In response to the present day revival of interest in fine printing and binding, this unique volume highlights several of North America's special collections focusing on various aspects of the history and art of the book. Experts describe the scope, value, and utility of diverse collections in Canada, New York, California, Washington, New Jersey, and more, that reflect the collecting interests of librarians and private donors. Bibliophiles will be fascinated by the historical overviews of the collections on calligraphy, papermaking, bookbinding, printing, and illustration and the insight into the future direction of library acquisitions. The addition of a list of readings provides a basic framework and helpful suggestions for further reading on the topics covered in this definitive book.

Since the time of Aristotle, the making of knowledge and the making of objects have generally been considered separate enterprises. Yet during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the two became linked through a "new" philosophy known as science. In The Body of the Artisan, Pamela H. Smith demonstrates how much early modern science owed to an unlikely source-artists and artisans. From goldsmiths to locksmiths and from carpenters to painters, artists and artisans were much sought after by the new scientists for their intimate, hands-on knowledge of natural materials and the ability to manipulate them. Drawing on a fascinating array of new evidence from northern Europe including artisans' objects and their writings, Smith shows how artisans saw all knowledge as rooted in matter and nature. With nearly two hundred images, The Body of the Artisan provides astonishingly vivid examples of this Renaissance synergy among art, craft, and science, and recovers a forgotten episode of the Scientific Revolution-an episode that forever altered the way we see the natural world.