The Book Before Printing: Ancient, Medieval and Oriental (Lettering, Calligraphy, Typography)

747 Pages·2011·23.28 MB·English

by  David Diringer

This Dover edition, first published in 1982, is an unabridged and unaltered
republication of the work originally published in 1953 under the title The Hand-
Produced Book.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Diringer, David, 1900-The
book before printing.
Reprint. Originally published: The hand-produced book. London : Hutchinson’s
Scientific and Technical Publications, 1953.

Includes bibliographies and index.
1. Books—History—400-1400. 2. Printing—History. 1. Title.
Z6.D57 1982
002
81-17290
9780486142494
AACR2
Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation 24243907
www.doverpublications.com
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHAPTER I - THE BOOK IN EMBRYO
CHAPTER II - THE EARLIEST SYSTEMS OF WRITING
CHAPTER III - CLAY TABLET BOOKS
CHAPTER IV - PAPYRUS BOOKS
CHAPTER V - FROM LEATHER TO PARCHMENT
CHAPTER VI - GREEK AND LATIN BOOK PRODUCTION
CHAPTER VII - THE BOOK FOLLOWS RELIGION
CHAPTER VIII - OUTLYING REGIONS (I) : ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST,
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ASIA
CHAPTER IX - OUTLYING REGIONS (11) : THE FAR EAST AND PRE-
COLUMBIAN AMERICA
CHAPTER X - ANGLO-CELTIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDIEVAL BOOK
CHAPTER XI—APPENDIX - INKS, PENS AND OTHER WRITING TOOLS
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
A CATALOG OF SELECTED DOVER BOOKS IN ALL FIELDS OF
INTEREST
PREFACE
THE results of many years’ research into the history of the book are here
presented. While many of the facts mentioned have been known for some time,
there is much information that is believed to be new and, so far as the author is
aware, these facts and the conclusions to be drawn from them have never
previously been brought together. The history of the book is one of the most
fragmentary chapters in the history of civilization, however great the gaps may
be in other fields of research. It is, indeed, remarkable that—notwithstanding the
enormous number of publications on particular aspects of the development of the
book—very few comprehensive histories of the book have appeared in English
during the last fifty years, a period of unexampled progress in many fields of
knowledge. Some of the discoveries during this period have completely reversed
the ideas concerning the history of the book current about the beginning of the
century. Of late years we have learnt much regarding the antiquity of writing and
of book production, and it is of primary importance to study the earliest records
in the light of modern research. In almost every department of science the
theories of yesterday are refuted by facts of today, though the ascertainment of
these facts has frequently been aided by those very theories. So it is that, in the
main, the works of the greatest scholars and experts have no finality; they are but
stepping-stones towards the high goal of perfect knowledge.

Naturally the author’s own theories must inevitably colour his presentation of
facts, but so far as is known this has never been allowed to lead to any distortion
for the sake of supporting a favourite thesis. In stating facts preference has been
given to the actual words of the authors quoted. Since the main purpose of this
volume is to provide a handy and up-to-date work of interest to the general
reader, the author has not thought it necessary in all instances to supply precise
references for his quotations. It has hardly been possible within the limits
prescribed to do more than stimulate interest by providing sufficient information
for the inquiring reader. The latter will probably wish to follow particular
developments in greater detail. To meet this need, long lists of books, some
dealing fully with a particular period or subject, others dealing with the field as a
whole, are given after single chapters or sections, or at the very end. Indeed, the
subject is much too rich to be exhausted in one or two books, and the present
volume may serve as a guide for future research.
Inevitably a certain amount of information is given on the contents or the
literary aspect of some of the manuscripts mentioned—particularly in the
generally less known departments—but this work is not intended as a review of
the world’s literature, and the contents are referred to mainly as being examples
of the common phenomenon of the influence of the contents on size, shape and
presentation.

