The book on the bookshelf
By: by Henry Petroski.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; Distributed by Random House
Published: 1999
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 290
Subjects: Shelving for books -- History; Shelving for books -- Europe -- History; Bookbinding -- History; Bookbinding -- Europe -- History; Books -- Storage -- History; Books -- Europe -- Storage -- History
Description: "He has been called "the poet laureate of technology". Now Henry Petroski turns to the subject of books and bookshelves, and wonders whether it was inevitable that books would come to be arranged vertically as they are today on horizontal shelves. As we learn how the ancient scroll became the codex became the volume we are used to, we explore the ways in which the housing of books evolved. Petroski takes us into the pre-Gutenberg world, where books were so scarce they were chained to lecterns for security.

He explains how the printing press not only changed the way books were made and shelved, but also increased their availability and transformed book readers into book owners and collectors. He shows us that for a time books were shelved with their spines in, and it was not until after the arrival of the modern bookcase that the spines faced out."--BOOK JACKET.

"In delightful digressions, Petroski lets Seneca have his say on "the evils of book collecting"; examines the famed collection of Samuel Pepys (only three thousand titles: old discarded to make room for new); and discusses bookselling, book buying, and book collecting through the centuries."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-277) and index.