The evolution of the book - Julie Dreyfuss

Translator: Sune Vilsted Østergaard Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

What makes a book a book?

Hvad gør en bog til en bog?

Is it just anything that stores and communicates information?

Er det bare alt der opbevarer og formidler information?

Or does it have to do with paper,

Eller har det at gøre med papir,

binding,

indbinding,

font,

ink,

font,

blæk,

its weight in your hands,

dens vægt i din hånd,

the smell of the pages?

duften af siderne?

Is this a book?

Er det en bog?

Probably not.

Sikkert ikke.

But is this?

Men er det her?

To answer these questions,

For at få svar på det,

we need to go back to the start of the book as we know it

har vi brug for, at tage tilbage til bogens begyndelse

and understand how these elements came together to make something

og forstå hvordan disse elementer fandt sammen for at skabe noget,

more than the sum of their parts.

der er mere end summen af deres dele.

The earliest object that we think of as a book is the codex,

Det tidligste objekt, vi anser for at være en bog, er kodekset,

a stack of pages bound along one edge.

en stak papirer bundet sammen i den ene side.

But the real turning point in book history

Men det store omdrejningspunkt i boghistorie

was Johannes Gutenberg's printing press in the mid-15th century.

var Johann Gutenbergs trykpresse i midten af det 15. århundrede.

The concept of moveable type had been invented much earlier in Eastern culture,

Idéen om bevægelige bogstaver havde været opfundet meget tidligere i Østen,

but the introduction of Gutenberg's press had a profound effect.

men introduktionen af Gutenbergs trykpresse havde en dybtgående effekt.

Suddenly, an elite class of monks and the ruling class

Pludseligt var en elite af munke og den herskende klasse

no longer controlled the production of texts.

ikke længere i kontrol af tekstproduktioner.

Messages could spread more easily,

Beskeder kunne lettere blive spredt,

and copies could constantly be produced,

og kopier kunne blive konstant produceret,

so printing houses popped up all over Europe.

så trykkerier dukkede op over hele Europa.

The product of this bibliographic boom is familiar to us in some respects,

Produktet af denne bibliografiske optur er velkendt for os i visse henseender,

but markedly different in others.

men markant anderledes på andre områder.

The skeleton of the book is paper, type, and cover.

Bogens skelet er papir, bogstaver og omslag.

More than 2000 years ago, China invented paper as a writing surface,

For mere end 2000 år siden opfandt Kina papir til at skrive på,

which was itself predated by Egyptian papyrus.

som kom efter egyptisk papyrus.

However, until the 16th century,

Indtil det 16. århundrede,

Europeans mainly wrote on thin sheets of wood

skrev europæere hovedsagligt på tynde ark af træ

and durable parchment made of stretched animal skins.

og holdbart pergament lavet af udstrakt dyreskind.

Eventually, the popularity of paper spread throughout Europe,

Papirs popularitet spredtes gennem Europa

replacing parchment for most printings because it was less expensive in bulk.

og erstattede pergamenter i tryk fordi det var billigere at købe i store partier.

Inks had been made by combining organic plant and animal dyes

Blæk var blevet lavet ved at kombinere organiske plante- og dyrefarvestoffer

with water or wine,

med vand eller vin,

but since water doesn't stick to metal type,

men eftersom vand ikke binder sig til metal,

use of the printing press required a change to oil-based ink.

så behøvede trykpressen et skift til oliebaseret blæk.

Printers used black ink made of a mixture of lamp soot,

Trykpresser brugte sort blæk lavet af en blanding af lampesod

turpentine,

terpentin

and walnut oil.

og valnøddeolie.

And what about font size and type?

Og hvad med bogstavstørrelse og type?

The earliest movable type pieces consisted of reversed letters

De tidligste bevægelige bogstaver bestod af omvendte bogstaver

cast in relief on the ends of lead alloy stocks.

støbt i relief på enden af blylegeringer.

They were handmade and expensive,

De var håndlavede og dyre,

and the designs were as different as the people who carved their molds.

og designet var lige så forskelligt som dem der lavede deres forme.

Standardization was not really possible until mass manufacturing

Standardiseringen var ikke rigtig mulig før masseproduktion

and the creation of an accessible word processing system.

og opfindelsen af et tilgængeligt tekstbehandlingssystem.

As for style, we can thank Nicolas Jenson for developing two types of Roman font

Vi kan takke Nicolas Jenson for udviklingen af to romanske fonte,

that led to thousands of others,

som ledte til tusinder af andre,

including the familiar Times Roman.

inklusiv den velkendte Times Roman.

Something had to hold all this together,

Det var nødvendigt at noget holdte det hele sammen,

and until the late 15th century,

og indtil det sene 15. århundrede

covers consisted of either wood,

bestod omslag af enten træ

or sheets of paper pasted together.

eller papirark, der var klistret sammen.

These would eventually be replaced by rope fiber millboard,

Disse ville blive erstattet af fiberreb,

originally intended for high quality bindings in the late 17th century,

der oprindeligt var tiltænkt kvalitets bindinger i det sene 17. århundrede,

but later as a less expensive option.

men blev senere et billigere alternativ.

And while today's mass produced cover illustrations are marketing tools,

Og mens masseproducerede omslag i dag er marketingsredskaber,

the cover designs of early books were made to order.

så var designet af omslag på tidlige bøger gjort på bestilling.

Even spines have a history.

Selv bogrygge har en historie.

Initially, they were not considered aesthetically important,

Først blev de ikke anset for at være æstetisk vigtige,

and the earliest ones were flat, rather than rounded.

og de tidligste var flade i stedet for runde.

The flat form made the books easier to read

Den flade form gjorde bøgerne lettere at læse

by allowing the book to rest easily on a table.

ved at de lettere kunne hvile på et bord.

But those spines were damaged easily from the stresses of normal use.

Men de bogrygge blev let ødelagt ved almindelig brug.

A rounded form solved that issue,

En rund form løste det problem,

although new problems arose,

selvom at der opstod nye problemer,

like having the book close in on itself.

såsom det, at bogen lukkede af sig selv.

But flexibility was more important,

Men fleksibilitet var vigtigere

especially for the on-the-go reader.

især for rejsende læsere.

As the book evolves and we replace bound texts

Imens bogen udvikler sig og vi erstatter bundne tekster

with flat screens and electronic ink,

med fladskærme og elektronisk blæk,

are these objects and files really books?

er disse genstande og filer virkelig bøger?

Does the feel of the cover

Tilfører følelsen af omslaget

or the smell of the paper add something crucial to the experience?

eller duften af papiret noget afgørende til oplevelsen?

Or does the magic live only within the words,

Eller lever magien kun indeni ordene,

no matter what their presentation?

uanset deres fremstilling?