accuracy in the information being passed along. Another form of Bibliography that requires the utmost precision is the Critical format as the writer is actively seeking for textual problems. Greg takes great offense to those who do not properly know the process and terminology, he understands that it is a new science, but those who perform it must be qualified.
The Rationale of Copt-text
Greg concerns editors, textual scholars and readers who study too closely, as modern texts are emended too often. Copy-text is the work that an editor adopts as the basis for a new edition. He explains the distinction between substantive and accidental aspects of a text. Substantive meaning the variants that affect the meaning of a text while accidental does not.
Greg admits that there is no wish to argue between old and modern spellings, he understands the former method of integrating new language into old losses its intimacy. Language should be understood, or a standardized spelling should be established as to not need any sort of manipulation. He compares a text edited by McKerrow and the issues he has with the editor’s work. Greg stresses the importance of maintaining the integrity of the copy-text and breaks down the two principles involved. The first, is that if an authority be on the whole preferred, an editor is bound to accept all its substantive readings. The other is that whether as being revised, or as generally preserving the substantive readings more faithfully than the other, it must be taken as copy-text and must be followed in the matter of accidentals. As such, Greg would suggest that in the matter of accidentals, we are bound to follow and with substantive we have the liberty of a classical editor of choice to prepare and modernize.
The theory he contends is that the copy-text should govern in the matters of accidentals, and choice between substantive readings belong to textual criticism. Failure to do so had led to reliance on a text chosen as basis for an edition and has created a sort of tyranny. Greg feels that this tyranny has caused an extensive detriment to editorial work of the previous generation. The liberty of judgment must be upheld by editors to modify typographical errors and items they see fit. Provided the editor gives weight and respect to the original text.
When dealing with correction there are two categories to be distinguished. One being whether the original reading is one that can reasonably be attributed to the author, and the other whether the later reading is one that the author can reasonably be supposed to have substituted for the former. If the first is negative, the text should be accepted as possible authoritative correction. If positive, the original should be retained but if both statements are confirmed, the text is due to revision and the editor himself should see if revision makes an improvement. This process must be inspected and reviewed by the editor and not simply done and passed along to the printer. Each sheet and proof should be watched over and made sure it is correct.
Works Cited
Greg, W.W. “What Is Bibliography” The Broadview Reader in Book History, edited by Michelle Levy, Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp 3-12.
Greg, W.W. “The Rational of Copy-Text” The Broadview Reader in Book History, edited by Michelle Levy, Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp 125-36.
Take Me Home.“The Editorial Problem of Final Authorial Intention”
An editor who must review an author’s work must acknowledge the reflection comes from a more mature author and should be respected. Although it can sometimes be unclear to determine the intention of the comments. Tanselle attempts to distinguish the different kinds of intent by dividing into three kinds, dividing revision twice and the same again for the kinds of attitude authors take toward changes from others.
The types of intention are programmatic, which is to produce a particular kind of text; active which the author forms in the process of composition; and final which is to accomplish something by writing. The different kinds of revision listed are horizontal, which aims at improving the text without drastically rethinking its aims. The other is vertical, that aims to recast the text for another market or publication.
With all these possible changes, authors have a choice on how to react to the editor’s work. They can embrace the changes and see them coincide with their vision or acquiesce in them viewing them countering their intention. With these separations Tanselle attempts to clarify editors’ intentions to better understand the author’s final intentions.
The Editorial Problem of Final Authorial Intention
Tanselle refers to a previous text by W.W. Greg and his “Rationale of Copy-Text” and how it can be applied to the intentions of editors. Tanselle interprets Greg’s work that an editor cannot avoid making judgements about the author’s intention on the basis of evidence. The strength of the judgement on historical knowledge and literary sensitivity. Author intention is still however difficult to determine perfectly.
I
If an editor aims to show the text as the author intended, he cannot separate himself from the meaning of the text. As such, an editor cannot be robotic when interacting with a text, they are unable to reproduce a text and ignore the meaning which would then create more mistakes than correction. Both editors and authors can make errors when creating texts, take for example two different edition texts side by side, it can be incredibly difficult to tell them apart.
To aid in determining the intention of the author the logical step is to return to the original work. If no intent is provided, then it is difficult to make any sort of conclusion and if there were to be an intention there may be a variety if reasons the intent is not accurate. As per William H. Capitan “what an artist gives us as his intention is subject of the artist’s limitations in putting his intention into words”. The difficulty of finding intention shows the troubles editors cannot avoid authorial intention, also there is a specific and clearly defined aspect of the broad concept of “intention”. Lastly the scholarly editor will amass all the evidence possible, and if not sufficient will be left to the professionalism of the editor.
II
Another issue an editor must address is a common editorial decision. The editor must decide whether or the reading is a revision or an alteration. The editor tries to decipher information from the surviving material and make the proper choices in their work. Although some situations allow for observations to be made with the variants between printed editions. During revisions or changes the other may write a word when thinking of another, or simply miss a correction he intended. It is the critical assessment of the editor to review the edition and question whether to changes the words or let them stand. If an editor is revising an actively living author’s work, the author can actively intend in his work a revision made by someone else depends on the effect on the extent on the cooperation of the two.
