Bookmaking, Printing Revolution & Binding Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Hand‐copied codices were extraordinarily labor-intensive
- Expert scribe: ≈ 1 day per page $(\text{productivity}=1\ \text{page}\,/\,\text{day})$
- Materials = parchment or vellum (animal skins) ⇒ expensive
- Result: few copies, high price, high cultural prestige
Visual & tactile traits
- Irregular letter shapes, line waviness, visible ruling lines, marginal guide dots
- Rubrication (red), blue, gold, historiated initials, decoration ➜ pages are polychrome
- Every manuscript fragment bears the “hand” of a unique individual; collectors value these as art objects

Key components
- Moveable lead type: each character = a tiny reversible “slug” with face, body, shoulder, beard, feet
- Platen (bed) holds composed forme; inked; paper pressed ⇒ mirror image transfers
- Printer must typeset upside-down & backwards
Productivity jump
- Medieval scribe: $1\ \text{page}\,/\,\text{hour}$ (optimistic)
- Gutenberg press: $3\,600\ \text{pages}\,/\,\text{hour}$
- Century-scale output: $\approx20\,000\,000$ books (Europe, 1450-1550)
Societal ripple effects
- Explosion of literacy & information diffusion
- Catalyzes the Renaissance / Humanistic era
- Democratizes reading; sets stage for modern concepts of public opinion, science, Reformation, democracy

Birth & death: 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616 (English national holiday)
Living well after print revolution; his texts enter print quickly
- First Folio (1623), Second Folio (1632)
- Cheap acting‐house quartos for individual plays
- 1609: first printed edition of 154 Sonnets (+ “A Lover’s Complaint”) issued by G. Eld for mysterious “T.T.”
Printing quirks
- Uniform, tiny, black-only type ➜ instantly distinguishes print from manuscript
- Errors persist: mis-registered letters, inverted numerals (e.g.
  Sonnet $116\to119$ misnumbering)
- Proof-reading becomes a new profession

Gutenberg Bible ⇒ multi-million-dollar artifact
Whitman, Leaves of Grass 1st ed. ⇒ $\approx\$300{,}000$
Broken printed books often low value; isolated medieval fragments can retain/increase value ➜ niche for collectors (eBay etc.)

Sheet / Leaf = whole piece (both sides)
Page = one side of a leaf
Recto = front (R), Verso = reverse (V)
Folding schemes (using one sheet)
- Folio: 1 fold → $4$ pages
- Quarto: 2 folds → $8$ pages
- Octavo: 3 folds → $16$ pages (zine-style; slit required)
- 16mo: 4 folds → $32$ pages
Signature = one folded gathering; our project uses 11 quarto signatures

Needles: long, thick, blunt; straight or curved
Waxed linen thread (pre-waxed or hand-waxed with beeswax) for high friction & durability
Awl / bodkin: punches sewing stations in gutter
Ruler (cm preferable) for precise hole placement
Scissors
Bone folder (small & large): creases folds crisp; formerly real bone

Work on clean flat surface; orient each sheet so lower-right corner shows beginning of next sonnet segment
Hamburger fold (short-edge): align open ends; run bone folder along crease
Hot-dog fold (long-edge): repeat alignment & creasing
Maintain sequential order: Sonnets $1\to154$ then “A Lover’s Complaint”
Result: tidy 11-signature text block; binder clip may serve as temporary clamp

Open last signature (shows “Complaint” title) → start binding from the back
In gutter, measure from head downward; mark stations (example metric plan)
$\text{Positions} = {2\text{ cm},\ 4\text{ cm},\ 6\text{ cm},\ 8\text{ cm},\ 10\text{ cm}}$
(exact distances supplied on class handout)
Use awl to pierce clean, small holes at marks; create a cardboard template to speed repetition across all 11 signatures

Thread needle (≈ 3× text block height) & knot tail
Sew first (rearmost) signature: enter middle station → exit next → weave out-in pattern → tie off
Stack next signature atop; stitch into same stations linking previous kettle stitches (Coptic/chain method)
Continue through all signatures, maintaining even tension; waxed thread prevents slippage
Optionally add end‐papers & covers; press overnight under weight

After sewing, then open uncut folds: insert dull letter opener & slide gently ⇒ feathered deckle edges (premium paper enhances effect)
Trim or square text block if desired; add decorative cover stock, title label, or leather

Advantages of print
- Speed, cost reduction, mass literacy, standardization → dictionaries, orthography (Noah Webster etc.)
- Democratized access; emergence of public readership & modern science
Disadvantages
- Loss of color & artistry; less “human touch”
- Mechanical errors propagate through whole edition; individuality lost

Misprint: Sonnet numbering jumps $115\rightarrow119$ (inverted 6) instead of $116$
Demonstrates need for proofreaders & inevitability of mistakes even in mechanical processes

Bone-folder “click” sound likened to meditative satisfaction (akin to copying sutras)
Students encouraged to photograph finished bindings; credit awarded for any sewing attempt, extra credit for full completion
Presentation aside: Romeo & Juliet discussion reveals Shakespeare’s texts as windows onto social norms, impulsive behavior & political conflict—illustrates how literary content & book technology synergize in cultural history