21. History of the Printed Book in the West (Session I)

17-21 July 1995

Topics include: early printed books; printing materials and processes; bookbinding; typography and book design; authorship, publishing, reading, and the book trade; the book in America and American books; graphic arts and book illustration; the c19 mechanization of the printing trades; c20 fine printing. Intended for those with no prior coursework or extensive reading in the field. The instructor welcomes students from a broad range of academic disciplines, collectors, dealers, and librarians. Offered again in Week 3.

1. How useful were the pre-course readings?

1: Very useful -- although it would probably be good to reread them after. 3: Useful. I learned a lot of the vocabulary ahead of time and was also able to come to class with questions from the readings. 4: Very useful. 5: Very useful. Excellent choice of readings. 6: Pre-course readings were most useful in providing a general overview and an introduction to terminology. 7: Very useful for the course and for future reference. 8: Very helpful! I found the readings provided a useful background for the course and the material that covered. 9: Very applicable. I had the impression that all of the students in my class had done at least the minimum of reading and that we had the same small basis on which to build. The reading list had a practical approach: with Febvre and Martin, for instance, it said, ``if you can't read it all, read Chapter 8...''. 10: Excellent -- although I would suggest that all of Carter's ABC should be read before arrival. 11: Helpful, but will mean so much more on a second reading. 12: Very useful.

2. Did your instructor prepare sufficiently to teach THIS course? Were the course syllabus and other materials distributed in class useful?

1: Yes. 2: I am very impressed with MA's preparation for this course. He was very organized, had taken the time to write several well thought out lectures and had researched the materials available in Special Collections so that we could view them. I will find the syllabus, reading list, and other materials very useful. 3: Yes. Yes, he was very organized. The materials were helpful. 4: Very well prepared -- handouts were useful. 5: Yes. MA is an excellent lecturer/speaker, very organized and knows this field well. 6: Yes, Yes, and Yes! Instructor's preparation -- excellent and extensive. Materials, suggested readings -- were and will be useful. 7: Pretty much yes. 8: The instructor was beautifully prepared. He had enormous amounts of material and information well organized. I found the syllabus helpful all week long in keeping anchored. The materials passed out were fine. 9: Yes. MA's knowledge of the material is very impressive. His respect for the books and bibliography is inspiring. The materials distributed will be very practical on the job. 10: I felt that the course was exceedingly well-structured because it combined a variety of ways to learn: pre-course readings, lectures, slides/videos, museums, and the final course project. The lecture notes I took and the other notes from videos, plus the handouts, will be very helpful later. I would suggest that some of the lectures be compressed into handouts next year. 11: Yes. 12: Very well prepared and organized.

3. Was the intellectual level of the course content appropriate?

1: Yes, although there were definitely different levels of knowledge. 2: Yes! It was wonderful and challenging. 3: Yes -- I felt that the level was neither too technical nor too basic. 4-5: Yes. 6: Yes -- introductory survey, as advertised. 7: Yes. 8: The intellectual level of the course was appropriate, stimulating, and challenging! 9: Yes. 10: Challenging -- at times difficult to followwithout time to look over notes after class to ``set it in my head.'' 11: Yes. 12: Yes, very appropriate for an introductory course. I learned a great deal about both the technical and the social history of printing.

4. If your course had field trips, were they effective?

1: VERY. Wish we had had more time in Special Collections. Kudos to the Special Collections staff for all their time. 2: Yes -- I especially enjoyed the session with the printer from Williamsburg -- very educational. 3: Yes, looking directly at the books was very useful and MA made good comments about what we saw. 4: Visits to Special Collections were well arranged. 5: It was extremely helpful to see examples. 6: I am most grateful for the opportunities (almost one period a day) to view Special Collections material. The instructor's breadth and depth of knowledge and hands-on experience with old books were wonderful! 7: We made several wonderful trips to Special Collections. People should not be allowed to carry ink pens to take notes with in that space, however. Seeing the examples is the best way to understand what slides cannot illustrate. 8: The time my class spent in Special Collections was very helpful. Seeing examples of books, types, and bindings that had been discussed in class added tremendously to the learning experience. 9: Yes. MA selected appropriate materials illustrating his lectures. 10: Extremely well spent. Examples chosen from Special Collections reprised the themes and details we had heard about in the lectures and seen in the slides -- a kind of filling out into 3-dimensions. 11: Yes!!! 12: Yes. We made several trips and saw things that illustrated what we'd already discussed in class. Therefore, we were well prepared to appreciate the books we saw.

5. Did the actual course content correspond to its RBS brochure description and Expanded Course Description? Did the course in general meet your expectations?

1: Yes. I wish the course had been two weeks -- it's a lot to be crammed into one (although I couldn't have kept up the same intensive pace). 2: Yes -- in fact I got a lot of information that I didn't expect or anticipate, but which I found to be very useful. 3: Yes, in fact I think I got even more information than I expected about related fields such as illustration. I was very pleased. 4-5: Yes. 6: Yes -- would have liked a little more focus on social conditions surrounding the book trade, reading, &c., eg, the effect of printing on ordinary people's lives (there certainly was some) -- but it's hard to see how to fit that in. 7: Corresponded to course description. In general, it was a good overview of lots of pertinent areas of concern. 8: In my opinion the course corresponded to the RBS brochure description and fully met my expectations. 9-11: Yes. 12: It more than met my expectations.

