Dr. RichardsonInformation Studies 180

November 5, 2008

Any document written by handAncient western world book was in form of a

Scroll or RollPapyrus sheetsStandard size: 30 feet long, 7-10 inches wideStandard sheet size: Ten by seven and one-

half inchesWriting was in columns three inches wide

called pagina

Eastern Mediterranean and Ancient Egyptian Civilizations

Israelites : TorahHand-copying process

2,000 hours40 hour work week2,080 hours a year

Divided up into pages

Letters written from left to rightRight to leftOr alternating in direction“Ox turning”

Early Evidence : Berthe van Regemorter Hittite Empire from

8th or 7th c. BCEPergamum 3rd c. BCE

Basic codex form invented

Romans 1st c. ADLatin Poet Martial

experimented with the format

Martial in 84-86 AD first to mention a parchment codexMore convenient for travelersSave space in a library

Fourth century AD the codex gains wide acceptanceCould be opened flatAllowed easier readingPages written on both front/backDurable covers

Nomina SacraDifferentiate from the Script

of the Jews Reference passages of the BibleMonasticism Book Production

Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1398-1468)Movable TypeB42 Type1458 36 Type-Bible Print

Frozen in timeMust read whole bookExpensive to produceU.S. decrease of 18%EBooks: Kindle, Online book catalog

www.wikipedia.orgweb.ku.eduwww.buzzmachine.comwww.bowker.com