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V2 1999 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 02, Number 43, October 24, 1999, Article 7

THE EVOLUTION OF THE BOOKSHELF

After listening to a fascinating interview on National Public Radio, I just had to seek out a copy of a newly published book titled "The Book on the Bookshelf". Specifically, this is a book ABOUT bookshelves - something we bibliophiles take for granted today. But it wasn't always so, and this book details the long and interesting evolution of how this everyday item came to have the form it holds today. The author is Henry Petroski, and here's what the book's jacket notes have to say:

"He has been called "the poet laureate of technology". Now Henry Petroski turns to the subject of books and bookshelves, and wonders whether it was inevitable that books would come to be arranged vertically as they are today on horizontal shelves. As we learn how the ancient scroll became the codex became the volume we are used to, we explore the ways in which the housing of books evolved. Petroski takes us into the pre-Gutenberg world, where books were so scarce they were chained to lecterns for security. He explains how the printing press not only changed the way books were made and shelved, but also increased their availability and transformed book readers into book owners and collectors. He shows us that for a time books were shelved with their spines in, and it was not until after the arrival of the modern bookcase that the spines faced out."

"In delightful digressions, Petroski lets Seneca have his say on "the evils of book collecting"; examines the famed collection of Samuel Pepys (only three thousand titles: old discarded to make room for new); and discusses bookselling, book buying, and book collecting through the centuries."

Wayne Homren, Editor



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Content presented in The E-Sylum is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.

This is a static archive page documenting the originally published content. Links were active at the time of publication but may no longer work. Check subsequent issues for corrections and commentary.

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature.   For more information please see our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/ There is a membership application available on the web site.  To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application.  Visit the Membership page. Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link.

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