The Anatomy of Type explores one hundred traditional and modern typefaces in loving detail, with a full spread devoted to each entry. The full character set from each typeface is shown, and the best letters for identification are enlarged and annotated, revealing key features, anatomical details, and the finer, often-overlooked elements of type design. Containing in-depth information on everything from the designer and foundry, the year of release,...

In 14 original essays, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Book reveals the history of books in all their various forms, from the ancient world to the digital present. Leading international scholars offer an original and richly illustrated narrative that is global in scope. The history of the book is the history of millions of written, printed, and illustrated texts, their manufacture, distribution, and reception. Here are different types of production,...

Reveals how books and the materials that make them reflect the history of human civilization, tracing the development of writing, printing, illustrating, and binding to demonstrate the transition from cuneiform tablets and papyrus scrolls to the mass-distributed books of today.

"For decades before the advent of digital technology, the proof sheet or contact sheet was vital to the practice of photography. Photographers using roll film first saw positive images in the small-scale grid of the contact, which was marked for printing and served as a lasting reference. Because contact sheets typically remained out of view, they offer a privileged window into the working process. Photographers also recognized aesthetic potential...

"Thomas Christensen's previous title 1616 : The World in Motion looked at a single year in the age of early maritime globalism--PW gave it a starred review, calling it 'a stunning overview of the nascent modern world.' By contrast his new gorgeously illustrated River of Ink ranges widely across time and cultures and offers what amounts to a magisterial history of literacy. The book's title refers to the sacking of Baghdad in 1258 when the Tigris ran...

Describes the nature of books in the world before the development of the printing press and the subsequent effect of that invention on civilization.

"The Book tracks the ways the book's physical form and artistic content have historically inspired one another's evolution. Borsuk shows that in order to see where books might be going, we must think of them as objects whose physical shape has experienced a long history of experimentation and play. Rather than bemoaning the death of books or creating a dichotomy between print and digital media, Borsuk points to their continuities, positioning the...

"Books have long been objects of beauty. For many centuries and in societies across the world, bookmakers have lavished great care on the paper, binding materials, and illustrations that surround the words on a page as well as on the lettering or type in which those words appear. This volume, featuring an array of beautiful books from the British Library's collection, focuses on the sensory experience of holding these objects in your hands. Each book...