One of my scholarly lists about early modern stuff is fighting this Christmas. So far, this is the best punch line: “You belong on Twitter, not on a scholarly list.”
Here we go, the scholarly list started with the Nazi argument.
“Would it be possible to remember that this is a list for discussion of 18th-century topics, and that it would be a courtesy to list members to pursue it elsewhere?”
After some Johnny Rotten language this:
“Anyway, I’m signing off. This list used to be useful, informative, even entertaining sometimes, but it’s been taken over by a handful of dunces.”
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Schools in early modern Europe were social spaces of learning and teaching, and above all, paper was present. A thread for #paperhistory and #bookhistory. What you see is an imagined schooling scene from the seventeenth century by Jan Steen.
It was not too uncommon to have paper broadsides or broadsheets glued to the walls. These printed upon paper products could be used for educational purposes too. The one in the painting seems to be carrying script, printed words. On paper.
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In the upper right corner of the room we see the usual artifacts of the so-called book industry: a bound book, an unbound book, loose paper sheets in different formats, fresh and used papers. A learned setting and everyday business of dealing with paper and knowledge.
How to get your manuscript into print and published? Often authors needed to approach and meet a publisher. And this was regularly a painful experience for early modern authors. Here, in 1666, an author enters a publisher's office. #bookhistory 1/x
The imagined scene is from a copperplate print of the 1666 book business mocking print by Aegidius Henning: "Gepriesener Büchermacher Oder Von Büchern/ und Bücher machen ein zwar kleines/ jedoch lustiges und erbauliches Büchlein..." (VD1:048499D)
The publisher was mainly a financing agent, sometimes in early days running the print shop as well. He needed to calculate his material productions: how expensive was the paper needed? Do we have enough ink? Was the type ready? Workload: Worry, pay attention, write letters. 3/x
The Writing-Master (Schönschreibmeister) Adam Fabricius made this prayer of repentance: "speculum hominis". It is a copperplate print with lots of details.
On the left: the title / On the right: the year of print.
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The centered title "speculum hominis" is framed by explaining verses that follow the oval-shape and start on the left. The verses? "Wer Gotts Gesetz vollkomlichhelt, Dem hab dieß Werck nit fürgestelt, Wer aber seine Sünd bekent, der liebet es biß an sein End/ Denn ...
A manuscript paper book used for accounting or writing purposes. These details are not new to (book) historians and are often highlighted. Yes, only a few could write, but many came into contact with paper. Here, they inform the writer what to write - on paper.
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Broadsheets were often glued or pinned to walls. Here, this paper broadsheet is positioned under a small bookshelf. Bonus for experts of early modern #bookhistory: #backwardsbooks
Richtig, er schreibt einen Thread zur hygienischen Papiernutzung in der Vergangenheit.
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Bei einem ist sich die Forschung einig: auch das Toilettenpapier ist eine chinesische Erfindung. Die hygienische Nutzung von Papier beginnt natürlich in dem Land, in dem auch als erstes Papier hergestellt worden ist: in China, seit dem frühen 2. Jahrhundert vor Christus.
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Allerdings wird die hygienische Nutzung von Papier nach dem Toilettengang erst im 6.-9. Jahrhundert in China vermutet. Wann genau diese Papiernutzung losging, ist unklar, aber letztendlich auch egal. Das Toilettenpapier ist zumindest geboren.
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