A Guide to Early Printed Books and Manuscripts

Offers an introduction to the language and concepts employed in book history and textual scholarship, as these pertain to early modern manuscripts and printed texts. This title explains the complex process of viewing documents as artefacts, showing readers how to describe documents properly and how to read their physical properties.

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"A Guide to Early Printed Books and Manuscripts" provides an introduction to the language and concepts employed in bibliographical studies and textual scholarship as they pertain to early modern manuscripts and printed texts. It provides an introduction to analytical bibliography based almost exclusively on new primary research. It introduces the language and concepts used in book history and textual scholarship. It explains the complex process of viewing documents as artefacts, showing readers how to describe documents properly and how to read their physical properties. It demonstrates how to use the information gleaned as a tool for studying the transmission of literary documents. It makes clear why such matters are important and the purposes to which such information is put. It features illustrations that are carefully chosen for their unfamiliarity in order to keep the discussion fresh.