Writing materials, from the hammer and chisel to the paintbrush and the pen,
from stone to clay, to papyrus and parchment, have commanded a fair amount of
space, and it would be unfortunate to ignore entirely the human side or some of
the stories about the men whose work has culminated in the modern book as we
know it. Naturally many of the books mentioned are hardly books in the modern
sense, but a certain amount of latitude in the use of terms must be permitted.
The present work is another step in the plan outlined in the author’s The
Alphabet, A Key to the History of Mankind, in which it was indicated that the
story of the alphabet would in due course be followed by a history of the
development of writing. It is perhaps unfortunate that it has been found
impossible to cover the whole story of the book in one volume, but the first of
the two volumes now presented tells the story of the hand-produced book from
the earliest times to the invention of printing, and the second volume will cover
illumination and binding of the hand-produced book.
Of the ten chapters of the volume, chapters IV–-VII tell the main story.
Chapter i is something of an introduction. Chapter n deals with a subject of
material importance from the point of view of the development of the book, but
is not in itself a part of the history. Chapters III, VIII and ix deal with these parts
of the history which are aside from the main line of development of the book as
we know it. The long chapter x has been written mainly for the English reader. If
the present work is translated into other languages
—Italian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, and so on—it would be the
author’s desire to add a chapter on the development of the book in the country
concerned.

Unavoidably, a book of this kind is bound to contain a certain amount of
repetition, but this has been reduced to a minimum and is usually more apparent
than real; indeed, the same subject matter, if dealt with more than once, is
usually presented from a different angle.
In the spelling and transliteration of Egyptian, Semitic, Indian, Chinese,
Greek and other foreign words, especially place-names and proper names—as
already pointed out in the Preface to The Alphabet—inconsistencies in a
composite work such as this are unavoidable, and the general reader should
understand that a quite satisfactory solution of the problem has not been found.
The practice commonly adopted has in general been followed, but here and there
consistency is sacrificed to the idea of presenting to the reader familiar names in
their familiar forms. And since in any case inconsistency is unavoidable, certain
spellings have been simplified where no confusion is likely to result. Although
in some cases divergent transliterations may cause difficulties, it is reasonable to
assume that general readers are indifferent to what experts know, while experts
do not always agree as to the precise spelling.

As one might expect, there is a long list of people to whom the author is
indebted. It seemed advisable to have all sections carefully checked by experts in
the respective fields. Some of these are mentioned in the list of
acknowledgements, but perhaps some should be included here, such as
Professors A. J. Arberry and H. W. Bailey, Professors B. Dickins and W. F.
Edgerton, Dr. I. Gershevitch, the late Prof. G. Haloun, Prof. T. Kamei, Sir
Thomas Kendrick, Prof. M. C. Knowles, Messrs. J. Leveen and C. Moss,
Professors R. A. B. Mynors, J. M. de Navascués and D. L. Page, Messrs. J. M.
Plumley and R. M. Rattenbury, the Hon. S. Runciman, Prof. J. M. C. Toynbee,
Messrs. P. van der Loon, G. M. Wickens and D. J. Wiseman, and Prof. F.
Wormald. Gratitude is expressed to Mrs. Hilda Freeman and to Messrs. L. A.
Freeman, and C. E. Vulliamy, who carefully read the whole book in manuscript,
and made many valuable criticisms and suggestions. The suggestions made by
various experts often concerned debatable questions which, in this book, the
author has endeavoured to reduce to a minimum.
It is impossible for the author to express adequately his most sincere gratitude
to all the librarians and others who have collaborated in the production of this
volume—first and foremost to the following scholars: Abbot Anselmo Maria
Albareda, Prefect of the Vatican Library; Prof. H. W. Parke and M. J. Hanna,
resp. Librarian and Assistant Librarian of Trinity College, Dublin; Dr. R. J.
Hayes, Director of the National Library, Dublin; Dr. R. W. Hunt and Dr. A. F. L.
Beeston, Keepers, resp., of the Western and the Eastern Manuscripts of the
Bodleian Library, Oxford; the staff of the University Library, Cambridge; Dr.
Irma Tondi-Merolle, Director of the Riccardian Library, Florence ; Dr. P.
Calisse, Secretary of the Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome; Prof. D. T. Rice,
University of Edinburgh; Prof. J. Weingreen, Mlle F. Henry, Dr. L. Bieler, and
other scholars of the two University colleges of Dublin.

