Tuesday 29 March 2016

Week 11: The Ideal Book of the future is also that of the past

This week’s question is both interesting and challenging. In all honesty, if I had to say one thing about the future of the book to people of the past, I would say, “Don’t fret! It really doesn’t change all that much.” Because I think that this is true, the book is still very much part of our world and in some ways, the physical book is becoming, or is at least regaining, its popularity. The “death of the book” we all feared hasn’t come to fruition. And I don’t believe it will. Even in 1955, Lester Asheim made a salient point about the future of the book. In his article, Introduction: New Problems in Plotting the Future of the Book, he states:

“The death of the book is more likely to be hastened by those who adamantly insist on retaining, for twentieth century purposes, the nineteenth-century form of the book than it is by those who are willing to examine that form for inadequacies that can be corrected” (Asheim 1955, 283).

This is essentially what we have been discussing all semester long. If we don’t adapt and we don’t embrace change, that is when the book will die. Now, in the 21st century, we simply have numerous technological inventions, or interventions, that also help us to access and read books and information. I used to wish that we would just preserve the 19th century (and earlier) book form, such as that of William Morris, and live in the same kind of idealized world as the Pre-Raphaelites did. But, in keeping with Asheim’s argument, and drawing on the point Natasha recalled in her post, when the form of reading changes so should the form of the book. Essentially, in my rose-coloured glasses flair, I would tell readers of the past that the book is what you make it; the world is our oyster!

In thinking about my paper for this course (thank you Julia and Chrissy, I have indeed opted for the William Morris: To digitize, or not to digitize route), I would travel back to London, circa 1890 when the Morris and Co. Kelmscott Press was established. I would tell Morris and his circle that the values they place on the ideal book (legibility, ornamentation/illustration, paper quality, typeface, and size) will endure in the future due to the continued scholarship on the book arts, rare books, and book history (Morris 1893). I would describe others like him who share similar philosophies—Granary Books, Anteism, Gaspereau Press—and value the material production of a book as much as its contents. 

I would be especially interested in Morris’ view of e-books, Internet archives, and digitization. On the one hand, would he praise this as a success of socialism, access for the masses? Or would he abhor modernity and progress in keeping with his “hatred of civilization” (Morris and Wilmer 2011, 381)? I would tell Morris and Co. that while we now have the capability to read books on screens, we have to employ this technology to our advantage and not become consumed in romanticizing the past—though, like I said, guilty as charged. Ultimately, it is up to us, in the present, to ensure that there continues to be a future of the book.
The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Kelmscott Press. 


References:

Asheim, Lester. 1955. "Introduction: New Problems In Plotting The Future Of The Book". The Library Quarterly 25 (4): 281-292.

Morris, William. 1893. “The Ideal Book.” Transactions Of The Bibliographical Society 1: 179-186.

Morris, William. 1894. How I Became A Socialist. Edited with an introduction and notes by Clive Wilmer. In, News From Nowhere And Other Writings. London: Penguin, 2004.

“The Ideal Book: William Morris And The Kelmscott Press Exhibition In Buffalo, NY.” 2010. Blog. News From Anywhere: Blog Of The William Morris Society. http://morrissociety.blogspot.ca/2010/08/ideal-book-william-morris-and-kelmscott.html.

2 comments:

  1. I love the idea of going back and speaking to someone who was directly involved with creating or producing books at one time. I get the feeling that no matter what time period you stepped into, you'd end up with very strong feelings towards whatever manifestation was currently 'en vogue.' It would probably replicate the way that most of us feel about print books vs. ebooks!

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  2. I like the balanced approach you've come up with here. We have to adapt to change and make use of the best suited formats to achieve what we need out of books but we also need to recognize aesthetic value and craftsmanship that has preceded it. There's room for all of it! And I'm glad to hear you went with the Morris topic :)

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