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THE BOOK
Since it first appeared in its current form in about 400 AD the book has undergone a constant state of evolution. The first handmade books followed from the development of writing, punctuation, the formulation of ink and the creation of vellum. The inventions of movable type and paper in the 1400‘s created more varied forms. The troubled history of typesetting machines and machine made paper during the industrial revolution mass produced books. Meanwhile hand drawn Illustrations were replaced by woodcuts, etchings and engraving. These became more easily integrated with type when lithography was invented in the late 1800’s. Photography was introduced and colour printing slowly became more widespread throughout the 20th century. Since the 1990‘s digital techniques have simplified the creation, printing and production processes whilst the book has continued to evolve.
For more information see Keith Houston “The Book” ISBN 978-0-393-24479-3
HISTORY
Tablets of fired clay were replaced by rolled up scrolls made from papyrus, Methods of folding lead the Romans to the development of more convenient codex which became common in the first century BC. As parchment replaced papyrus binding and sewing were developed to create a book with separate leaves. Eventually hand made paper became the common writing material. In the 1450‘s printers began to take over from scribes making the book easier to produce. Increased mechanisation followed as new techniques of setting type and printing were developed. Cheaper continuous paper making in the early 1800’s lead to faster production making books mass consumer items. The rate of development has not ceased with the advent of photography then colour printing and more recently the introduction of digital typography and page layout. combined with mechanical printing and binding technology which are used to make the modern book.
MAKING
The drawing is of Keith Houston’s ‘The Book’ which is a joy to handle and read. It feels solid, yet it opens easily and stays flat no matter which page is selected. It was produced in a unique factory in China that can make sewn books more economically than in the west. Pages are printed on a continuous roll of paper which is then cut to form eight folios of eight leaves of 16 pages. These are sewn together using a ‘double cord method’. End papers are glued onto the text block and decorative end bands are glued to the top and bottom of the spine.
Separate from the printing the cover is made from paper glued over heavy card. The title is ‘Hot Foil Blocked‘ using a shaped heated brass former which presses a plastic foil onto the leaves. finally the book is ‘cased in‘. Glue is rolled onto the outer leaves of the text block and the end papers which are then spread open and pressed onto the inner surfaces of front and back covers to complete the book.
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