Introduction to analytical bibliography (2004)

This course offers a practical introduction to the examination of printed artefacts of the hand-press period, with emphasis on Venetian Renaissance printing, including the figure of Aldus.

Topics include: concepts and definitions; history of the practice and theory of analytical bibliography; organisation of the early printing shop; structures and conventions affecting the making of books; practical case studies and bibliographical puzzles.

The course will be taught in French, but precise notions will be imparted about the language and technical vocabulary of the Anglo-American tradition, as well as an ntroduction to the algebra of writing a collational formula.