page_title: History of books
section_title: Wax tablets
hierarchical_section_title: History of books / Wax tablets
caption_attribution_description: English: Tondo of Woman with wax tablets and stylus (so-called "Sappho"), National Archaeological Museum of Naples (inventory no. 9084). Roman fresco of about 50, from Pompeii (VI, Insula Occidentalis) - Discovered in 1760, is one of the most famous and beloved paintings, commonly called Sappho. Actually portrays a high-society Pompeian woman, richly dressed with gold-threaded hair and large gold earrings, bringing the stylus to the mouth and holding the wax tablets, notoriously accounting documents which therefore have nothing to do with poetry and even less with the famous Greek writer. Italiano: Tondo di Donna con tavolette cerate e stilo (cosiddetta "Saffo"), Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (inv. nr. 9084). Affresco romano, del 50 circa, da Pompeii (VI, Insula Occidentalis) - Rinvenuto nel 1760, è uno degli affreschi più noti ed amati, comunemente detto Saffo. Ritrae in realtà una fanciulla dell'alta società pompeiana, riccamente agghindata con una retina d'oro sui capelli e grandi orecchini d'oro; essa porta lo stilo alla bocca e tiene in mano le tavolette cerate, notoriamente documenti contabili che dunque nulla hanno a che vedere con la poesia e ancor meno con la famosa scrittrice greca.
context_page_description: The history of the books became an acknowledged academic discipline in the 1980s, Contributors to the discipline include specialists from the fields of textual scholarship, codicology, bibliography, philology, palaeography, art history, social history and cultural history. Its key purpose is to demonstrate that the book as an object, not just the text contained within it, is a conduit of interaction between readers and words.
  Prior to the evolution of the printing press, made famous by the Gutenberg Bible, each text was a unique hand crafted article, personalized through the design features incorporated by the scribe, owner, bookbinder and illustrator. Analysis of each component part of the book reveals its purpose, where and how it was kept, who read it, ideological and religious beliefs of the period and whether readers interacted with the text within. Even a lack of evidence of this nature leaves valuable clues about the nature of that particular book.
context_section_description: Romans used wax-coated wooden tablets or pugillares upon which they could write and erase by using a stylus. One end of the stylus was pointed, and the other was spherical. Usually these tablets were used for everyday purposes (accounting, notes) and for teaching writing to children, according to the methods discussed by Quintilian in his Institutio Oratoria X Chapter 3. Several of these tablets could be assembled in a form similar to a codex. Also the etymology of the word codex (block of wood) suggest that it may have developed from wooden wax tablets.
caption: Woman holding wax tablets in the form of the codex. Wall painting from Pompeii, before 79 AD.
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