0:00:06.698,0:00:08.793
What makes a book a book?

0:00:08.793,0:00:12.828
Is it just anything that stores[br]and communicates information?

0:00:12.828,0:00:14.509
Or does it have to do with paper,

0:00:14.509,0:00:15.236
binding,

0:00:15.236,0:00:15.984
font,

0:00:15.984,0:00:16.736
ink,

0:00:16.736,0:00:17.973
its weight in your hands,

0:00:17.973,0:00:19.803
the smell of the pages?

0:00:19.803,0:00:21.112
Is this a book?

0:00:21.112,0:00:22.486
Probably not.

0:00:22.486,0:00:23.483
But is this?

0:00:23.483,0:00:24.763
To answer these questions,

0:00:24.763,0:00:27.525
we need to go back to the start[br]of the book as we know it

0:00:27.525,0:00:30.698
and understand how these elements[br]came together to make something

0:00:30.698,0:00:33.240
more than the sum of their parts.

0:00:33.240,0:00:36.859
The earliest object that we think of[br]as a book is the codex,

0:00:36.859,0:00:39.949
a stack of pages bound along one edge.

0:00:39.949,0:00:42.395
But the real turning point in book history

0:00:42.395,0:00:46.575
was Johannes Gutenberg's[br]printing press in the mid-15th century.

0:00:46.575,0:00:51.642
The concept of moveable type had been[br]invented much earlier in Eastern culture,

0:00:51.642,0:00:55.833
but the introduction of Gutenberg's[br]press had a profound effect.

0:00:55.833,0:00:59.949
Suddenly, an elite class of monks[br]and the ruling class

0:00:59.949,0:01:02.531
no longer controlled [br]the production of texts.

0:01:02.531,0:01:04.328
Messages could spread more easily,

0:01:04.328,0:01:07.333
and copies could constantly be produced,

0:01:07.333,0:01:10.432
so printing houses popped up[br]all over Europe.

0:01:10.432,0:01:15.268
The product of this bibliographic boom[br]is familiar to us in some respects,

0:01:15.268,0:01:17.949
but markedly different in others.

0:01:17.949,0:01:22.796
The skeleton of the book is paper,[br]type, and cover.

0:01:22.796,0:01:27.044
More than 2000 years ago,[br]China invented paper as a writing surface,

0:01:27.044,0:01:30.516
which was itself predated [br]by Egyptian papyrus.

0:01:30.516,0:01:32.707
However, until the 16th century,

0:01:32.707,0:01:35.236
Europeans mainly wrote [br]on thin sheets of wood

0:01:35.236,0:01:39.176
and durable parchment[br]made of stretched animal skins.

0:01:39.176,0:01:43.022
Eventually, the popularity of paper[br]spread throughout Europe,

0:01:43.022,0:01:47.673
replacing parchment for most printings[br]because it was less expensive in bulk.

0:01:47.673,0:01:51.576
Inks had been made by combining[br]organic plant and animal dyes

0:01:51.576,0:01:53.046
with water or wine,

0:01:53.046,0:01:55.519
but since water doesn't stick[br]to metal type,

0:01:55.519,0:02:00.144
use of the printing press required[br]a change to oil-based ink.

0:02:00.144,0:02:03.513
Printers used black ink made of[br]a mixture of lamp soot,

0:02:03.513,0:02:04.395
turpentine,

0:02:04.395,0:02:06.138
and walnut oil.

0:02:06.138,0:02:08.236
And what about font size and type?

0:02:08.236,0:02:12.577
The earliest movable type pieces[br]consisted of reversed letters

0:02:12.577,0:02:16.673
cast in relief on the ends of[br]lead alloy stocks.

0:02:16.673,0:02:19.147
They were handmade and expensive,

0:02:19.147,0:02:22.865
and the designs were as different[br]as the people who carved their molds.

0:02:22.865,0:02:27.151
Standardization was not really possible[br]until mass manufacturing

0:02:27.151,0:02:30.830
and the creation of an accessible[br]word processing system.

0:02:30.830,0:02:36.230
As for style, we can thank Nicolas Jenson[br]for developing two types of Roman font

0:02:36.230,0:02:38.610
that led to thousands of others,

0:02:38.610,0:02:41.248
including the familiar Times Roman.

0:02:41.248,0:02:44.013
Something had to hold all this together,

0:02:44.013,0:02:46.399
and until the late 15th century,

0:02:46.399,0:02:48.732
covers consisted of either wood,

0:02:48.732,0:02:51.045
or sheets of paper pasted together.

0:02:51.045,0:02:54.698
These would eventually be replaced[br]by rope fiber millboard,

0:02:54.698,0:02:59.482
originally intended for high quality[br]bindings in the late 17th century,

0:02:59.482,0:03:02.947
but later as a less expensive option.

0:03:02.947,0:03:06.550
And while today's mass produced[br]cover illustrations are marketing tools,

0:03:06.550,0:03:10.304
the cover designs of early books [br]were made to order.

0:03:10.304,0:03:12.839
Even spines have a history.

0:03:12.839,0:03:16.406
Initially, they were not considered[br]aesthetically important,

0:03:16.406,0:03:19.743
and the earliest ones were flat,[br]rather than rounded.

0:03:19.743,0:03:22.516
The flat form made the books[br]easier to read

0:03:22.516,0:03:25.522
by allowing the book to rest easily[br]on a table.

0:03:25.522,0:03:30.453
But those spines were damaged[br]easily from the stresses of normal use.

0:03:30.453,0:03:32.580
A rounded form solved that issue,

0:03:32.580,0:03:34.555
although new problems arose,

0:03:34.555,0:03:37.389
like having the book close in[br]on itself.

0:03:37.389,0:03:39.263
But flexibility was more important,

0:03:39.263,0:03:41.609
especially for the on-the-go reader.

0:03:41.609,0:03:45.266
As the book evolves[br]and we replace bound texts

0:03:45.266,0:03:47.855
with flat screens and electronic ink,

0:03:47.855,0:03:50.953
are these objects and files really books?

0:03:50.953,0:03:52.436
Does the feel of the cover

0:03:52.436,0:03:55.738
or the smell of the paper add something[br]crucial to the experience?

0:03:55.738,0:03:58.837
Or does the magic live only within[br]the words,

0:03:58.837,0:04:01.018
no matter what their presentation?