2. What did you learn from your visit to archives and special collections? What elements of book history are you interested in learning more about?
After going to the archives and special collections in the library I learned a lot more about the different formatted and mediums that people have used over the centuries to write things down. I honestly hadn't really put much thought into realizing that there were more than just three mediums: stone/rock, papyrus, and paper. In the archives and special collections I was able to learn more specifically about the different formats that people have used over the centuries before the modern day book which is called "codex." I found it incredibly interesting to see how people progressed the different formats until modern days, especially the accordion fold. When I was younger I used to see children's book in that accordion fold format, and always thought it was just a different way people wanted to make their children's book look interesting, but now I realize that this format has actually been used for quite a while and before the modern codex.
Just a side note about something else that I found incredibly interesting is that some people would go to the archives and special collections to request looking at documents that date back to the missions creation in order to find some sort of genealogical link. I wonder how successful they are.
I am interested in learning more about the medium of writing on stone or animal (goat or sheep) skin element of book history. I would like to know what exactly was written on these stones and by whom. For instance, was it for the rich and did it cost a lot for them to write on the stones? I am also interested in the entire process of creating the animal skin correctly in order for it to be used for writing and what exactly about it makes it able to withstand time better than other mediums?
Hi Monique! I'm in the same boat. Before, I didn't really think of the materials and the formats that things were written. But now, I'm significantly more interested in the materials and formats, especially after getting to view all the books in real life. Getting to feel all the different pages, tablets, codexes, and more helped me understand how information was passed down throughout the years. The animal skin part of books was also super interesting to me! It was a bit out of the blue but still interesting!
ReplyDeleteHey Monique! I think you bring up a good point: before this class I hadn't much given thought to all the different possible mediums for writing. The accordian fold also stood out to me and I thought it really cool that it kind of served as the bridge between the ancient scroll and eventual book!
ReplyDeleteHey Monique! This is super interesting to me too! I also want to learn more about how people actually went about writing on animal skin and what exactly they would use it to write about.
ReplyDeleteMonique, thanks for sharing your thoughts on our class trip to the archives and special collections yesterday. I, too, learned a lot about different mediums. Similarly to you, I thought it was super cool how the archives and special collections can help people with genealogy. Did not expect that, but super cool!
ReplyDeleteHi Monique! I also was really interested in the accordion fold, especially the way it acted as a bridge between the scroll and the codex. It was so interesting what you said about the cost of writing on stones! I've never thought about that before, but it's definitely a labor-intensive process so it might have cost a ton!
ReplyDeleteI was also really curious to learn more about the animal skin parchment. I also have no idea why it would necessarily last longer that plant-based surfaces and I what I am even more curious about is how did they come up with the idea to use an animals skin to write on in the first place?
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating just how much effort was put into the myriad of ways there were to write and preserve text. Especially since today we can do so easily without a second thought, the study of ancient text is a valid subject on its own.
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