HIST 17
Printed Texts and Images in the Early Modern Period Winter 2024

Imagine yourself back in a time without the computer technology that enables you to create, print out or distribute instantaneously innumerable illustrated texts with the click of a few buttons. In this multifaceted course, we will explore the world of printed books and images in the early modern period. Your eyes will be trained to recognize and appreciate the primary techniques in which printed images were made at this time. While becoming acquainted with the ways in which texts were printed by hand, you will learn how to examine rare books and evaluate how they were put together. Finally, you will be taught to think like a savvy publisher, endeavoring to earn a living by profiting from the rapidly expanding, international market for a diverse range of illustrated texts. In order to achieve these goals and fully appreciate what entrepreneurial artists, printers, and publishers accomplished centuries ago, lectures and assigned readings will be complemented by visits to local print collections and the regular, hands-on consultation of illustrated rare books in the Chapin Library. Given the underlying premise that one learns by doing, we will usually meet four times a week, primarily in the Chapin library. For your final project, you will be expected to select an illustrated book from the Chapin collection and prepare a presentation on it for the class in which you highlight the topics addressed during the lectures. Evaluation will be based upon this presentation, in addition to class participation. I look forward to delving into the fascinating world of hand-crafted books and prints with you.