What Is a Book?

Joseph A. Dane

Description

Joseph A. Dane’s What Is a Book? is an introduction to the study of books produced during the period of the hand press, dating from around 1450 through 1800. Using his own bibliographic interests as a guide, Dane selects illustrative examples primarily from fifteenth-century books, books of particular interest to students of English literature, and books central to the development of Anglo-American bibliography. Part I of What Is a Book? covers the basic procedures of printing and the parts of the physical book—size, paper, type, illustration; Part II treats the history of book-copies—from cataloging conventions and provenance to electronic media and their implications for the study of books.

Dane begins with the central distinction between a "book-copy"—the particular, individual, physical book—and a “book”—the abstract category that organizes these copies into editions, whereby each copy is interchangeable with any other. Among other issues, Dane addresses such basic questions as: How do students, bibliographers, and collectors discuss these things? And when is it legitimate to generalize on the basis of particular examples? Dane considers each issue in terms of a practical example or question a reader might confront: How do you identify books on the basis of typography? What is the status of paper evidence? How are the various elements on the page defined? What are the implications of the images available in an online database? And, significantly, how does a scholar’s personal experience with books challenge or conform to the standard language of book history and bibliography?

Dane's accessible and lively tour of the field is a useful guide for all students of book history, from the beginner to the specialist.

Sujets

• Medieval
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Edad Media
• English literature
• General officer
• 15th century
• Middle Ages
• General
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 31 octobre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9780268201432
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 9 Mo

Extrait

J O S E P H A . D A N E

W TH A I < a B O O K ?

T h e S t u d y o f E a r l y P r i n t e d B o o k <

W H A T I S A B O O K ?

J O S E P H A. D A N E

What Is a Book?

◆ ◆ ◆

The Study of Early Printed Books

University of Notre Dame Press

Notre Dame, Indiana

Copyright ©by the University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana www.undpress.nd.edu

All Rights Reserved

Published in the United States of America

This eboo k has been made possible in part by a ma j or grant from the National Endowment for the H umanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this boo k do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the H umanities .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dane, Joseph A. What is a book? : the study of early printed books / Joseph A. Dane. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-268-02609-7 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 0-268-02609-2 (pbk.) 1. Bibliography—Methodology. 2. Incunabula—Bibliography— Methodology. 3. Early printed books—Bibliography—Methodology. 4. English literature—Bibliography—Methodology. 5. Bibliography, Critical. 6. Editions. 7. Books—History—1450–1600. 8. Books—History—17th century. 9. Books—History—18th century. 10. Printing—History. I. Title. Z1001.D227 2012 002.09—dc23 2012001191

∞The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

To Sid

O N E T W O T H R E E F O U R F I V E S I X NS E V E

C O N T E N T S

Abbreviations

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

◆ ◆ ◆

PA R T I E L E M E N T S O F M AT E R I A L B O O K S

Terminology

The Matter of Size

Materials: Ink, Paper

Mechanics of the Press: Variation

Page Format and Layout Typography Illustrations: Techniques and Applications

ix xi xv



      

E I G H T N I N E T E N E L E V E N

viii Contents

PA R T I I H I S T O RY O F B O O K S A N D H I S T O R I E S O F B O O K  C O P I E S

Bindings Marks in Books: Provenance

Books in Books and Books from Books

Ideal Copy and the Goals of Enumerative and Descriptive Bibliography

T W E L V E Ersatz Book I: Facsimiles and Forgeries The  The Ersatz Book II: Electronic Books T H I R T E E N  and Databases

Conclusion Notes Selected Bibliography Index

  

 



   

A B B R E V I A T I O N S

◆ ◆ ◆

BMC British Museum Catalogue.Catalogue of Books Printed in the XVth Century Now in the British Museum,vols. (; Lon-  don: British Museum, –). BSB-InkBayerische Staatsbibliothek Inkunabelkatalog, vols. (Wiesbaden: Ludwig Reichert Verlag, –), http://www.bsb-muenchen.de/ inkunabeln...html. CIBN Bibliothèque Nationale,Catalogue des Incunables,vols. (Paris:  Bibliothèque Nationale, –). ECCO Eighteenth Century Collections Online, infotrac.galegroup .com (db = ECCO). EEBO Early English Books Online, eebo.chadwyck.com. ESTC English Short Title Catalogue, – (London, British Li- brary), estc.bl.uk. Goff Frederick R. Goff,Incunabula in American Libraries: A Third Census of Fifteenth-Century Books Recorded in North American CollectionsBibliographical Society of America, ).(New York: GWGesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke,vols. (Stuttgart: Hierse-  mann, –), http://www.gesamtkatalogderwiegendrucke.de/. Hain Ludwig Hain,Repertorium Bibliographicum,  vols. (Stuttgart: Cotta, –). HEHL Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California. ISTC Incunabula Short Title Catalogue, www.bl.uk /catalogues/istc/. STC A. W. Pollard and G. R. Redgrave,A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of English Books Printed Abroad, – (); nd ed.  vols., revised and enlarged by W. A. Jackson, F. S. Ferguson, and Katharine F. Pantzer (London: Bibliographical Society, –).

i

x