Why the card catalog—a “paper machine” with rearrangeable elements—can be regarded as a precursor of the computer.
Today on almost …
@mouse ok I haven’t read this but do you know Lisa Gitelman’s work? She’s a media historian and she’s got a book on paper that might be your thing
@wynkenhimself I don't! That sounds super like my jam though
@mouse @wynkenhimself @quaad these look great, anyone have a globally contingent "history of the book" that's not at all hung up on printing presses or protestants?
@mouse @quaad @loppear ahahahaa this is the million dollar question and the basic answer is everything is hung up on printing presses and the West. BUT! Staring at my shelves there are two possibilites, maybe? One is the short and gorgeous Books as History by David Pearson; it's got beautiful pics and is fun to read as well as smart. The other is really geared toward academics: Information: A Historical Companion, edited by Ann Blair (<3), Paul Duguid and more. It's a mammoth compilation of longer and a ton of shorter pieces covering a huge range of topics, definitely expanded beyond printing and much closer to being global. It's not cheap though, maybe $60?
