Below you shall find information of the highest quality, based on the readings we did during the semester. Enjoy!
Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2014. 21-22, 33-34, 39-40, 44-46. Print.
This section of Robinson’s book deals with the origins of writing systems, both in regards to their conceptual and material nature. She first explores the invention of writing, which took places in Mesopotamia and Egypt around 6000 years ago (21). These systems were quite unlike the ones used today in the West, being largely based on pictograms and hieroglyphs (though the emergence of emojis is a comparable form of communication). Alphabet-based systems were developed several thousand years later (21), with the Greeks refining alphabetic systems and adding letters that could express vowels (44). This allowed easier understanding for non-native readers, and perhaps more importantly, allowed for native-readers to sound out new and unfamiliar words and discern their meaning whilst simultaneously allowing for authors and thinkers greater freedom when it came to expressing ideas via writing (45).
The invention of paper and printing took place in China (22). Materially, some terms are explained to use. Parchment was a commonly used alternative to Egyptian papyrus, and was made of refined animal skin (33). Vellum was used to refer to a particularly fine piece of parchment (34). Parchment gave way to the creation and dispersion of codices, quite similar to modern-day books on a fundamental level (ibid.). Paper ultimately won as the premier choice for writers, as it is extremely versatile and can be made from several sources (39). Chinese paper-making techniques spread throughout the rest of Asia and the Middle East, both due to trade and religious exchange as well as through war and conquest (39-40).
Febvre, Lucien, and Henri-Jean Martin. “The Book: Its Visual Appearance.” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 15-36. Print.
This passage explores the history of the visual aspects of the book and how these aspects evolved over time. Originally, printers tried to mimic the styles and “feel” of handwritten manuscripts because they felt that familiarity would not only increase legitimization of printing but also boost their sales (16). Books did not feature title pages at first; these were introduced in the 1530s by French and Italian humanist authors. Key information about the book, such as the author, title, and print information were kept at the end of the book in what was referred to as a “colophon”. As books became smaller and more accessible to the public (and increasingly stored on bookshelves), title pages became less ornate and the spine (the part of the book that is visible when it is stored on a bookshelf) became more distinct (36). The mass production and increased demand for books led to bindings of lesser quality and durability – this was much cheaper for the industry, and as books were becoming easier to replace if damaged, the need for sturdy books decreased.
Twyman, Michael. “What Is Printing?” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 37-44. Print.
Michael Twyman offers insight on what printing actually is. That is to say, he explains the different sorts of printing that were historically used. There are three main types of printing: relief, intaglio, and planographic. Relief printing involves raised areas of the printing device being inked, whereas the recessed areas leave the paper ink free (38). It is printing from a raised surface, in other words. Intaglio printing is the opposite of this. The third type, planographic, involves printing from one flat surface onto another flat surface. As for the medium of choice for printing, paper eventually won due to its extreme versatility and easy adaption to mass production, with its only drawback being sensitivity to moisture (41). Come the nineteenth century, machine powered printers began to be the printer of choice, and paper could be quickly fed directly into the machine. Twyman raises an interesting point; when studying print history, people overwhelming focus on books and not ephemera (44). This, of course, is because ephemera is not made to last, and libraries are primarily concerned on preserving books (and sometimes magazines).
Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2014. 82-100. Print.
In this passage, Robinson discusses the transition from a scribal culture to a print culture in Europe. This is primarily due to the invention of the Gutenberg press, or common press, by Johannes Gutenberg (83). Xylography, or the use of wooden blocks to print simple texts or illustrations, were used before the invention of modern printing but were mainly targeted for an illiterate or semi-literate audience (82). Gutenberg, who had training as a metalsmith, first invented the process for creating fine, small, and standardized moveable metal type; after this, he developed an oil-based ink that would adhere to the metal type during the printing process. Finally, he constructed a printing press which incorporated a “screw press”, allowing for even, steady pressure to be applied to pages in one motion without damaging the metal type (88). Though originally it took much longer for printers to assemble a page than it did for experienced scribes to write them, once completed, a printer could use a page for upwards of thousands of times to create identical copies, and printers were able to correct errors much more efficiently than their scribal counterparts (88). An experienced team operating the press itself could print about 240 pages an hour, and the bigger printing houses would have had multiple presses working in conjunction (89). This led to the printing of over 30,000 books in the first fifty years of modern printing in Europe, and also resulted in a schism within the Roman Catholic Church; dissidents and critics such as Martin Luther were able to print their ideas and circulate them throughout Europe, resulting in the creation of Protestantism and several offshoot churches such as the Anglican, Lutheran, and Anabaptist sects (93). These churches quickly turned to printers as they required new religious texts to stock their holy houses (94).
Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. “The Unacknowledged Revolution.” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 215-230. Print.
Eisenstein argues that the subfields of history have fragmented our understanding of the broader picture of print culture and its impact on the globe, specifically Europe (215). The history of the book itself is typically assigned to library studies and English departments; the act of printing to technological historians; and type design to art schools (223). Due to the separation between modern time and the days of early print, Eisenstein states how difficult it can be to truly understand the ways in which modes of thinking and learning amongst the literate elite in Europe changed with the advent of the printing press (217). To make matters worse, the more books and other printed objects have proliferated throughout society, the less attention people give to them (220). This can be used to explain why many may lack an in-depth understanding of book history, even amongst those with robust education.
Johns, Adrian. “The Book of Nature and the Nature of the Book.” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 267-284. Print.
Adrian Johns, writing a response to Elizabeth Eisenstein, argues against the existence of a print culture – at least in the initial period after the advent of the printing press. Johns points out how modern readers can trust modern books to be factually correct in regard to the text within them, authorship, and publishing details (268). This is a luxury, Johns contends, that early readers could not enjoy due to rampant literary piracy (270). There was a deep fear amongst those who wrote, sold, and read books that the authority of the author would be undermined by pirated editions and unauthorized additions to the text (280). Because of this, Johns says that early books lacked the power that modern historians often contribute to them (281), and that there were few meaningful uses for books due to said lack of credibility (282). The fixity of book culture, Johns believes, comes from those who read and utilize books rather than from books or printed text itself (284). He places great emphasis on people interacted, interpreting, and most importantly, trusting books as to explain the transformative power that books have had on both Europe and the world (281, 284).
Darnton, Robert. “What Is the History of Books?” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 231-247. Print.
In an attempt to unify and mobilize understanding of books, their history, and their impact on history, Darnton suggests that scholars take a holistic approach towards books – indeed, he declares that as a discipline, Book History is inherently interdisciplinary and international (232, 234). In order to achieve a somewhat stable system of understanding for the discipline itself, he maintains that there are five key stages or elements to the life of a book, each of which can (and should) be analyzed: the publisher, printer, shipper, bookseller, and reader (233). Some of these stages, especially during the earlier decades and centuries of print, are jumbled together, as an author may have their own press and sell their own books. But by understanding the communication circuit of a book, we can trace the impact that book had on local, national, or international history, seeing where it fits into broader events or contemporary trends (247). To illustrate this, Darnton offers a quick analysis of Voltaire’s Questions sur l’Encyclopédie, a key Enlightenment work that would have profound effects in Old Regime France. A look at the life of Questions shows how fluid early books were – Voltaire simultaneously would support official editions along with pirated versions (238), with numerous smuggling operations and backdoor deals being cut by both authors, publishers, shippers, and booksellers to ensure that texts could move across international, political, and religious boundaries (240). The most adhesive point he made was the commodification of books within the minds of readers themselves; when readers were limited to a select number of texts, most religious, books were quite significant objects. But upon the “desacralization of the printed world” (246), books slowly but surely became what they are to (most) modern readers – just books.
Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2014. 115-125. Print.
