Review - The Book: its history and development by Cyril Davenport

The Book: its history and development by Cyril Davenport
Publisher: D. Van Nostrand company 1908
Hardback 258 pages




I have a "thing" for old books. And when I say "thing" I mean that for the past 28 years of my existence I have been obsessed with my love for books. I collect them, cherish them and have been known to start crying when I happen to find a decently priced copy of a rare edition that I have been scouring the earth for. So I think that it is fair to say that the most prized "find" for me are those rare books about books. Nothing fascinates me more then to read about books, from a history on the printing press to a small pamphlet on book binding... I love them all. So when I ran across The Book I was immediately intrigued.

I have to say that the title itself is a great conversation piece. "What are you reading?"... "I'm reading The Book"... "Well, yes I can see the object that you were reading, what is the title?"... "I'm reading The Book"... and so on and so forth.

But besides its clever title, The Book is actually a very informative and entertaining look at the history of the printed word. Normally, the subject is done in sort of a textbook manner; straight facts. But the author of this book is obviously very passionate about the subject and also very opinionated on not only the manufacturing of books (it's all about the paper people!) but also on the scholarship that has been done regarding the history of books. The author's clear bias is, what seems to me, the most amusing part of the book. I laughed out loud with every mention of the obvious inferiority of Dutch books and how any object not studied in London hasn't truly been researched. Of course this book was written at the turn of the century and so any scholarship is woefully obsolete, but it is interesting to see how bibliophiles of the past viewed the future of the printed word. How even in his day, the author lamented the "death of the novel", but to him it was due to the increased demand for serialized and cheaply made materials, not the digital threat that we have today.

So while I give this book very high praise, the average reader may find it a great cure for insomnia. But, if like myself, you have an obsession bordering on hysteria for books, this is a must read.