The Smithsonian Book of Books

Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books. As New with No dust jacket as issued. 1992. Stated First Edition. First Printing. Hard Cover. 089599030X . Quarter bound in red leather over white cloth boards, gilt lettering on spine, marbled endpapers, silk ribbon marked bound in, printed entirely on glossy stock, profusely illustrated in color. In this stunning volume, The Smithsonian Library celebrates the world of books, a world that mirrors human culture in its unparalleled variety and richness. Inside, the lively text by distinguished writer Michael Olmert and more than 350 photographs, most in magnificent full-color, capture our age-old love affair with books. You'll discover a wealth of book lore in these pages, and gain a new appreciation of the role of books in human society, from our earliest attempts at writing and recording information to the newest electronic computer-books; from sumptuous illuminated and bejeweled medieval manuscripts to Gutenberg and the invention of movable type; from the diverse arts and crafts of bookmaking to the building of magnificent libraries for housing treasured volumes; from the ancient epic of Gilgamesh to the plays of Shakespeare and the tales of Beatrix Potter; and from the earliest illustrated books to revolutionary science texts and the publication of the first great dictionaries and encydopedias and the coming of age of books for a reading and contemplative public. In a timely Introduction, Christopher de Hamel, curator of Western and Oriental manuscripts at Sotheby's, illuminates the world of medieval manuscripts and writes of the enormous veneration of these books, both then and now. De Hamel highlights the evolution of the commercial value of books and of the passion for book collecting, exemplified today by the thrill of a rare-book auction.. Both the volume and its slipcase are in perfect, pristine condition, unmarked, unread, tight, square, and clean. AS NEW. . Color Illustrations. 4to 11" - 13" tall. 320 pp .