A COMPANION TO THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK

A COMPANION TO
THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK

Edited by Simon Eliot and Jonathan Rose

"As a stimulating overview of the multidimensional present state of the field, the Companion has no peer." Choice

"If you want to understand how cultures come into being, endure, and change, then you need to come to terms with the rich and often surprising history Of the book ... Eliot and Rose have done a fine job. Their volume can be heartily recommended. "
Adrian Johns, Technology and Culture

From the early Sumerian clay tablet through to the emergence of the electronic text, this Companion provides a continuous and coherent account of the history of the book. A team of expert contributors draws on the latest research in order to offer a cogent, transcontinental narrative. Many of them use illustrative examples and case studies of well-known texts, conveying the excitement surrounding this rapidly developing field.

The Companion is organized around four distinct approaches to the history of the book. First, it introduces the variety of methods used by book historians and allied specialists, from the long-established discipline of bibliography to newer IT-based approaches. Next, it provides a broad chronological survey of the forms and content of texts. The third section situates the book in the context of text culture as a whole, while the final section addresses broader issues, such as literacy, copyright, and the future of the book.

Contributors to this volume:

Michael Albin, Martin Andrews, Rob Banham, Megan L Benton, Michelle P. Brown, Marie-Frangoise Cachin, Hortensia Calvo, Charles Chadwyck-Healey, M. T. Clanchy, Stephen Colclough, Patricia Crain, J. S. Edgren, Simon Eliot, John Feather, David Finkelstein, David Greetham, Robert A. Gross, Deana Heath, Lotte Hellinga, T. H. Howard-Hill, Peter Kornicki, Beth Luey, Paul Luna, Russell L. Martin Ill, Jean-Yves Mollier, Angus Phillips, Eleanor Robson, Cornelia Roemer, Jonathan Rose, Emile G. L Schrijver, David J. Shaw, Graham Shaw, Claire Squires, Rietje van Vliet, James Wald, Rowan Watson, Alexis Weedon, Adriaan van der Weel, Wayne A. Wiegand, Eva Hemmungs Wirtén.

Autorentext

Simon Eliot is Professor of the History of the Book in the Institute of English Studies, part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Manuscript and Print Studies. He is General Editor of the new multivolume History of Oxford University Press and editor of the journal Publishing History. His publications include Literary Cultures and the Material Book (2007) and Some Patterns and Trends in British Publishing, 1800-1919 (1994). Jonathan Rose is Professor of History at Drew University. He was the founding president of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing and is co-editor of the journal Book History. His publications include The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes (2001), The Holocaust and the Book: Destruction and Preservation (2001), and British Literary Publishing Houses, 1820-1965 (1991).

Klappentext
From the early Sumerian clay tablet through to the emergence of the electronic text, this Companion provides a continuous and coherent account of the history of the book. A team of expert contributors draws on the latest research in order to offer a cogent, transcontinental narrative. Many of them use illustrative examples and case studies of well-known texts, conveying the excitement surrounding this rapidly developing field. The Companion to the History of the Book is organized around four distinct approaches to the history of the book. First, it introduces the variety of methods used by book historians and allied specialists, from the long-established discipline of bibliography to newer IT-based approaches. Next, it provides a broad chronological survey of the forms and content of texts. The third section situates the book in the context of text culture as a whole, while the final section addresses broader issues, such as literacy, copyright, and the future of the book.

Zusammenfassung
A COMPANION TO THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK A COMPANION TO
THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK Edited by Simon Eliot and Jonathan Rose As a stimulating overview of the multidimensional present state of the field, the Companion has no peer. Choice If you want to understand how cultures come into being, endure, and change, then you need to come to terms with the rich and often surprising history Of the book ... Eliot and Rose have done a fine job. Their volume can be heartily recommended.
Adrian Johns, Technology and Culture From the early Sumerian clay tablet through to the emergence of the electronic text, this Companion provides a continuous and coherent account of the history of the book. A team of expert contributors draws on the latest research in order to offer a cogent, transcontinental narrative. Many of them use illustrative examples and case studies of well-known texts, conveying the excitement surrounding this rapidly developing field. The Companion is organized around four distinct approaches to the history of the book. First, it introduces the variety of methods used by book historians and allied specialists, from the long-established discipline of bibliography to newer IT-based approaches. Next, it provides a broad chronological survey of the forms and content of texts. The third section situates the book in the context of text culture as a whole, while the final section addresses broader issues, such as literacy, copyright, and the future of the book. Contributors to this volume: Michael Albin, Martin Andrews, Rob Banham, Megan L Benton, Michelle P. Brown, Marie-Frangoise Cachin, Hortensia Calvo, Charles Chadwyck-Healey, M. T. Clanchy, Stephen Colclough, Patricia Crain, J. S. Edgren, Simon Eliot, John Feather, David Finkelstein, David Greetham, Robert A. Gross, Deana Heath, Lotte Hellinga, T. H. Howard-Hill, Peter Kornicki, Beth Luey, Paul Luna, Russell L. Martin Ill, Jean-Yves Mollier, Angus Phillips, Eleanor Robson, Cornelia Roemer, Jonathan Rose, Emile G. L Schrijver, David J. Shaw, Graham Shaw, Claire Squires, Rietje van Vliet, James Wald, Rowan Watson, Alexis Weedon, Adriaan van der Weel, Wayne A. Wiegand, Eva Hemmungs Wirtén.

Inhalt
List of Illustrations viii

Notes on Contributors x

Introduction 1
Simon Eliot and Jonathan Rose

Part I Methods and Approaches 7

1 Why Bibliography Matters 9
T. H. Howard-Hill

2 What is Textual Scholarship? 21
David Greetham

3 The Uses of Quantifi cation 33
Alexis Weedon

4 Readers: Books and Biography 50
Stephen Colclough

Part II The History of the Material Text 63

The World before the Codex 65

5 The Clay Tablet Book in Sumer, Assyria, and Babylonia 67
Eleanor Robson

6 The Papyrus Roll in Egypt, Greece, and Rome 84
Cornelia Roemer

The Book beyond the West 95

7 China 97
J. S. Edgren

8 Japan, Korea, and Vietnam 111
Peter Kornicki

9 South Asia 126
Graham Shaw

10 Latin America 138
Hortensia Calvo

11 The Hebraic Book 153
Emile G. L. Schrijver

12 The Islamic Book 165
Michael Albin

The Codex in the West 400-2000 177

13 The Triumph of the Codex: The Manuscript Book before 1100 179
Michelle P. Brown

14 Parchment and Paper: Manuscript Culture 1100-1500 194
M. T. Clanchy

15 The Gutenberg Revolutions 207
Lotte Hellinga

16 The Book Trade Comes of Age: The Sixteenth Century 220
David J. Shaw

17 The British Book Market 1600-1800 232
John Feather

18 Print and Public in Europe 1600-1800 247
Rietje van Vliet

19 North America and Transatlantic Book Culture to 1800 259
Russell L. Martin III

20 The Industrialization of the Book 1800-1970 273
Rob Banham

21 From Few and Expensive to Many and Cheap: The British Book Mar…