Course: Global Codex: Hidden Stories of Books Across Cultures

Now let’s turn to colour in European books. Before watching the video, let’s take a closer look at the colours and materials used to decorate European books. Just like Japan, …

So far, we’ve explored books as objects to possess, personalise and study. Now, in our final activity I invite you to experience them in a different way — through sound, …

Over the past three weeks, we have explored books from many different regions and perspectives. Along the way, we have discovered how much they can reveal beyond the words and …

Books featured in the video (in order of appearance) The Gutenberg Bible. Mainz, c.1455, paper copy in a 15th-century binding, Keio University Library, no shelfmark The Gutenberg Bible. Mainz, c.1455, …

Books featured in the video (in order of appearance) The Gutenberg Bible. Mainz, c.1455, paper copy in a 15th-century binding, Keio University Library, no shelfmark The Gutenberg Bible. Mainz, c.1455, …

So far, we’ve looked closely at individual fragments and books, discovering how much we can learn from their physical details. But what happens when we step back and look at …

Printing is a technology for mass production, so it is easy to assume that all copies of a printed book are identical. However, that is not always the case. It …

What impressions have these feelings imprinted on books? What kinds of impressions traces have these feelings left on books themselves? Let us now explore books from different times and places …

Welcome to Week 3! This week, we turn our attention to humans and the codex — and explore the many ways people have made books their own, studied them, and …

Having explored illustrations, let’s now turn our attention to colour. Japan has a tradition of illustrated books dating back to the eighth century, and a wide variety of pigments and …

Now let’s turn to illustrations in medieval European manuscripts. “You were Framed!” – Frames in Illustrations of Medieval Europe Codices Many illustrations in medieval European codices are framed. This may …

In this activity, we’ll explore illustrations and colours in Japanese and European books, looking at examples from both traditions. Takahiro Sasaki Mayumi Ikeda Let’s begin with illustrations in Japanese books. …

We’ve seen waste paper hidden inside book covers. It can reveal clues about the history of books and publishing. But sometimes, what we find raises more questions than it answers. …

We’ve seen that used paper was often recycled inside the covers of Japanese books in the past. But these scraps are more than just waste — they can preserve valuable …

Books can hold traces of their past in unexpected places. Let’s begin by looking inside their covers. We often notice a book cover for its colour, decoration, or design. But …