III
After the separation of the authorial and non-authorial alterations there leaves final alterations. During this case there is commonly two authorial readings where one is taken to represent the authors’ “final intention”. There are different cases that an editor must deal with the final intention of the author. The first is a case that the author deletes pages for the purpose of a condensed or simplified language for younger readers, it can prevent revisions from being definitive. Another situation is when more than one “final” exists, which can occur when the author extensively reviews a previously published work because the author feels it can be improved.
If a separate work is produced than a rationale is required for distinguishing those instances of revision which are to be edited as separate works. What is more significant than the extent of the revisions, is the nature. A small change to a key passage that influences the whole book, is more influential than a massive amount of changes that do little to influence the overall affect of the book. What is important is the is the nature of the changes and no the mechanical rule.
The other issue with a final intention is the possibility that the author has literally no final intention. This can be due to the author never prepared his manuscript for publication or because he wavered in his revisions for successive printings. The excellence of the edition – if it was based on unprepared manuscript or not is related purely to the powers of its editor.
IV
Two major issues are implemented in all kinds of editing whether the work is uncompleted or a printed edition. The first is questioning what the intention signifies and when it is final. The other is whether the author’s wording is recovered, particularly when emendations by others are improvements. It is difficult for anyone to deny that non-authorial revisions could produce a work superior to the original. In any situation an editor has an undertaken a task to recover the words which the author wrote. The only evidence an editor has for the authors mind is what they find in the author’s work. Its possible to consider the principle source of difficulty is in thinking of the editorial and critical functions as essentially distinct.
Works Cited
Tanselle, G. Thomas. “The Editorial Problem of Final Authorial Intention” The Broadview Reader in Book History, edited by Michelle Levy, Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp 139-54.
Take Me Home.“The Rationale of Hypertext”
McGann argues against the works of Greg by viewing that digital technologies make the concept of copy-text obsolete. He thinks it should be replaced by new kinds of reading and study. He does not deny the educational and research importance of texts but have a large drawback, they are books. Both digital and physical have their shortcomings, physical books take immense detail and history of the physical, but little information of how it varies from one to the other. The electronic versions contain little to no information on the physical history of the text. If the two forms could be placed together
Some of the benefits of electronic methods are indisputable. The ability of sharing general knowledge to a large society, but information about information can sometimes be a problematic issue. A distinction is required to be made between scholarly / scientific and artistic / aesthetic points of view is needed.
The Book as a Machine of Knowledge
The first question to address is why take up these new digital tools and editing methods. The information Highway holds many scholarly possibilities, however from a literary point of view, whatever electronic form literature takes it will still remain bookish. Physical books are limited in the level of analysis we can extract as it is either direct or abstract, whereas electronic sources can hold much more in depth and detail that is not possible logistically to but in print. No matter how updated the text can be never be as updated as an electronic format, even if it does not hold the same experience as a physical book.
Hyperediting and Hypermedia
With technology ever increasing in efficacy also comes with an increase in speed. Hyperediting is a function developed to increase speed, and a means to secure freedom from the analytic limits of hardcopy – text. A globally networked hypermedia archive would allow for an archive that will hold an in-depth wealth of knowledge. What that can mean is that it can be designed in terms of the largest and most ambitious goals of the project. Also, that it can be structured in the most modular and flexible way, so that inevitable and fast changes in technology will have minimal effect on it.
The Necessity of Hypermedia
As a whole, hypermedia allows for an immense creativity such as blending different forms of media to create a new text. Any commercial or institutional company will not allow for such a thing. Electronic media has many less boundaries and thusly more exploitive than any visual book. The ferocity that technology brings new ever more creative products and media, just as the same result William Blake had done. His works began the developmental breakthroughs to discover new biographical relations. Blake’s influence took time as scholars need multiple sources and the physical books to perform their research. When completed they would need to publish their findings and the cycle continues with a more accurate selection of sources. With electronic means, the process is instantaneous, and scholars can research all the possible sources without the physical text. Given an electronic method it allows for searches and analysis of material that would be inconceivable in a codex environment.
Conclusion: The Rossetti Hypermedia Archive
All benefit that electronic methods offer also create issues that scholars will be facing for a long time hyperediting. Disregarding the obvious questions on copyright and legal nature, there are other unique difficulties. Based on how a document is presented on the electronic format can become incapable to be searched or analysed. An example if this are images which do not fall under the same electronic structure of a text and thusly cannot operate the same. Programs such as the Rossetti Archive have been attempting to reduce these issues like attaching information and bibliographical information to images. Another attempt to assist in the new methods of hypermedia is to condense and organize the countless documents to aid scholars when they are searching for specific sources. Electronic formatting is just the next step in evolution, just as print was the evolution of manuscript.
