Early Printed Books for Medievalists Organizer: Megan Cook, Colby College
Many medievalists, especially those working in textual or manuscript studies, will have occasion to refer to early printed books at some point in their scholarship, either as witnesses to manuscripts that are no longer extant, or as important documents in their own right. This session, designed for medievalists with little to no experience with the study of printed books, will offer participants a hands-on introduction to books from the first two centuries of European printing, using books held by the Kislak Center for Special Collections at Van Pelt Library. Topics covered will include: the mechanics of the common press, the development and use of typography (including printing in non-Roman scripts such as Hebrew and Greek), cost and sources of materials, and common book formats and their structure. We will also touch on the concept of the edition, the size of print runs, and an overview of the spread of printing in Europe and the early modern book trade. We will consider the hybridity of manuscript and print and the persistence of manuscript culture in early modern Europe, as well as illustration processes (relief, intaglio, and manuscript) used in printed books of the period. We will also discuss major bibliographies and other reference sources such as the English Short Title Catalogue and Universal Short Title Catalogue, and conventions for identifying and citing early printed books in scholarship. Participants will leave with the ability to identify, describe, and cite early books relevant to their scholarship.
