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G-30. Bibliographer’s Toolkit: Printed Books Since 1800

Tom Congalton & Katherine Reagan

This course is aimed at booksellers, collectors, librarians, scholars, and others seeking a better understanding of how to recognize, evaluate and describe the physical aspects of printed materials. Focusing on the post-1800 period, the course provides a basic overview of the chronological development of book design, typography, bindings and illustration. Topics include: how to identify and evaluate materials, how to read a bibliographical description of a book; how to read and interpret dealer and auction descriptions, and how to distinguish between edition, issue, and state. The course will rely heavily on RBS’s rich collection of examples of books, periodicals, and related materials produced during the machine-press period.

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