Gutenberg and After
Subject forum for ART317
- this forum is open only to CSU students studying Art317 Art and Books
Essays
Block Books
The Development of Print Technology
Web links
The Infancy of Printing
This web site, hosted by the Golda Meir Library at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, was designed to accompany an exhibition on introduction of printing. It contains a good selection of images, with the option to view enlargements, as well as an interesting essay on printing during the Renaissance.
Gutenberg to Gates
This web site accompanies an exhibition mounted by Springfield Library Massachusetts that explores the development of the book after the invention of movable type in mid-15th-century Europe. It is well illustrated with useful accompanying text.
The Legacy of Aldus Manutius and His Press
A digital exhibition containing a selection of the Brigham Young University Library's Aldine holdings, celebrating the quincentenary of the founding of the Aldine Press.
Key examples
The Planets and their Children: A Blockbook of Medieval Popular Astrology
This link leads to a page which is part of a larger site dealing with medieval blockbooks about the planets. The page contains some useful background information about blockbooks - how they were made and their place in the history of printing. As you examine this example, keep in mind that the "book" presented is a hybrid recreation rather than a straight reproduction of a single volume.
Biblia pauperum
This page on the Biblia pauperum or Bible of the poor, is part of the National Library of the Netherlands site. It provides general information on blockbooks, some information on Biblia pauperum and an illustration.
Gutenberg Digital
The Gutenberg Bible is the earliest example of a book printed with moveable type still in existence.This link will take you to a digital version of the Gutenberg Bible. In addition to images of each page of the Bible you will find a range of other resources, including information about Johann Gutenberg, a discussion of the significance of his invention and images of printed pages that have subsequently been illuminated. This British library website provides digital images of two version of the Gutenberg Bible held in the library's collection. To compare a single page of two copies of the Gutenberg bible use the texts link on the main page.
Bookmaking interlude 3
The pamphlet stitch
The pamphlet stitch is a simple, effective way of binding a single signature and a soft cover to create a book.
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