In this section of Robinson’s book, the two modern revolutions of book history are discussed: the emergence of the paperback during the early twentieth century and the dawn of the digital era, starting in the 1980s and 1990s. Education reforms across Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries led to a rapidly growing rate of literacy in the West, with people eager for reading material (115, 117). Public libraries were developed by governments, organizations, and philanthropists to develop and sustain reading habits in the broader public (117), and periodicals – cheap magazines or similar ephemera – became highly popular, catering to an incredibly diverse range of interests and audiences (118). Circulating libraries, the places where one would rent books, began to fall out of favour with the advent of the paperback. Originally produced as cheap travel companions in Germany for British and American tourists, the paperback was popularized by British publisher Allen Lane in the 1930s, fundamentally changing the publishing industry; books were now cheap enough to be afforded by almost anyone in society, were easy to transport, and were relatively durable (122-124). What the paperback revolution did for readership, the digital revolution did for printing. In the 1980s and 1990s, PCs began to replace typewriters and hot-metal typesetting, and as software and hardware became increasingly sophisticated, almost anyone could mimic professional-level publishing from their own homes (125). Print-on-demand had arrived, which was far more economical for publishers than previous methods of printing large quantities and then warehousing the books in anticipation of sales (125-126).
Chartier, Roger. “Communities of Readers.” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Trans. Lydia G. Cochrane. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 251-263. Print.
Roger Chartier offers the idea that books are fixed, while the act of reading is ephemeral and subject to change (252). That is to say, while the material lettering of a book very rarely changes in any substantive way over the course of the text’s life, the way it is interpreted does, as the reader assigns and interprets meaning to the text (252). An interesting point is raised: in order to develop a history of reading, we must consider older ways of reading, such as reading aloud (256), as many early texts were not meant to be read in solitary silence, but were in many ways performance pieces to be shared with many. Chartier asserts that books change by not changing when the world changes – highlighting, perhaps, how modern ideas of morality can shroud older texts in negative lighting. Thus, to understand the history of both books and reading, scholars must do their best to put themselves in a contemporary mindset.
Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2014. 245-268. Print.
This section of Robinson’s book deals with the history of booksellers, as well as issues currently being faced by the bookselling industry, such as the decreasing number of independent bookstores (245). Despite this, independent bookstores in North America and New Zealand are seeing an increase in sales, and in the Anglosphere (The United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand) there are nearly 4000 independent bookstores (247). Many of these independent bookstores across the world must get creative in order to stay financially viable, offering all sorts of public cultural events, workshops, and other amenities (ibid.). Big box stores or chain stores dominate the modern market, able to offer customers a massive selection and relatively lower prices while also being conveniently set up for customers (255). Amazon and other online booksellers liberated customers even further, allowing for books to reach anyone, anywhere (262).
Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2014. 177-207. Print.
In this section, Robinson deals with matters of censorship throughout the history of print. State and religious authorities have largely shaped the history of the book and of print since their inception, by virtue of promoting certain ideas and rejecting others (177). Europe was in a tumultuous time during the early years of print, with the continent separating down Catholic and Protestant lines, as well as between democratic, Enlightenment ideas and their traditional counterparts (178) – this led to considerable bans on texts, generally at the local level. The Roman Catholic church implemented a list of books to be banned internationally, but in Protestant areas such as England, this index was ironically used as a buyers’ guide instead (185). And despite an emphasis on individual freedoms of all sorts after the end of the Second World War, anti-communist sentiment in the West, especially in the United States, led to a return of banned pieces and blacklisted authors (190). Censorship is thus an implicitly political undertaking, used by those invested in maintaining the status-quo. Copyright law is also discussed, with British copyright law being highly influential, both due to its primacy and the far reaches of the British Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (196). With the dawn of the digital age, we are seeing the rise of the “copyleft” movement – those who support open-access and freedom of use for intellectual and artistic properties (203). Once again, new technologies are raising questions over who owns what, and to what extent.
Milton, John. Areopagitica: A Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing, to the Parliament of England. London: 1644. Web. Accessed October 28, 2019.