The author also wishes to express appreciation to those who have given
encouragement and counsel relative to bringing the work to publication, and
particularly to Mr. W. H. Johnson, the manager of the Scientific and Technical
Department of Hutchinson and Company. Furthermore, he desires to record his
most sincere thanks to Professors A. J. Arberrey and D. Winton Thomas, Mr. R.
D. Barnett, Mrs. and Mr. J. I’A. Bromwich for having read the proofs of the
book, and for in other ways facilitating the publication of this work.
CAMBRIDGE,
D. D.
Easter Term, 1953.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
EVERY conscientious effort has been made to give due acknowledgment and
full credit for borrowed material, but if through any unwitting oversight some
trespass has been committed, by quoting from secondary sources, forgiveness is
sought in advance, apology is freely offered, and correction promised in any
subsequent editions.

Thanks are gratefully given to the following persons, institutions and
publishers for permission to quote and to reproduce illustrations contained in
books written or published by them, or else to reproduce objects of art in their
possession: Director F. B. Adams, Jr. and the Pierpont Morgan Library; the
Librarian of the American Museum, Madrid; the American Schools of Oriental
Research; Sir Leigh Ashton (Director and Secretary) and Mr. A. W. Wheen
(Librarian) for Victoria and Albert Museum Crown Copyright; Dr. U. Baroncelli
and the Queriniana Library, Brescia; Lt.-Col. C. F. Battiscombe and the Dean
and Chapter of Durham; Dr. L. Bieler; the Bodleian Library, Oxford; Revd. D.
Botto, Arciprete, Sarezzano; the British Academy; the British and Foreign Bible
Society; the British Museum; Dr. Calisse and the Enciclopedia Italiana; Miss B.
Christensen; Mr. Harold C. Conklin and Pacific Discovery, California Academy
of Sciences, San Francisco; Mr. J. Conway Davies, M.A.; Dr. P. E. P.
Deraniyagala and the National Museums, Colombo; Miss S. Dcr Nersessian;
Monsieur É. Drioton and the Egyptian Department of Antiquities; Prof. G. R.
Driver; Prof. W. Eberhard; Mr. H. W. Edwards, Publisher of Antiquity; Expres;
Newspapers, London; Dr. L. Giles; Prof. S. R. K. Glanville; Prof. L. C.
Goodrich; the late Dr. H. Guppy; Mr. G. Lankester Harding; Messrs. Harper and
Brothers, New York; Canon F. Harrison; Dr. R. J. Hayes and the National
Library, Dublin; Mlle. F. Henry; Prof. P. K. Hitti; Prof. S. H. Hooke; Dr. A. W.
Hummel and the Library of Congress, Washington; Sir Herbert Ingram, Bt.; Sir
Thomas Kendrick; the late Sir Frederick Kenyon; Dr. S. N. Kramer and the
University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Mr. J. Leveen,
M.A.; Sir Richard Livingstone; Mr. P. van der Loon, M.A.; Prof. E. A. Lowe;
Canon P. Marinonc and the Capitulary Library, Vercelli; Messrs. Gactano
Macchiaroli, Publishers, Naples; Comm. Prof. A. Maiuri, Naples; Monsieur F.
Masai; Prof. F. Mateu y Llopiss and the Central Library, Barcelona; Sir Ellis
Minns; Prof. R. A. B. Mynors; Prof. O. Neugebauer; Mr. W. Oakeshott, M.A.;
Prof. D. L. Page; Prof. H. W. Parke and the Library of Trinity College, Dublin;
Miss D. W. Pearson; Dr. H. L. Pinner and Messrs. A. W. Sijthoff, Leyden; Prof.
D. T. Rice; Director Warner G. Rice and the Museum of Archaeology,
University of Michigan; Prof. E. Robertson and The John Rylands Library; Dr.
Cecil Roth; Messrs. Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., London; Messrs. Shinch
sha, Tokyo; Messrs. Shiry -hensanjo and Dr. Shorijo Ota, Tokyo University;
Prof. E. A. Speiser; Sen. Prof. W. B. Stanford; Prof. E. L. Sukenik; Mr. S. C.
Sutton, Mr. H. L. Greenaway and the India Office Library—Commonwealth
Relations Office; Messrs. Thames and Hudson, London; Mr.J. E. S. Thompson,
M.A.; Prof. P. Toesca; Dr. Irma Tondi-Merolle and the Riccardian Library,
Florence; Dr. John C. Trevor; the University Library, Glasgow; the Vatican
Library; Prof. K. Weitzmann; Prof. W. Perceval Yetts.