Archives and Special Collections Visit

 Our visit to the Archives and Special collections today was really interesting! It was cool to get to take a closer look (literally) at how things were written and printed. Something that stood out to me was the printing of images. Seeing the evolution from hand-painted to woodblock to the metal engraved plates was really interesting to me. It reminded me of a stamp you would use in a scrapbook or something, and I wonder why they didn't use the rubber material we see in stamps nowadays? 

I think print history and literary history exist on very connected tracks. We discussed some of the same things here that we did when we discussed literary history, such as the Cuneiform tablet and the King James Bible. Looking at one particular text, for example, the different editions of the text would connect directly to both literary and print history. How was is edited? Where was it printed? By who? When? These questions are important, and I think often overlap in the categories of both print and literary history,

Comments

  1. Jalen PaigeFebruary 9, 2023 at 9:33 PM

    Wow, it sounds like you had an amazing time at the Archives and Special Collections, Cassi! I also think that it's fascinating to see how things were made and printed. I completely agree with you about the connection between print and literary history. It's amazing to see how printing and literature have both changed together. Describing it as two interconnected tracks is perfect, since they both interact and affect one another. It's amazing to think about the different editions of a text and how they connect to both literary and print history. Questions like who may have altered it and where it was printed are essential to understand the evolution of a text.

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  2. Audrey SchroederFebruary 10, 2023 at 10:40 AM

    Hi Cassi! I agree that the evolution of printing processes is super interesting! I enjoyed seeing how each step of this evolutionary process used different materials. It was cool to see how many different natural resources were used for printing at one point or another.

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  3. Monique Cov.February 10, 2023 at 11:55 AM

    Hello Cassi. I found the learning about the woodblock engravings and metal plate engravings to be incredibly interesting as well. Thinking about it, I wonder what the owners of presses did after they were done printing a particular picture engraving? Would they keep the metal plate with the engraving and store it in case they would need it again? Or would they (thinking on limit knowledge about this) flatten it down so that a new engraving can be made on it for another book/article/piece?
    I never thought about the whole stamp thing before. It does make sense and seems like it could have been easier. Perhaps they just haven't invented or thought about doing that. Thank you for your insight!

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  4. HeatherLFebruary 10, 2023 at 6:02 PM

    Hey Cassi! I agree that it was interesting to learn about the King James Bible. Many of the first texts to be printed were religious, which I think makes examining the different editions and changes even more significant since individuals may have been trying to live their lives according to these printed texts. I wonder what other types of texts were considered to be important or relevant enough that they were also printed early on. Maybe official government documents, huge news stories, eulogies or other major life announcements, etc.?

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  5. Noah English 11H BlogFebruary 13, 2023 at 12:05 PM

    I agree, it's crazy how print history and literary history go hand in hand. You can't really separate one from the other, they just feed into each other. Understanding a books different editions can give us a ton of insight into both print and literary history—like considering how it was printed and made influenced who could afford it. And who has access to it changes our historical understanding of a text's influence.

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