6. What did you like best about the course?

1: The hands-on -- well, eyes-on anyway, viewing at Special Collections. The exercise was good, although I could have used some more time (where it could have come from, I don't know). 2: The instructor was prepared and knew his stuff. 3: We got a lot of information in a short period of time from an expert who could answer all our questions and really knows the field. 4: It was very well organized, with a good distribution of lectures, slides, RBR visits, museum, and other activities. 5: Special Collections and slides to emphasize the lectures. MA was a great speaker and easy to follow and listen to. 6: (a) The instructor!!!!! (b) Content of lectures, combined with museums of tools, types, paper, and so on (I finally got to see how a type mold worked); (c) Videos on craft techniques -- most useful; (d) Slides on bindings and illustrations. 7: The variety of approaches to learning, the visits to Special Collections, the charm of the instructor, the mini-museums, the final exercise where we got to apply what we learned and hear others discuss their analysis of their books. 8: What I liked best about the course was the serious effort MA made to really give us as much information as we could handle in a week. The course was a serious one with a real understanding of the time we were taking to attend the class. 9: MA's explanations of printing, illustration, papermaking, and typefounding processes were clear and instructive. I've heard lectures and read articles about a lot of these issues before, but this course gave me a much clearer picture of the whys and wherefores of early printed books. The slide presentations and the printing demonstration by the fellow from Williamsburg were key to the success. 10: It solidified my readings and experiences into concrete form. I learned about broader aspects, yet special details very important in my work. 11: Instructor; access to hands-on instruction; resources of UVa Special Collections. 12: The instructor and the hands-on approach to teaching. This was an outstanding course! I liked the mix of slide lectures, visits to Special Collections, the examination of prints with magnifiers, and project.

7. How could the course have been improved?

1: More time in the museums with explanations. Personally I could have used more time on illustration (I'll have to take that course) and on binding. 2: I'd love to have copies of some of the lectures afterwards. Also, I felt overwhelmed by the materials plus the movies, although I can understand why the movies were offered as a supplement to the lectures. There may not be a solution to this problem because of the great amount of information and ground to cover on this topic. 3: I think that the participants need just a little more free time. We hardly had time to work on our projects, for example. 4: More hours in the day! (It does not need improvement.) 5: Not so many videos. More time for museums. 6: A little more organization in terms of how much can be covered realistically in the time allowed -- making allowances for numbers and types in the class. This hardly seems fair, given that it is the instructor's first time around with this course. 7: Either incorporate the videos into the course or leave them out. They were added pressure presented at lunch and after class. Tighten up the discussion of the physical aspects of the book so that it makes more sense. 8: The only suggestion I have is that Monday was fuller than I found comfortable. Moving one of the lunch films to a later time may have helped. Also, our trip to Special Collections was postponed until Tuesday, and if it had been on Monday as planned, it might have made the day less intense. 9: Offer blurbs on the outside-the-curriculum videos. Free time at RBS is at a premium, and more information would allow us to be selective, well-informed viewers. 10: More in handouts from lectures would give time for practical hands-on activities. Do class projects on Thursday, so that all presentations can be given ample time. 11: Breaks to revitalize our brains. 12: Some improvement of the timing, especially of the reports on the last day. I felt guilty skipping some of the videos scheduled at lunch and from 5-6. RBS is over-scheduled and exhausting, but also exceedingly intellectually stimulating. Was sorry not to have been able to complete the 3-D Carter or look at the type museum because of lack of time.

8. Any final thoughts?

1: Rest before you come, plan a day or two off afterward. Bring plenty of aspirin. Be prepared for brain overload by Wednesday. It's a great experience, worth every penny, but it's a brief time to absorb so much. 2: This has been one of the most valuable courses I've ever taken in my library career. I am inspired. 3: I think that this course succeeded in its goal. I think it allowed the participants to gain the knowledge they need to identify rare books. It also allowed the creation of an academic community -- people may contact each other for collaborative efforts after the course is over. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and intellectually stimulating. 4: Try to read as much of the pre-course readings as possible. 5: RBS is a great experience and instructors are very qualified. It is intensive; be prepared. 6: Yes -- doing the preliminary reading would have helped the pace, I think. Some seem to have done it, others not. Course moves so quicklythrough time and techniques -- grounding seems especially important. 7: Take it. 8: History of the Printed Book in the West is a marvelous course and well worth taking. 10: Read and memorize! the pre-assigned materials. The site is a metaphor for RBS: the chapel juxtaposed next to the Rotunda -- a symbol of various elements synthesized! 11: Excellent background information on every aspect of bookmaking. Hands-on demonstration whenever possible. Be prepared for an intense experience. Be sure you want to commit to that level (other study abroad programs I have taken -- Oxford, Cambridge, Paris -- are organized as half-day lecture, half-day touring). Admittedly, they were not academically as stringent; RBS, which services, for the most part, professional librarians, must be more intense. My interest was in learning more basic information on how to become a collector. Thanks! All in all, well done. 12: Pace yourself. You can't go to everything. Take this course!

Number of respondents: 12

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