The nature of the book : print and knowledge in the making

778 Pages·1998·83.178 MB·English

by  Johns, Adrian

THE NATURE OF THE BOOK

THE
NATURE
OF TH E
BOOK
Print and Kjtowledge in the <..7vfaking
ADRIAN JOHNS
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO AND LONDON
ADRIANJOHNSisassistantprofessorintheDepartmentofSociologyandScienceStudiesProgramat
theUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Chicago60637
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Lrd.,London
©1998byTheUniversityofChicago
Allrightsreserved.Published1998
07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 2 3 4 5
ISBN:0-226-40121-9(cloth)
LibratyofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
J~hns,Adrian.
Thenatureofthebook:printandknowledgeinthemakingI
AdrianJohns.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. )andindex.
ISBN:0-226-4°121-9(a1k.paper).
I. Printing-Socialaspects-Europe-History. 2. Printing-Social
aspects-England-History. 3. Books-Europe-History. 4. Books
England-History. 5. Europe-Intellectuallife. 6. England
Intellectuallife. 7. Transmissionoftexts. 8. Science-Europe
History. 9. Science-England-History. 10. Sciencepublishing
Europe-History. II. Sciencepublishing-England-History.
I. Tide.
Z124.J64 1998
686.2'094-dc21 97-47252
CIP
@Thepaperusedinthispublicationmeetsthe
minimumrequirementsoftheAmericanNationalStandard
forInformationSciences-PermanenceofPaperfor
PrintedLibraryMaterials,ANSIZ39.48-1992.
ForAlison

TO THE SOURE READER
Ifthoudislik'st the Piecethou light'ston first;
Thinke thatofAll, that Ihavewrit, theworst:
Butifthou read'st my Booke unto theend,
Andstilldo'st this, and thatverse, reprehend:
o
Perverseman! IfAll disgustfull be,
TheExtreameScabbe take thee, and thine, for me.
ROBERTHERRICK,Hesperides(London,1648),3

CONTENTS
ListofIllustrations/ xi
Acknowledgments/ xv
A Noteon Conventions/ xix
1/INTRODUCTION:The BookofNatureand the Natureofthe Book
2 / LITERATORYLIFE: TheCultureand Credibilityofthe PrintedBookin
EarlyModernLondon
58
3/"THEADVANCEMENTOFWHOLESOME KNOWLEDGE":The Politics
ofPrintand the PracticesofPropriety
187
4/JOHN STREATERAND THE KNIGHTS OFTHEGALAXY: Republicanism,
Natural Knowledge, and the PoliticsofPrinting
266
5/ FAUSTANDTHEPIRATES:The CulturalConstructionof
the PrintingRevolution
324
6/ THE PHYSIOLOGYOF READING: Printand the Passions
ix