What is a Book An Introduction to Bookmaking

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What is a Book?An Introduction to Bookmaking
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What is a book?

• Definitions of book vary depending on who is
  defining it.
• Generally defined as a collection of paper with
  images or words bound together.
• Often, artists and craftspeople create books out
  of other materials and in a wide variety of
  shapes, sizes, and formats.

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The First Books

• 3000 years agoChinese made handwritten books on
  strips of wood or bamboo
• 2000 years agoWriters called scribes scratched
  letters into tablets of clay with a tool called a
  stylus
• Early Egyptians wrote with reed pens and colored
  inks in rolls of papyrus as long as 100 feet.
  These were called scrolls.
• Ancient Greeks and Romans also wrote scrolls, and
  they also wrote on waxed wooden tablets.

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The First Books, Continued

• In the Middle Ages, parchment (dried, parched
  animal skin) was used to make books
• books were created in monasteries by monks, who
  wrote them by hand.
• The monks created some scrolls, but mainly wrote
  in books of paper bound at the side. This type of
  bound book is a called a codex (plural codices).

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The First Books, Continued

• By the 15th century, paper was introduced.
• Moveable type had been invented in Holland
• Johann Gutenberg invented the first printing
  press in Germany.
• Books began being produced with the press because
  it was faster and cheaper.

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Some Types of Books

• A basic, spine-bound book is called a codex.
• Books can also be made with pages that fold up
  and down in one long stripthese are called
  accordion books or concertinas.

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Tips on Bookmaking

• Handcrafted books are works of art as much as
  they are functional reading material.
• Artistry and visual appeal are important in
  creating a handmade book.
• Plan your book before you begin cutting or
  pasting put together a sketch, choose colors
  that go together, plan the size of book, and
  choose a layout (I.e., a plan for placing your
  items on the pages.