I finished reading The Book: The Life Story of a Technology by Nicole Howard on the train ride home today. I had no idea I was so close to the end which resulted in me having to stare vaguely around for most of the ride. Public transit is a fascinating cross-section of humanity but you don’t want to look too hard at it because you might make the mistake of looking at the wrong person.
Anyway, I could go on and on about this book because it really is good for its slim size and whirlwind tour through book history and there is a marvy bibliography at the back. Without going into too much detail, I learned about type designers whose names you will certainly recognize in your Word font list (like Garamond). I learned about the way books were constructed and about how printer’s marks came into being. Publishers, who are oftentimes printers too these days, still use printer’s marks but I just tend to think of them as logos. Turns out the logos have a long history.
I also learned about copperplate engraving, intaglio, relief etching (invented by William Blake–and did you know that he and his wife hand-colored each image?), stereotyping, lithography, photography, rotogravure, how xerox machines work and how e-ink works.
In the history of books, it is the newspaper business that really sent book production onto the technological fast track. The need to print very fast everyday along with the invention of the steam engine created the technology that increased book production dramatically and sharply reduced prices to make book more affordable to more people.
The Reformation was helped along by books and pamphlets, allowing for a wider dissemination of Luther’s ideas than they ever would have gotten pre-Gutenberg. Luther was able to print copies of the New Testament in German instead of the usual Latin. The first print run was over 3,000 and sold out in two months.
Science was helped along in 1543 when Copernicus, at the urging of friends, printed On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres. That same year Andreas Vesalius published On the Fabric of the Human Body. In the not so long ago age of manuscripts, neither of these books would have made much of an impact.
Already in the late 1500s book fairs became popular places for printers and booksellers to gather and exchange stock. The Frankfurt book fair was already going strong in 1569.
More recently in history, Allen Lane’s Penguin paperback success would not have occurred if it weren’t for libraries. Between 1886 and 1919 in the United States alone, Andrew Carnegie built 1,670 libraries. The library allowed people who could not afford many books to become avid readers. Lane’s idea for cheap paperback books capitalized on the growing number of library readers who wanted a chance to own their favorite books.
Okay, that’s enough. If you want to know more, you’ll have to go to the library or the bookstore and get a copy of your own.
Nice summary. I’ll definitely be looking for a copy at the library (can’t right now because the catalogue is down—horrors!).
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I love books like this, but they are impossible to write about due to the sheer amount of information the author writes about. I will have to add this one to my booklist–I want to read more about books/reading next year!
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Wow! There is so much information here. I am not sure I’d ordinarily pick up this book, but your review puts it at the top of my list. (and I know what you mean about commuting!)
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This sounds kind of amazing.
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This sounds really interesting…too bad my library doesn’t have it!
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This sounds fascinating! I’ll have to check it out; thanks for the teaser tidbits. 🙂
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Oooh, I love all the technicalities of the print world. I loved working at the newspaper because it was so fun to see your work printed immediately…
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Sylvia, I hope your library catalogue wasn’t down for long and you are able to get a copy of the book. I suspect you will enjoy it.
Danielle, I love books like this too. There is something so delightfully self-serving and bookwormy reading a book about books!
Janet, it is a fun book and less than 200 pages. It is also broken up into tidy chapters so it is very easy to keep track of all the detail. And I am glad my perception of public transit is not something I’m making up 🙂
Bibliobio, it was really fascinating following the progression of book technology through the centuries.
softdrink, oh no! Does your library take suggestions for books to add to the collection? Or participate in interlibrary loan?
Emily, glad to tease! 😉
Daphne, I expect you will find the stuff on illustration particularly interesting.
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This one sounds fascinating. I will definitely track down a copy!
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This sounds like a fascinating book. I’ve read the story of Allan Lane before and I enjoyed it immensely. I will definitely look out for it.
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Kate, definitely fascinating. I learned more than I expected.
Litlove, it is a book that did a lot for its small size. And I am very interested in reading the biography of Lane one of these days. He sounds like a fascinating person.
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This sounds great! It’s interesting that most of us love books so much but don’t know a whole lot about their origins and history. There is so much to learn, it sounds like!
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As I’ve said before, this sounds so good!!
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Dorothy, there is a lot to learn and I had no idea how much. It really is amazing and fun!
rebecca, oh yes. I highly recommend it!
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I love reading about historic development of science and knowledge, but I really, really loved your description of what happens when you run out of reading materials on the train. I can really understand. I’ve been lugging my complete LOTR around and when I near the end, I may have to put a second book in the backpack.
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Another great-sounding book about books! I may have to change up my selection for my Bibliophilic Books Challenge. 🙂
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