G-15v. A Bibliographical Introduction to the Hand-Press Period (Online)
Sarah Werner
Course Length: 22 hours
Schedule: 3 p.m.–6 p.m. ET on Sundays
from 19 October through 14 December 2025
**Class will not be held on 30 November**
Format: Online
Course fee: $1,100
Paying attention to the physical characteristics of texts is broadly useful for studying any printed works of the Western hand-press period (roughly 1450-1800). But how does one start to think bibliographically, noticing such characteristics and knowing what questions they might lead to?
In this seminar, we will strengthen these skills by looking at books together (albeit through a document camera) and considering what questions the material aspects of printed texts can help us ask about the circumstances of their creation, their potential uses and meanings, and their passage through time to us today. The course will be organized around specific materialities—including paper, type, format, and bindings—so students can learn skills to identify key characteristics and recognize situations in which such knowledge is useful. Because this is an online course, we will also pay special attention to digital facsimiles and other digital tools that can help us explore (or sometimes hinder our study of) bibliographical features. Our three-hour meetings will allow us to combine active class discussion with group work and bibliographical exercises.
Participants are not expected to have previous experience studying early printed texts; the design of this course is intended to prepare for more advanced bibliographical study rather than assuming a baseline to work from. The course will also not be able to provide direct, hands-on experiences with books, so students are encouraged to plan to spend time with rare materials at a local library or archives. (If you have no access to suitable materials where you are, please let Dr. Werner know so we can try to make alternative arrangements.)
Course History
Faculty
Sarah Werner
Sarah Werner is the author of Studying Early Printed Books, 1450–1800: A Practical Guide and Editor of the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. An independent scholar based in Washington, D.C., she worked at the Folger Shakespeare Library for nearly a decade, teaching undergraduates and leading digital strategy. Her current research focuses on feminist bibliography, a wide-ranging project that aims to expand both how and why we do bibliographical work.
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