In Areopagitica, Milton sets forth an argument against censorship and licensing of books. He states that there will never be a state in which the people have no grievances, but nevertheless, grievances should be readily heard and seriously considered (par. 1). Milton mentions how in Classical Greece and Rome, books were only examined and destroyed after they were published – not before (par. 3), and only if the books were atheist in nature or seriously libellous. He notes how books are not “dead” objects, but rather have life in the sense that they can create action in the material world via influencing readers (par. 3). The spread of Christianity saw censorship increase across Europe (par. 4), with Milton lamenting that while killing a man results in the death of a reasonable creature, killing a book results in the death of reason itself, with reason being a representation of God (par. 3). Milton posits that we must read all sorts of books – even wrong ones – as we can learn what is right by encountering what is not, and that there is always more truth to discover than what is currently known. He considers censorship and licensing to be an obstacle to this pursuit of truth.
Greg, W.W. “What is Bibliography?” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 3-12. Print.
Purporting that bibliography has gone from an art to a science, W.W. Greg argues that a systemic and concrete way of understanding the physical aspect of a book must continue to be developed (4). Greg states that “it is the method itself, not the object to which that method is applied, that gives unity to a science” (5) – maintaining that there are only superficial differences between manuscripts and printed books when it comes to bibliography. Only through bibliography, says Greg, can we digest all the information a book has to offer – where it was created, by who and for who, and for what purpose. By understanding these questions, we can have a more informed understanding of the text contained within the book.
Greg, W.W. “What is Bibliography?” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 125-136. Print.
In this essay, W.W. Greg discusses what makes the best copy-text – the version of a text selected by an editor to be the basis of their work (126). During Greg’s years in academia, it was assumed that manuscripts made the best copy-text due to their age (126), though it must be said that manuscripts are not infallible. In the English language, it has become a tradition to preserve the spelling of older texts; this is because it is acknowledged that spelling is essential to the character of the text or the time period, and that modernization would take away from said character (127). Greg speaks of two types of edits: substantives, which can change what the author meant, and accidentals, which involve punctuation, spelling, and all other aspects that effect the formal presentation of a work (ibid.). Greg admits however that he simply wants to foster discussion on copy-text rather than lay down the law (136), and states that there is no universal answer for whether editors should take the original (or an older manuscript nonetheless) or a revision as the basis for their copy-text (135). He seems instead to argue that editors should be critical and reflexive, using bibliographic tools and historic knowledge to help identify which work and edition is the “truest”, and then base their copy-text off of that – be it an original manuscript, a later manuscript, or even a printed book. Greg reminds us that uniformity amongst editors means nothing if its uniformity in error (130).
Tanselle, G. Thomas. “The Editorial Problem of Final Authorial Intention.” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 139-154. Print.
Tanselle maintains that there are three types of intention when it comes to an author’s work: programmatic intention, which is the intention to produce a particular sort of text (139); active intention, which is what the author understands themselves to be doing in the act of creating a given text (142); and final intention, which is the desire to accomplish something such as changing a reader’s mind or making a profit off of the text (139). There are also two sorts of revisions. Horizontal revision aims to improve the text without substantially changing the meaning (139); this could involve fixing issues with spelling or grammar. Vertical revision involves changing the direction of the text and giving it a new meaning (139). Tanselle states that there is no correlation between number of revisions and revision type, but does state that horizontal revision often involves more revisions compared to vertical revision, which may just change a few key words or passages to bring forth a new meaning in the text (150). Authors can either choose to support an editor’s revision or simply go along with them for the sake of being published, and Tanselle notes that when it comes to intention, even the author cannot be relied upon – as humans are complex beings who perform complex actions, even an author who states their intentions clearly cannot be taken at face value, because the author may not be able to properly express their intentions (143). Tanselle argues that when it comes to author’s intent, actions speak louder than words (153). Ultimately, an editor’s job is to present an author’s work to the public in the closest way that embodies the author’s intentions; thus, authors must think critically, as well as possess knowledge of the author in question, historical significance and contemporary outlook, and bibliographic ancestry of the text in order to achieve their goal.
McGann, Jerome J. “The Rationale of Hypertext.” The Broadview Reader in Book History.Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 459-473. Print.
