Extending the Book (Paperback)

Erin C. Blake

ISBN 10: 0295990236 / ISBN 13: 9780295990231

Published by University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2010

About this Item

Paperback. Extending the Book introduces the largely-forgotten art of extra-illustration -- individually adding portraits or other illustrations to published books -- and explores what this personalized form of book design reveals about the history of reading.It includes a brief introduction to the concept of designing and creating a unique book by adding external material and an overview of the phenomenon's history and its heyday in the later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The works of Shakespeare -- the most popular single author for extra-illustration -- exemplify the practice as it changed over time.From the beginning, extra-illustrators had to defend the "exquisite handicraft" (in the words of an 1890 proponent) against accusations of "breaking up a good book to illustrate a worse one" (in the words of an 1892 critic). This book examines the art and the practice of extra-illustration, from crudely altered books to beautiful new creations. Introduces the art of extra-illustration and explores what this personalized form of book design reveals about the history of reading. This work includes an introduction to the concept of designing and creating a unique book by adding external material and an overview of the phenomenon's history and its heyday in the later 18th and 19th centuries. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780295990231

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Extending the Book (Paperback)
• Publisher: University of Washington Press, Seattle
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0295990236
• ISBN 13: 9780295990231
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Extending the Book introduces the largely-forgotten art of extra-illustration ― individually adding portraits or other illustrations to published books ― and explores what this personalized form of book design reveals about the history of reading.

It includes a brief introduction to the concept of designing and creating a unique book by adding external material and an overview of the phenomenon's history and its heyday in the later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The works of Shakespeare ― the most popular single author for extra-illustration ― exemplify the practice as it changed over time.

From the beginning, extra-illustrators had to defend the "exquisite handicraft" (in the words of an 1890 proponent) against accusations of "breaking up a good book to illustrate a worse one" (in the words of an 1892 critic). This book examines the art and the practice of extra-illustration, from crudely altered books to beautiful new creations.