BERKELEY - This fall, students in "The Hand-Printed
Book in its Historical Context" class at the Bancroft Library
will set metal type by hand and print a small book using the
library’s Albion hand press, manufactured in London in
the mid-1800s. They will draw text from the rich collections
of the library’s unpublished material.
Instructor Les Ferris said he does discuss digital typesetting
and printing with his students. "But I don’t think
the printed book is going to disappear any time soon,"
he said. "The codex (the bound book) is a wonderful container
for information: simple, portable, inexpensive. Flip through
the pages. No scrolling. No crashes. And the book, at its best,
aspires to and attains the state of art."
