Early books were handwritten, printed, bound, and decorated using a wide variety of materials from the natural world. From essential ingredients like flax, leather, copper, and lead, to the unexpected, like wasps and seaweed, Nature of the Book shows what the innovative use of these varied and sometimes surprising resources can tell us, touching on questions of purpose, process, trade, and economy. It tells a story of both local resourcefulness and global influence essential to the Western book as we know it.
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Look For:
Beetles, moths, and wasps, who played unusual roles in the making of books
Poisonous pigments, like an arsenic-based green, or this lead-based red-orange hue
An upcycled medieval manuscript, salvaged and later used as a book covering
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Did you know?
The Chinese were the first to make paper from pulped plant fibers nearly 2,000 years ago.
TO DO:
Find the modern makers, bringing ancient trades like printmaking and papermaking into the 21st century.
Trace the global routes of historic book-making materials and techniques.
Snap a selfie with an 18th century bird illustration from Mark Catesby’s Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, a landmark work of natural science.