McGann offers us a vision of using new and emerging electronic and digital tools (at least at the time) to rethink and revitalize how texts are analyzed, stored, and critiqued. He notes that there is a difference between how the artist views the material form of the text versus how the scholar does (461), in the sense that the artist places aesthetic value on the physical embodiment of a text that the scholar may not have use for. For centuries, we have used books to study other books (461) – this is problematic, however, as the book as a form cannot fully embody the study of itself. Facsimile editions are useful for disseminating rare works into many hands, but lack the analytic “power” of a critical edition, and vice versa (463). Books have physical limitations that an electronic database do not, such as being unable to easily (if at all) display pictures or audial media (462). Computers, of course, possess far more speed and analytic power than a physical text, or even the human brain. Electronic hypertexts, as McGann refers to them, can also be designed in a modular, future-facing fashion (464), able to accommodate and adapt to new types of hardware or software (471). A hypertext can contain all the relevant information on a work in an easily and quickly accessible form, whereas traditionally this information may be spread across several books, paintings, photographs, and even audio recordings. McGann argues that the consolidation that hypertext databases and, more generally, digital technology offers scholars will revolutionize and rejuvenate the editor, allowing more complete and accessible analysis of textual works. This, in turn, will increase our understanding of said works and perhaps even the world more generally.
Hayles, N. Katherine. “How We Read: Close, Hyper, Machine.” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 491-508. Print.
Hayles discusses how the digitization of reading is changing reading habits, the ways we think, and the implications for literary scholarship. Over the past twenty years print reading has decreased, especially amongst young people (491), though there is a recent uptick in novels read. Digital reading, however, is steadily on the rise – Hayles primary concern is to create a bridge between print and digital reading (492). The two types of reading most focused on are close and digital reading. Close reading involves paying special attention to rhetorical devices, stylistic choices, ideological implications, and critical analysis, whereas digital reading is quick, has a low threshold for boredom, incorporates multiple information streams, and is sporadic (494). The next generation of Humanities scholars are more inclined to digital reading due to the techno-centric culture they find themselves growing up in (495). The digital act of reading stimulates different brain functions than print reading (496), and can rewire the human brain in as little as five days (500). Screen reading is often done in an “F” pattern, and as websites move to exploit this, it shall only reinforce this behaviour (496). Hayles also notes that the more a person engages in digital or hyper reading, the worse they become at print or close reading (497). Hayles admits that in the digital age, due to the sheer volume of information, these digital reading habits are necessary for humans to function. Hayles proposes an educational framework where both digital and print reading are taught, as each has its own advantages. The deep attention associated with print and close reading is good for understanding complex themes, challenging texts, and critical thought; hyper attention, associated with the digital age, is good for quickly understanding the gist of a work, being flexible, and switching between multiple types of texts in a very short time (501). Hayles thus argues that a synergistic blending of the two styles will help enhance the Humanities as a discipline.
Grafton, Anthony. “Codex in Crisis: The Book Dematerializes.” The Broadview Reader in Book History. Ed. Michelle Levy and Tom Mole. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2015. 555-572. Print.
Grafton continues the trend of exploring digitization and what it means for the Humanities. Grafton speaks to the power of reading, able to transport one to faraway lands or communicate lofty ideas (557), noting that many people hope that electronic libraries will provide all possible information on a given subject (557). However, when people seek to learn something, they now turn to screens instead of books (558) – according to Grafton, at least 95% of all scholarly inquiries begin with a Google search (560), and even the most advanced students are skeptical of using print libraries for their studies (568). Though not fully dispersed, digitization continues to spread across the world, with computers and internet connections slowly materializing in smaller cities and towns in the less than fortunate parts of the globe (562). Digitization will allow people, especially scholars, to engage in work from wherever they would like (570) – instead of having to make the trek to a particular library (which could be quite far), graduate students could stay in the comfort of their homes. Something could be said about losing the “magic” of holding an actual (especially old) book, however. Grafton ends by saying that at least for the time being, any serious reader or scholar will have to be able to simultaneously navigate the mirror worlds of print and digital reading (572). Ultimately, Grafton maintains that digital inquiries and searches will eventually lead one to a print book (572) – a sentiment that I share.