Coda. A Notes on the Decentered Text
Two matters are crucial when recalling hypertext. One is that the design of hypertext is theoretically open to alteration and organization elements at any given time. The hypertext will never truly be “complete” in the sense that a physical book will be. There is always more to add and improve as more information rises. The other point is the conceptual purpose of hypertext. It is meant to cover as much as possible, and not focus on a particular text or edition. It is meant to no real center but a countless number of “centers” making order of all the information it has access to, over and over again. New tools take time to master but usually become commonplace and show the immense shortcomings the previous had before its implementation.
Works Cited
McGann, Jerome J. “Rationale of Hypertext” The Broadview Reader in Book History, edited by Michelle Levy, Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp 459-73.
Take Me Home.“How We Read: Close, Hyper, Machine”
Hayles theorizes that “Reading has always been constituted through complex and diverse practices” and compels a re-thinking of what reading is. She theorizes that a change from close-readings toward hyper-reading and machine reading on digital-based media. She proposes a flexible model that implements print and digital media and embrace the potentiality afforded by new forms of digital media.
The evidence is mounting in Hayles’ eyes. The influence of digital media is increasing as well as the forms they take. The issue of this is printed literature skills are declining such as various reading skills; identifying themes, making inferences. Overall, more and more people read less printed material. As such, it is not unrecoverable as according to the NEA reports, printed medium is on the rise for various digitally native young adults. A great sign of progress are the members of the multiple reading initiatives slowly re-sparking the interest in printed materials. Students that excel in reading and writing in the digital format infrequently are encouraged to do so in literary environments that transfer digital and printed skills.
Close Reading and Disciplinary Identity
To assist in opening the possibilities for synergy of the digital and printed methods. Referring to Gallop quote arguing “ the most valuable thing English ever had to offer was the very thing that made us a discipline, that transformed us from cultured gentlemen into a profession… close reading – learned through practice with literacy texts, learned in literature classes – is a widely applicable skill, of real value to students as well as to scholars of other disciplines”. The rather extensive quote describes what Hayles to be the words of many writers. Close reading not only assures a higher professionalism in a profession but also makes literacy studies increasingly more important asset. Literary studies relies close reading to prove its worth to society. Reading aimed at appreciation allows for the value of close reading to be appreciated as a trait.
Digital and Print Literacies
Literary studies conclude that strategies and interactions between digital and print literacies have been slowed. If that is the case, digital reading will at best be considered not “real” reading or at least not to the same standard as printed study. One step that must be done is bridging the distance between instruction and available skills either through direct instruction or through working with more capable peers. As an example of close reading with a web page, viewers were recorded their thoughts as they arose by a human tracker as they passed over the page and identify details, interest etc. These sorts of close reading strategies being done in a digital format starts to show the bridging of the two formats. One issue found with multiple digital sources is the overwhelming amount of content that distracts the reader. Many of these distractions are things like hyperlinks, short form text and constant clicking and scrolling that distract and make the reader want to skim over the text rather than read fully.
Reading on the Web
As per various studies, hyperlinks tend to degrade comprehension rather than enhance it. A test to determine slight variation in print and digital formats; two groups were split were a text was read traditionally and other read with various links. It was found that the traditional group understood the plot more closely and enjoyed the story more overall. The study in combination of multiple others of similar varieties summaries that hypertext did not support hypertext leading to enriched experience of the text. In all an increased demand of visual and decision making processed of hypertext impaired reading performance compared to traditional print reading.
The Importance of Anecdotal Evidence
The daily observations we make confirm or disconfirm what we read in scientific literature. The research done should be taken and appreciated to show the advantages and disadvantages of hyper-reading compared to close reading and the effects that come with engaging with one or both reading methods. A large reason for the unbalance of preference of the two methods comes down to the deep attention characteristics of people and the hyperattention of web pages and digital methods. Even if the digital format is less enticing and more distracting in regards of reading text, the younger generation would choose it over physical print. As such traits such as hyperattention for reading attention and hyper-reading is on the rise while deep reading that contributes to strategy and close reading is on the decline.
Subtle sharing of the task is a way to make the most efficient reading. An example of this is using technology to read algorithms and patterns which for humans would be nearly possible. The biological trait assists in processing and understanding the information. Both a capable of doing the task itself is possible but the blending of the two makes it possible for the most efficient method. They both have different functionalities, limitations and possibilities but working together complement the other’s shortcomings.
Synergies between Close, Hyper and Machine Reading
Alan Liu, of the University of California has an interesting method of crossing the two methods. The project is to “choose a literary work and treat it according to one or more of the research paradigms prevalent in other fields of study” and to do so with both digital and printed means. The purpose of this project is to offer traditional literacy training, offering close reading not as an unquestioned good but as a methodology among several and the decisions about how to encode and analyze texts using software that requires precise thinking about priorities, goals and methodologies.
Reading has always been considered as a complex and diverse practice. As technology grows we are meant to grow with it, and mix with the digital age blending words and images, sounds and animations and graphics and letters to have the best of what both can offer.
Works Cited
Hayles, N. Katherine. “How We Read: Close, Hyper, Machine?” The Broadview Reader in Book History, edited by Michelle Levy, Tom Mole, Broadview Press, 2015, pp 491-508.
Take Me Home.