Excerpt from History Eastern Vermont When, six years ago, I began to make researches for the purpose of ascertaining at what time the first settlements were made in Vermont, on the banks of the Connecticut river, by the whites, it was my intention, if I put pen to paper, to write but a small book, and to treat only of the southeastern portions of the state. As I continued my investigations, I became convinced that it would be very difficult to carry out this plan in an intelligible manner, without introducing into my contemplated work much that would appear too general for its narrow limits. At the same time, I discovered that the disputes in which New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont were so long engaged respecting the jurisdiction of the latter state, exerted an influence at the time, which told on the progress and development of every town and village and hamlet in Vermont. I then sought for some publication containing a clear and full statement of these disputes. My search was unrewarded. I found that the Natural and Civil History of Vermont, by the learned Dr. Samuel Williams, was more particularly devoted to the discussion of questions of a scientific nature, and to a general account of the condition of the northern frontier of the United States, than to a specific description of the settlement and growth of Vermont. I found that the Natural and Political History of the State of Vermont, prepared by Col. Ira Allen, while in London, and printed at a London press, abounded in inaccuracies, and was only minute in the narration of affairs with which the author had been connected. I found that the Descriptive Sketch of the Present State of Vermont, by Dr. John Andrew Graham, was little else than a collection of unreliable, gossiping, entertaining letters, written more for self-gratification than to subserve any worthy or permanent interest. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This volume explores and calls into question certain commonly held assumptions about writing and technological advancement in the Islamic tradition. In particular, it challenges the idea that mechanical print naturally and inevitably displaces handwritten texts as well as the notion that the so-called transition from manuscript to print is unidirectional. Indeed, rather than distinct technologies that emerge in a progressive series (one naturally following the other), they frequently co-exist in complex and complementary relationships – relationships we are only now starting to recognize and explore. The book brings together essays by internationally recognized scholars from an array of disciplines (including philology, linguistics, religious studies, history, anthropology, and typography) whose work focuses on the written word – channeled through various media – as a social and cultural phenomenon within the Islamic tradition. These essays promote systematic approaches to the study of Islamic writing cultures writ large, in an effort to further our understanding of the social, cultural and intellectual relationships between manuscripts, printed texts and the people who use and create them.