The Printed Book: Its History, Illustration and Adornment / From the Days of Gutenberg to the Present Time

Chronological survey of the development of book production from early block-book and relief-engraving origins through later centuries, tracing how printers and artists disseminated typographic practices and decorative modes across Europe. The treatment emphasizes illustration and ornament—woodcuts, metal engraving, typographic ornament, portraits, and binding styles—while also addressing technical topics such as types, paper, ink, and printing processes. Each chapter sketches an era’s prevailing aesthetic tendencies, notable workshops and publishing centers, and the evolution of decorative and practical features, and the text is supplemented by numerous facsimile illustrations and binding specimens.