The evolution of the book - Julie Dreyfuss
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0:07 - 0:09What makes a book a book?
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0:09 - 0:13Is it just anything that stores
and communicates information? -
0:13 - 0:15Or does it have to do with paper,
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0:15 - 0:15binding,
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0:15 - 0:16font,
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0:16 - 0:17ink,
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0:17 - 0:18its weight in your hands,
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0:18 - 0:20the smell of the pages?
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0:20 - 0:21Is this a book?
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0:21 - 0:22Probably not.
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0:22 - 0:23But is this?
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0:23 - 0:25To answer these questions,
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0:25 - 0:28we need to go back to the start
of the book as we know it -
0:28 - 0:31and understand how these elements
came together to make something -
0:31 - 0:33more than the sum of their parts.
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0:33 - 0:37The earliest object that we think of
as a book is the codex, -
0:37 - 0:40a stack of pages bound along one edge.
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0:40 - 0:42But the real turning point in book history
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0:42 - 0:47was Johannes Gutenberg's
printing press in the mid-15th century. -
0:47 - 0:52The concept of moveable type had been
invented much earlier in Eastern culture, -
0:52 - 0:56but the introduction of Gutenberg's
press had a profound effect. -
0:56 - 1:00Suddenly, an elite class of monks
and the ruling class -
1:00 - 1:03no longer controlled
the production of texts. -
1:03 - 1:04Messages could spread more easily,
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1:04 - 1:07and copies could constantly be produced,
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1:07 - 1:10so printing houses popped up
all over Europe. -
1:10 - 1:15The product of this bibliographic boom
is familiar to us in some respects, -
1:15 - 1:18but markedly different in others.
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1:18 - 1:23The skeleton of the book is paper,
type, and cover. -
1:23 - 1:27More than 2000 years ago,
China invented paper as a writing surface, -
1:27 - 1:31which was itself predated
by Egyptian papyrus. -
1:31 - 1:33However, until the 16th century,
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1:33 - 1:35Europeans mainly wrote
on thin sheets of wood -
1:35 - 1:39and durable parchment
made of stretched animal skins. -
1:39 - 1:43Eventually, the popularity of paper
spread throughout Europe, -
1:43 - 1:48replacing parchment for most printings
because it was less expensive in bulk. -
1:48 - 1:52Inks had been made by combining
organic plant and animal dyes -
1:52 - 1:53with water or wine,
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1:53 - 1:56but since water doesn't stick
to metal type, -
1:56 - 2:00use of the printing press required
a change to oil-based ink. -
2:00 - 2:04Printers used black ink made of
a mixture of lamp soot, -
2:04 - 2:04turpentine,
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2:04 - 2:06and walnut oil.
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2:06 - 2:08And what about font size and type?
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2:08 - 2:13The earliest movable type pieces
consisted of reversed letters -
2:13 - 2:17cast in relief on the ends of
lead alloy stocks. -
2:17 - 2:19They were handmade and expensive,
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2:19 - 2:23and the designs were as different
as the people who carved their molds. -
2:23 - 2:27Standardization was not really possible
until mass manufacturing -
2:27 - 2:31and the creation of an accessible
word processing system. -
2:31 - 2:36As for style, we can thank Nicolas Jenson
for developing two types of Roman font -
2:36 - 2:39that led to thousands of others,
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2:39 - 2:41including the familiar Times Roman.
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2:41 - 2:44Something had to hold all this together,
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2:44 - 2:46and until the late 15th century,
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2:46 - 2:49covers consisted of either wood,
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2:49 - 2:51or sheets of paper pasted together.
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2:51 - 2:55These would eventually be replaced
by rope fiber millboard, -
2:55 - 2:59originally intended for high quality
bindings in the late 17th century, -
2:59 - 3:03but later as a less expensive option.
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3:03 - 3:07And while today's mass produced
cover illustrations are marketing tools, -
3:07 - 3:10the cover designs of early books
were made to order. -
3:10 - 3:13Even spines have a history.
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3:13 - 3:16Initially, they were not considered
aesthetically important, -
3:16 - 3:20and the earliest ones were flat,
rather than rounded. -
3:20 - 3:23The flat form made the books
easier to read -
3:23 - 3:26by allowing the book to rest easily
on a table. -
3:26 - 3:30But those spines were damaged
easily from the stresses of normal use. -
3:30 - 3:33A rounded form solved that issue,
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3:33 - 3:35although new problems arose,
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3:35 - 3:37like having the book close in
on itself. -
3:37 - 3:39But flexibility was more important,
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3:39 - 3:42especially for the on-the-go reader.
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3:42 - 3:45As the book evolves
and we replace bound texts -
3:45 - 3:48with flat screens and electronic ink,
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3:48 - 3:51are these objects and files really books?
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3:51 - 3:52Does the feel of the cover
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3:52 - 3:56or the smell of the paper add something
crucial to the experience? -
3:56 - 3:59Or does the magic live only within
the words, -
3:59 - 4:01no matter what their presentation?
- Title:
- The evolution of the book - Julie Dreyfuss
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-evolution-of-the-book-julie-dreyfuss
What makes a book a book? Is it just anything that stores and communicates information? Or does it have to do with paper, binding, font, ink, its weight in your hands, the smell of the pages? To answer these questions, Julie Dreyfuss goes back to the start of the book as we know it to show how these elements came together to make something more than the sum of their parts.
Lesson by Julie Dreyfuss, animation by Patrick Smith.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:18
Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for The evolution of the book - Julie Dreyfuss | ||
Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for The evolution of the book - Julie Dreyfuss | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The evolution of the book - Julie Dreyfuss | ||
Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for The evolution of the book - Julie Dreyfuss |