This case considers editing and annotations in manuscript (handwritten) and printed (mechanically inked) items. More specifically, these books display revisions and corrections made after or during the process of production. The items showcased here are estimated to date from the late 1400s to 1870.
From scraped corrections to printed inserts, these items provide evidence of how both publishers and readers impacted or changed books beyond the author’s original intention. These edits may have been made at multiple stages of a book’s life cycle, such as revisions to the initial published text and readers’ indications of ownership.
Edits and annotations may have been made to enhance the functionality of the book as well as the reading experience. For instance, one item in this case includes red underlining to denote paragraph headings, while another exemplifies the standardisation of printed inserts in a book. Such edits and annotations allow us to track the evolution of publishing and reading conventions across different time periods as well as how they overlap.
These alterations to the text or appearance of the book reflect how the book as an object is not fixed. Instead, its existence is fluid and unstable, allowing adaptations that are tailored to the reader or publisher’s individual purposes. The book owner’s agency to make edits and annotations thereby illustrates the personalised experience of reading.
ITEMS IN THIS SECTION
Manuscript Breviary with Scraped Corrections (15th century)
This leaf from an Italian breviary contains passages recited during religious services in the Roman Catholic Church. The leaf appears to have undergone multiple edits, possibly in relation to a religious debate about the immaculate nature of the Virgin between two different Catholic orders, the Franciscans and the Dominicans. This debate ended in the late 15th century after Pope Sixtus IV sanctioned the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th, 1476.
Meditationes, Printed Leaf with Handwritten and Scraped Corrections (c.1480-82)
This leaf from Meditationes was printed in Milan by Beninus and Johannes Antonius de Honate, probably between 1480 and 1482. The text includes prayers written by St. Augustine and St. Bernard. The owner or reader of this book has corrected and annotated the text. At the bottom of the page, there is evidence of the original printed letters being scraped off and written over. This method is usually used on parchment, not paper. The use of this editing method on this leaf captures a time of intersection between the use of parchment and paper in bookmaking.
Indago Monocerotis (1658)
Indago Monocerotis was printed in 1658 by Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. From handwritten names to printed bookplates, this particular copy showcases some of the many different ways collectors marked their ownership throughout history. Its ownership inscriptions distinguish it from other copies of the same book, providing the history of individual owners. The inscriptions also reflect the wider movement of books within and between both private and public institutions, as well as across geographical locations.
Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood
This unfinished series by Charles Dickens demonstrates the standardisation of where printed inserts, especially advertisements, should be placed within a book. From volume II onwards, all advertisements were shifted to before and after the main story content. This would have certainly pleased readers at the time: after all, they would not be happy if they were reading a scene, and suddenly, they were interrupted by a large advertisement section with no warning whatsoever (as can be seen in volume I). This standardisation showed how publishers may have edited their way of doing things to cater to reader expectations.