So, researchers have found a way to look at hand-written pages which were hiding in the bindings of antique books.
When the printing press made its debut in Europe in the 15th century, hand-written manuscripts went the way of eight track tapes and CD players—becoming unfashionable in the face of new technology. So early book binders cut up some of these older texts and used the paper to reinforce the spines and covers of the newfangled printed books.
That practice has put researchers in another type of bind: To get to the valuable fragments built into these early modern books, they have to tear them apart. But according to Dalya Alberge at The Guardian a new technology is giving researchers a peek at the manuscript fragments without damaging the printed books.
This is really awesome. I can’t wait to see what this research turns up. Maybe some answers to questions we didn’t know to ask about history. Because, of course, it would be the unpopular books which were “pulped” in this way…..
BitterSuites 