Due in class on Tuesday, February 29

For this assignment you will be looking at actual documents from the 15th century and later, which have been put on reserve in the Maryland Room on the third floor of McKeldin Library. Since the number of people who can look at the documents at one time is limited, you must sign up for a time slot. (You may return to see the documents again without scheduling a second time; be aware, though, that the documents may all be in use if you try to see them at the last minute.) When you go to the Maryland Room, ask at the desk for the Gemstone 101 reserves.
Note: you will need to put your bags in a locker, and you can only write with pencil, not pen, when using rare books. You may bring a laptop to take notes. Photocopying is not permitted.

Write a 5-page essay on one of the following two topics. The essays are meant to be open-ended; the important thing is to examine the documents carefully and draw conclusions from your observations.

1. Books as communications tools. Use the selection of 15th century books & manuscripts (the first group in the list of documents on the next page).

Fifteenth century printing was still in an experimental stage. How did the authors and printers of these books use the new features of printing--and new ways of organizing information--to try to inform, entertain, or persuade their readers? (You will need to think about what the purpose of these documents was.) What interpretive skills did the reader need to have, and how did readers adapt the documents to their own needs?

Some features of these documents to look for:

Compare the hand-written document with the printed ones of the same era

Title page listing author and publisher; often there is a picture or coat of arms representing the publisher

A dedication to some wealthy patron (whom the author hopes will pay for the honor)

Table of contents (may be in the back of the book instead of the front)

Index (may be in the front of the book instead of the back)

Errata (corrections), usually in the back

Use of different languages in the text

Use of color in the text

Use of images (decorative or scientific)

Hand-drawn additions by the reader (look for a hand pointing to a section of the text in one manuscript; others have the title or other notes written in by hand on the blank first page).

2. Printing in the service of science. Use the three scientific texts (the second group in the list). For the Encyclopedie, look at the section on human anatomy near the front of the book.

Discuss changes in the presentation of scientific information between the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. In comparing these, you might consider:

What is the purpose of this work?

How does the content and organization of the material support the author's particular view of the natural world?

What kind of research went into text and illustrations?

Is the production of knowledge an individual or collaborative effort?

Who is the intended reader, and what skills does the reader need to have?

Essay Assignment for Gemstone 101: History of Communications

A selection of 15th century books (and a manuscript):

New York Society of Foliophiles. Printed pages from European literature: a portfolio of original leaves taken from rare and notable books and manuscripts. Among the first few pages are a small hand-written document (the only manuscript in this collection); a document printed in black with the red letters at the beginning of each section drawn in by hand (a hybrid of manuscript and printing); and a document printed in both red and black.

RARE RARFOL Z250.B87 1925 Noncirculating

Bullen, Henry Lewis (1857-1938). Nicolas Jenson, printer of Venice: his famous type designs and some comment upon the printing types of earlier printers. Contains a page of Plutarch's Lives that was set by Jenson (ca. 1420-1480) at Venice in 1478. Jensen used Roman type, in contrast to the Gothic type used in most of the other documents.

RARE SPCOVR Z232.J54B85 1926 Noncirculating

Antoninus, Saint, Archbishop of Florence (1389-1459). Confessionale anthonini [Confessions of St. Antoninus--a set of sermons about sin and repentence.] ChambÈry, France: ca. 1482-1485.
Notes: Goff and the British Library catalog attribute this edition to the printer of the Sion breviary of 1482, Goff dating it ca. 1482; the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke gives Antoine Neyret as the printer, and dates it ca. 1485.

RARE RARSTK BJ1240.A58 1482z Noncirculating

Jacobus, de Voragine (ca. 1229-1298). The golden legende (Legenda aurea). Printed by Wynkyn de Worde, 1498.

RARE RARFOL BX4654.J334 1498 Noncirculating

Pages from the Nuremberg Chronicle (a history book), printed 1493. In Latin with woodcut illustrations.

Three scientific works from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries:

Gesner, Konrad (1516-1565). Nomenclator aquatilium animantium. [Names of Aquatic Animals.] Tigvri, C. Froschovervs, 1560.

RARE RARFOL QL41.G372 Noncirculating

Hooke, Robert (1635-1703). Micrographia: or, Some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses. With observations and inquiries thereupon. London: J. Martyn and J. Allestry, 1665.

RARE RARFOL QH271.H79 Noncirculating

Diderot, Denis (1713-1784) and Alembert, Jean Le Rond d', (1717-1783). Encyclopedie, ou dictionnaire raisonne des sciences, des arts et des metiers, par une societe de gens de lettres. Geneve: Pellet, 1777-79.

RARE RARSTK AE25.E54 Recueil v. 2 Noncirculating