Introduction to analytical bibliography (2005)

This course offers a practical introduction to the examination of printed artefacts of the hand-press period. Examples will be taken from major printing centres such as Venice, Lyon and Paris. 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; the construction of evidence from the observation of multiple copies; 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 introduction to the algebra of writing a collational formula.

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