As more parts of the world outside Europe became accessible =– and in the wake of social and technological developments in the 18th century – a growing number of exotic artefacts entered European markets. The markets for such objects thrived, while a collecting culture and museums emerged. This book provides insights into the methods and places of exchange, networks, prices, expertise, and valuation concepts, as well as the transfer and transport of these artefacts over 300 years and across four continents. The contributions are from international experts, including Ting Chang, Nélia Dias, Noëmie Etienne, Jonathan Fine, Philip Jones, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, Léa Saint-Raymond, and Masako Yamamoto.

Marginal annotations to printed books are a little studied aspect of the history of books and the transmission of ideas, providing a commentary on published texts which is conventionally anonymous, critical and economical. While many annotations are no more than individual comments on or disagreements with what an author has written, in a significant number of cases marginal notes have been found to be authorial, often adding an important new dimension to the original text.