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The book : a cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time / Keith Houston
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The book : a cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time / Keith Houston

by Keith Houston

This history explores the 2,000-year evolution of the book as a physical object, from ancient scrolls and tablets to modern printed volumes. It examines the technological developments in paper, ink, printing, and binding that have shaped the medium.

Accession 11715 ISBN 9780393244793 Publisher W. W. Norton & Co.
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The book : a cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time / Keith Houston spine
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The book : a cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time / Keith Houston spine The book : a cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time / Keith Houston live spine
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TAGS
Curated Derived
Archaeology Art Bookbinding Communication Culture Education Materials Publications Social Sciences Technology Writing
CONNECTIONS
No connections
State
on_shelf
True
position_updated_at
2026-05-15 15:37
orientation
vertical
Details

Physical

binding_type
Hard Back
dimensions
none captured
spine_text
none captured
LOCATION HISTORY
M:S3:30 2 Current vertical
1 week, 2 days ago
Book Location
Updated 1 week, 2 days ago
Vernon snapshot
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Frozen copy of Vernon's record from the last sync. Fields tagged → flow back into the Pulse record.

Last synced 2026-05-21 00:55 (3 days, 22 hours ago)

Identity

name→ title
The book : a cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time / Keith Houston
vernon_id
15977
accession_no→ accession_number
11715
vernon_slug
the-book-a-cover-to-cover-exploration-of-the-most-powerful-object-of-our-time-keith-houston

Drives Pulse state

curr_loc_status→ on_shelf
On Shelf
location_name
Zone S3/Level 2 (Mezzanine)/Phrontisterion/MONA
location_reason
On Shelf
isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)
9780393244793

Descriptive

production_date
2016
object_type
Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication
object_status
Accessioned
brief_description
This book reveals how books and the materials that make them reflect the history of human civilization, tracing the development of writing, printing, illustrating, and binding to demonstrate the transition from cuneiform tablets and papyrus scrolls to the mass-distributed books of today. -- blurb.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Keith Houston
tags→ tags
Art, Arts, Graphic arts, Social sciences, Civilisation, Sociology, Writing, Language and languages, Communication, Paleography, Books, Publications, Authorship, Books and reading, Reading, Language arts, Materials, Cuneiform writing, Fibres, Printing, Bookbinding, Print finishing processes, Illustration of books, Paper -- History, Manuscripts (Papyri)
subject_people
—
subject_objects
—

Cover image

vernon_cover_image_id→ cover_image
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