TEXTILES IN MANUSCRIPTS
A Local and Global History of the Book

Preserved between the covers of books, textiles offer a remarkable glimpse into how the local production of books was connected to vibrant global trade networks from late antiquity through the early modern period. This volume takes a unique interdisciplinary approach to examining the widespread use of textiles in books and manuscripts, ranging from practical uses to the ornamental and beyond. Practical uses include textiles as binding supports, as wrappers or enclosures, and as protective coverings. Yet textiles used to protect images — a practical consideration — can simultaneously be both ornamental and deeply meaningful. Similarly, textiles tucked into the binding, their beautiful detail hidden from the human eye, continue to convey spiritual or talismanic qualities. Finally, some manuscripts include painted depictions of textiles alongside actual textiles bound within the volume. How to take stock of these complex and dynamic patterns of usage, while also respecting the specific histories of each bookmaking tradition? 
This volume brings together a range of experts to unpack the vivid and surprising history of textiles in manuscripts. The historical account they offer is both local and global: local, in that each chapter is tightly focused on a single tradition, or even a single book; global, in that together these chapters illuminate the rich web of interconnections that link the cultural and craft centers of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Melissa Moreton and Suzanne Akbari (Eds.)

Contributing authors: Hagos Abrha Abay, Carolina Almenara-Melis, Katherine Beaty, Jody Beenk, Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia, Rachel Bissonnette, Georgios Boudalis, Joy Boutrup, Aaron M. Butts, James Canary, Rosemary Crill, Eyob Derillo, Sarah Fee, Michael Gervers, Paul Hepworth, River Hobel, Bryan C. Keene, Hrair Hawk Khatcherian, Sylvie L. Merian, Alison Ohta, Kristen Pearson, Karin Scheper, Noam Sienna, Thelma K. Thomas, Nancy K. Turner, Michelle C. Wang

TYPOGRAPHY

All Latin texts are set in Comma Sans (by Martin Majoor). To also suit Panafrican texts it got extended exclusively by Verena Gerlach.
For headlines and captions  Pluto Sans (by Hannes van Dören) is used.  
Matching Tibetan, Greek, Hebrew, Ethiopian and Chinese are carefully scaled, and set along the Latin texts.

My Regards go to Imke Wartenberg and Gianfranco de Felice at De Gruyter Brill.

Textiles in Manuscripts
2024 
320 pages, English
21×28 cm
150 illustrations
978-3-689-24117-9