Archive & Special Collections Visit: History of Print
I always enjoy trips to Archive and Special Collections! There is always so much to see and experience. I enjoyed how hands-on this particular visit was. From being able to touch the materials we examined to seeing the texts up-close through a microscope, it gave me a better understanding of the different types of paper and writing styles utilized over the times! I was particularly fascinated with analyzing the texts through the microscope. I focused more on the ink variations rather than the paper itself, but it was cool to see how the some inks looked more "pushed together" than others. Also some inks were more bright than others.
I think the history of print closely intersects with literary history. For instance, we noted how certain books were printed and then complex designs and illustrations were added later on. This made these types of printed books more "luxurious" and marketable to the upper class, as well as less accessible for the lower class.
Hi Catalina! I also liked how hands on this trip to the Archives and Special Collections was, considering how on recent visits it has been hard for me to connect with the material as much. I found it really interesting how you could tell that the words had been printed and pressed into the paper. The texture of the paper was really cool and it was fascinating to be able to see the individual strands.
ReplyDeleteHi Catalina! I also loved how hands on this activity was. I too was fascinated by the microscope but I especially liked examining the different types of paper. The parchment looked very different than the other types of paper, which were more fibrous under the microscope. I agree that the history of print is intertwined with the history of literature, and since the time when printing took off, one cannot be studied without considering the other.
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