Incunabula and their readers : printing, selling and using books in the fifteenth century ; [... Conference Entitled 'Incunabula and their Readers' which took place at the University of London's Senate House

The contributions to this volume address important issues about books and their users in the 15th century. A unifying theme is the complex relationships between producers - be they authors, printers or decorators - the economic conditions of book distribution, and the requirements of readers or other users of books. Two contributions focus on technical aspects of the production of books, essential for our understanding of how texts met their readers. Such engaged and informed openness towards other disciplines is necessary for students of books to understand why the European invention of printing was successful - of why books became the first successful mechanically mass-produced marketable product. The Contributions To This Volume Address Important Issues About Books And Their Users In The Fifteenth Century. A Unifying Theme Is The Complex Relationships Between Producers, Be They Authors, Printers Or Decorators, The Economic Conditions Of Book Distribution, And The Requirements Of Readers Or Other Users Of Books. Temporary Matrices And Elemental Punches In Gutenberg's Dk Type / Blaise Agüera Y Arcas -- Tradition And Renewal : Establishing The Chronology Of Wynkyn De Worde's Early Work / Lotte Hellinga -- Illustrations In Parisian Books Of Hours : Borders And Repertoires / Mary Beth Winn -- Books Of Hours : The Development Of The Texts In Printed Form / Cristina Dondi -- Reading Liturgical Books / Mary Kay Duggan -- Hand Illumination Of Venetian Bibles In The Incunable Period / Lilian Armstrong -- Printing The Bible In The Fifteenth Century : Devotion, Philology And Commerce / Kristian Jensen -- 'volentes Sibi Comparare Infrascriptos Libros Impressos ... : Printed Books As A Commercial Commodity In The Fifteenth Century / John L. Flood -- Orations Crossing The Alps / Holger Nickel -- Mixing Pop And Politics : Origins, Transmission, And Readers Of Illustrated Broadsides In Fifteenth-century Germany / Falk Eisermann -- Libri Impressi Bibliothecae Monasterii Sancti Emmerammi : The Incunable Collection Of St. Emmeram, Regensburg, And Its Catalogue Of 1501 / Bettina Wagner. Edited By Kristian Jensen. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 207-277) And Index. The printed book became the first successful mechanically mass-produced, marketable product. In the 50 years following the creation of the Gutenberg Bible, a major new industry became established, with huge implications for culture, religion, and politics. A unifying concern of most of the papers in this stimulating and well-illustrated volume is the complex relationship between producers be they authors, printers, or decorators the economic conditions of book distribution, and the requirements of readers and other users of books.