The coming of the book : the impact of printing, 1450-1800 / Lucien Febvre, Henri-Jean Martin ; translated [from the French] by David Gerard ; edited by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith and David Wootton.
This translation originally published: 1976. Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-354) and index.
Contents:
I. Preliminaries: The Introduction of Paper into Europe. 1. The Progress of Paper -- 2. Preconditions of the Growth of Paper-Making: Natural and Industrial -- 3. Commercial Factors -- 4. The Coming of Printing and the Development of the Paper Industry -- II. The Technical Problems and their Solution. 1. The Wood-Cut, Ancestor of the Book? -- 2. The 'Discovery' of Printing -- 3. The Making of the Type -- 4. Composition and Impression -- 5. Imposition -- 6. The Chinese Precedent -- III. The Book: Its Visual Appearance. 1. Type Founts -- 2. Inside the Book: Title Page, Colophon and Printer's Mark -- 3. The Text and Format of the Book -- 4. Illustration -- 5. Clothing the Book: The Binding -- IV. The Book as a Commodity. 1. Costs -- 2. The Problem of Finance -- V. The Little World of the Book. 1. The Journeymen -- 2. The Masters -- 3. From the Humanist Printer to the Bookseller of the Enlightenment -- 4. Authors and their Rights -- VI. The Geography of the Book. 1. The Journeys of Printers -- 2. Places to Set Up Business -- 3. Geography and Publishing -- 4. Printing Conquers the World. A. The Slav Countries: Bohemia and Moravia -- Poland -- The Southern Slavs -- Russia -- B. The New World -- C. The Far East -- VII. The Book Trade. 1. Some Basic Data: Sizes of Editions -- 2. Some Problems for the Trade -- 3. Business Methods at the Time of the Book-Fairs -- 4. Towards New Business Methods -- 5. Privilege and Piracy -- 6. Censorship and Banned Books -- VIII. The Book as a Force for Change. 1. From Manuscript to Printed Book -- 2. Humanism and the Book -- 3. The Book and the Reformation -- 4. Printing and Language.
Summary:
The emergence of the book was an event of world historical importance, and heralded the dawning of modernity. In this history of that momentous process, the authors mesh together economic and technological history, sociology and anthropology, with the study of modes of consciousness to root the development of printing.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.