The Printed Page :
a summer miscellany from the Foyle Special Collections Library

The exhibition looks at the work of the printer over the past 500 years through a selection of items from the College's Foyle Special Collections Library. It begins with the library's oldest printed book (printed in 1483) and ends with a selection of late twentieth century artists' books and works of concrete poetry, whose experimental nature challenges our preconceptions of what a book should look like.

Venue :

The Weston Room
Maughan Library & Information Services Centre
Chancery Lane
London

Dates & Times :

Wednesday 10 May – Friday 18 August 2006
9:30–17:00, Mondays to Fridays
Admission is free

The Exhibition :

The early printer often combined the roles of printer, publisher and bookseller and was sometimes his own type-designer as well. In this exhibition we look at the early printers of Venice, one of the most important centres of scholarly publishing. We also highlight one of the leading early printing dynasties, the firm of Estienne, which, like those of Plantin and Elzevir, was instrumental in disseminating works of scholarship and theological doctrine. Like many printers, the Estiennes attracted unwelcome attention from the authorities; printers have often been viewed with suspicion by officers of the state. We look at the ways in which printers have sought to evade the censor.

In the eighteenth century the book trade began to acquire its present-day professional demarcations, as the functions of printer, publisher and bookseller gradually ceased to be combined in one person. The Industrial Revolution brought the inevitable expansion of the book trade, as the printing process was mechanised, but also gave rise to a conscious harking back to the craft tradition, exemplified in the productions of William Morris's Kelmscott Press, which, in their turn, have influenced many of the artists' books of today.

Admissions :

Entry to the exhibition is free. If you are not a member of the College or a registered user of the Maughan Library, please note that admission is by exhibition ticket only; see our web pages for details of how to obtain an exhibition ticket. On arriving at the Maughan Library & Information Services Centre please follow the signs to the Weston Room from the main entrance.

More Info :

King's College London
W : http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/iss/library/speccoll/news.html