Description: From ruined Roman scriptoria to bustling Renaissance printing houses, the story of how books survived the Dark Ages is as dramatic as any epic. Books shaped power and memory. In this classic study of book history, George Haven Putnam follows the history of the book across more than a thousand years, revealing how medieval manuscript production, early printing press origins and the distribution of medieval literature reshaped Middle Ages Europe culture. Focusing on the makers of books - scribes, stationers, printers, booksellers and librarians - he traces the rise of incunabula and early printing, the growth of the Renaissance book trade and the changing history of libraries and books as learning, faith and politics collided. As the second volume of his landmark survey, it offers a panoramic yet intimate account designed for both serious readers and newcomers to medieval publishing history. Clear, lively prose and meticulous scholarship make it a trusted book history reference work and a rewarding textbook for medieval studies, illuminating how ideas moved, who controlled them, and why surviving volumes became prized heirlooms and symbols of authority. Collectors of classic literature and historians of culture alike will value Putnam's careful portraits of the crafts, trades and institutions that kept texts alive from the early Middle Ages to the close of the seventeenth century. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike.
