The evolution of the book - Julie Dreyfuss

Evolucija knjige - Džuli Drejfus (Julie Dreyfuss)

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

What makes a book a book?

Šta knjigu čini knjigom?

Is it just anything that stores and communicates information?

Da li je to bilo šta što pohranjuje i prenosi informacije?

Or does it have to do with paper,

Ili mora da ima veze s papirom,

binding,

povezom,

font,

ink,

fontom,

mastilom,

its weight in your hands,

težinom u vašim rukama,

the smell of the pages?

mirisom stranica?

Is this a book?

Da li je ovo knjiga?

Probably not.

Verovatno nije.

But is this?

Ali, da li je ovo?

To answer these questions,

Zbog odgovora na ova pitanja,

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

moramo da se vratimo na nastanak knjige kakvu znamo

and understand how these elements came together to make something

i da razumemo kako ovi elementi zajedno tvore nešto

more than the sum of their parts.

što je više od zbira svojih delova.

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

Najraniji predmet koji smatramo knjigom je kodeks,

a stack of pages bound along one edge.

hrpa stranica povezanih duž jedne ivice.

But the real turning point in book history

Ali istinska prekretnica u istoriji knjige

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

je bila štamparska presa Johana Gutenberga iz sredine XV veka.

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

Koncept pokretne štampe je izmišljen mnogo ranije u istočnoj kulturi,

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

ali je predstavljanje Gutenbergove prese imalo dalekosežan uticaj.

Suddenly, an elite class of monks and the ruling class

Iznenada, elitna klasa monaha i vladajuća klasa

no longer controlled the production of texts.

nisu više kontrolisali proizvodnju tekstova.

Messages could spread more easily,

Poruke su mogle lakše da se šire,

and copies could constantly be produced,

a kopije su stalno proizvođene,

so printing houses popped up all over Europe.

pa su štamparije nicale širom Evrope.

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

S jedne strane nam je poznat proizvod ovog bibliografskog procvata,

but markedly different in others.

ali je upadljivo različit s druge strane.

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

Skelet knjige čine papir, štampa i korice.

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

Pre više od 2000 godina, Kina je izumela papir kao površinu za pisanje,

which was itself predated by Egyptian papyrus.

kojoj je i samoj prethodio egipatski papirus.

However, until the 16th century,

Međutim, do XVI veka,

Europeans mainly wrote on thin sheets of wood

Evropljani su uglavnom pisali na tankim pločama drveta

and durable parchment made of stretched animal skins.

i na istrajnom pergamentu pravljenom od zategnute životinjske kože.

Eventually, the popularity of paper spread throughout Europe,

Vremenom se popularnost papira proširila Evropom,

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

menjajući pergament kod većeg dela štampe jer je bio jeftiniji na veliko.

Inks had been made by combining organic plant and animal dyes

Mastilo je pravljeno kombinacijom organskih biljaka i životinjske farbe

with water or wine,

sa vodom ili vinom,

but since water doesn't stick to metal type,

no kako se voda ne lepi za metalne tipke,

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

upotreba štamparske prese je zahtevala prelazak na uljano mastilo.

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

Štampači su koristili crno mastilo napravljeno od smeše čađi za lampe,

turpentine,

terpentina

and walnut oil.

i orahovog ulja.

And what about font size and type?

A šta je sa veličinom i tipom fonta?

The earliest movable type pieces consisted of reversed letters

Najraniji pokretni delovi tipki su se sastojali iz izokrenutih slova

cast in relief on the ends of lead alloy stocks.

izlivenih u reljefu s legurom olova po krajevima.

They were handmade and expensive,

Bile su ručno rađene i skupe,

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

a dizajni su bili različiti koliko i ljudi koji su rezbarili kalupe.

Standardization was not really possible until mass manufacturing

Standardizacija nije zaista bila moguća sve do masovne proizvodnje

and the creation of an accessible word processing system.

i stvaranja pristupačnog sistema za obradu reči.

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

Za stil se možemo zahvaliti Nikolasu Džensonu

zbog razvoja dva oblika rimskog fonta

that led to thousands of others,

koji su doveli do hiljada drugih,

including the familiar Times Roman.

uključujući i poznati tajms Roman.

Something had to hold all this together,

Nešto je moralo sve ovo držati na okupu,

and until the late 15th century,

a sve do kasnog XV veka,

covers consisted of either wood,

korice su se sastojale od drveta

or sheets of paper pasted together.

ili od tabaka papira zalepljenih zajedno.

These would eventually be replaced by rope fiber millboard,

Ovo će vremenom da zameni lepljivi materijal, karton,

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

prvobitno namenjen za poveze visokog kvaliteta u kasnom XVII veku,

but later as a less expensive option.

no kasnije je to bilo jeftinija opcija.

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

I dok su danas masovno proizvedene ilustracije na koricama marketinški alat,

the cover designs of early books were made to order.

korice ranih knjiga su pravljene po porudžbi.

Even spines have a history.

Čak i rikne imaju istoriju.

Initially, they were not considered aesthetically important,

Prvobitno nisu smatrane estetski važnim

and the earliest ones were flat, rather than rounded.

i raniji primerci su bili ravni, a ne zaobljeni.

The flat form made the books easier to read

Zbog ravnog tipa rikne knjigu je bilo lakše čitati

by allowing the book to rest easily on a table.

jer je omogućavala knjizi da lako stoji na stolu.

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

No te su se rikne lako štetile zbog opterećenja uobičajene upotrebe.

A rounded form solved that issue,

Zaobljeni oblik je rešio taj problem,

although new problems arose,

iako su iskrsli novi problemi,

like having the book close in on itself.

poput toga da se knjiga sama od sebe zatvarala.

But flexibility was more important,

No fleksibilnost je bila važnija,

especially for the on-the-go reader.

naročito za trenutnog čitaoca.

As the book evolves and we replace bound texts

Kako knjiga evoluira i menjamo tekst u povezu

with flat screens and electronic ink,

ravnim ekranima i elektronskim mastilom,

are these objects and files really books?

da li su ovi objekti i fajlovi zaista knjige?

Does the feel of the cover

Da li utisak o koricama

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

ili miris papira dodaju nešto što je ključno za samo iskustvo?

Or does the magic live only within the words,

Ili magija jedino počiva unutar reči,

no matter what their presentation?

bez obzira na njihovo predstavljanje?