SHARP NEWS Volume 24, Number 2 2015 der Forschungsbibliothek Gotha.” networks. The assumption of space as being CONFERENCE REVIEWS The first series of papers concentrated on produced or constructed by humans over social aspects of book production. Esther time was made famous by Henri Lefebvre. van Gelder (Utrecht) presented a highly spe- Adrian Johns was probably the first to ex- Books in Motion in Early cialised project of scientific publishing: Jan plicitly transfer the concept to book history. Modern Europe: Christian Sepp’s entomological study of the Following that interpretation, the papers Netherlands’ flora and fauna between 1760 in this session fell into two categories: one Beyond Production, Circulation, and 1811. The publisher teamed up with analysed socio-spatial relations and that the and Consumption Cornelius Nozeman to produce a series of other concentrated on circulation patterns Gotha Research Centre, University of publications that not only depicted insects’ in book production and consumption. Joop Erfurt, Germany habitats but also served to create a com- W. Koopmans (Groningen) emphasized the 28–31 May 2014 munity spirit in the Netherlands through the relationship between publishers and artists establishment of a common understanding by showing their mutual dependency in the More than thirty years ago, Robert Darn- of the Netherlands’ domestic plants and ani- production of illustrated newspapers and ton’s seminal study “What is the History of mals. Kristi Viiding (Tartu) emphasized the periodicals. Newspaper publishers were in Books?” established a model for the study role of women in the Early Modern period need of engravers and illustrators who had of networks of production and the circula- and the absence of research on women in the creative skills to produce illustrations tion and consumption of books in the Early the book trade. Paul Nelles (Ottawa) studied for their papers. At the same time, these Modern period. To develop this model, forty the development of a universal library based artists needed publishers who wanted them scholars in book history met for an interna- upon Conrad Gesner’s Bibliotheca universalis, to make illustrations for their periodicals. tional three-day conference at the Frieden- published in Zurich in 1545. Gesner aimed Furthermore, news editors would have played stein Palace in Gotha (Thuringia). The aim to record all known texts, compiling a collec- a central role mediating between publishers of the conference was to critically discuss tion of several thousand bibliographic entries and artists to explain and discuss which and open up new perspectives for Darnton’s from which the geography of the book can topics were suitable to depict. Benito Rial model. Daniel Bellingradt (Erfurt) opened be studied. Giles Bergel (Oxford) delved into Costas (Madrid) presented a case study of the the conference, arguing that although produc- the particularly difficult production of English interactions between printing and the crown. tion, circulation, and consumption are the genealogies in the sixteenth and seventeenth He researched print issues and peripheries cornerstones of Early Modern book culture, centuries. Diagrams, Porphyrian trees and and stressed the importance of analysing they should not be understood as monolithic other illustrative charts were simple to design infrastructures. Andreas Golob (Graz) dem- pillars restricting scholarship to one of these in manuscript form, but printers struggled onstrated how an Early Modern newspaper three aspects. To encourage a dynamic discus- with representing such figures in print. His publisher could benefit from his connections sion, three other aspects should be considered conclusion was that no media transition is with book publishers. Review journals such to elaborate on Darnton’s model: sociality, ever frictionless, and as a result, book his- as the Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek were vital spatiality, and materiality. Production, circu- torians should concentrate more on shifts for the newspaper, as they not only provided lation, and consumption are shaped by the and transitions than on individual works or constant news on recent publications but also actions and motives of actors in the book genres. The final session was led by Daniel helped editors to choose the appropriate text trade networks, hence a social element needs Bellingradt, who further discussed the benefits to convert into a serial. Through book adver- to be considered. Furthermore, books are of analysing materiality, sociality, and spatial- tisements, book printers could also attract produced in particular spaces and published ity. He unravelled another blind spot in book ... /3 in various forms and sizes, often reshaped history: the paper trade and its networks. He through rebinding and regrouping with other combined elements of materiality, sociality, CONTENTS texts after publication. A plenary discussion and spatiality to show that paper dealers were followed each session, bringing together the deeply interconnected with book production, CONFERENCE REVIEWS 1 panellists and encouraging discussion about book circulation and book selling. THE PREZ SPEAKS 2 the application of these three aspects. This Books travelled in myriad ways and under RARE BOOKS SUMMER SCHOOL 9 conference was supported by the German different circumstances. They moved from BOOK REVIEWS 10 Research Association (DFG), Erfurt Uni- one geographical area to another; they were E-RESOURCE REVIEWS 32 versity, Utrecht University, “Dr. phil. Fritz eagerly collected, preserved, and passed on BIBLIOGRAPHY 35 Wiedemann Stiftung,” and the “Freundeskreis through time by individuals or within certain 2 c 2015 SHARP NEWS VOL. 24, NO. 2 difficulties that most scholarly societies based SHARP NEWS THE PREZ SPEAKS in a single country don’t face – but then again, we do get to travel the world in the name of EDITORS book history... Padmini Ray Murray, Centre for Public History We are an international organisation. At- There are, of course, opportunities too. Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology tend our conferences, browse our newsletters, Through our expanding team of regional C-1 Casa Lavelle 1, Lavelle Road, Bangalore read our conversations on SHARP-L, search liaisons led by Simon Frost, we are able to – 560 001, India. the directory of members online, and our support local book history events across the Sydney Shep, Wai-te-ata Press internationality is self-evident. This has been world. We have held ten regional conferences Victoria University of Wellington one of SHARP’s greatest strengths since its since 2003, and actively encourage applica- PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand 6140 foundation, and is recognised in the opening tions for future ones. We support scholar- [email protected] sentences of the document drafted by the ships in three different countries and intend Futures group in 2013: to expand this. SHARP has been named in EDITORIAL ASSISTANT – 24.2 Sara Bryan “We recognize that SHARP aspires to be a several international research applications, Publication Assistant, Wai-te-ata Press global, diverse and interdisciplinary organiza- and we’re currently involved in a bid with tion. SHARP should support members and INKE (Implementing New Knowledge En- REVIEW EDITORS their activities wherever they are in the world vironments, based in Canada) which would Joanna Howe, Books – Europe and in whatever language.” allow us to explore ways of making our online Bath Spa University, UK Being international comes with its own newsletter more interactive and dynamic. [email protected] challenges, perhaps the most obvious of For several years now, we’ve been working Clayton McCarl, Books – Latin America which is recognising and embracing linguistic with Brill and Professor Andrew Pettegree University of North Florida, FL, USA diversity. Most of SHARP’s activities take (and his colleagues at St Andrews) to revivify [email protected] place in English, but increasingly our confer- Book History Online, and make it a world-class Jeffrey Makala, Books - North America ences are supporting multiple languages, such resource for book history research: there will University of South Carolina, SC, USA as the recent and highly successful regional be an announcement about this at Montreal. Erin A. Smith, Books - North America conference in Monterrey organised by Blanca The new redesigned website features an inter- University of Texas at Dallas, TX, USA L. de Mariscal and colleagues <http://web2. active world-map on the homepage, allowing reviews_usa@sharpweborg mty.itesm.mx/temporal/impresiones/eng- visitors to see what book historical events are Susann Liebich, Books –Australasia/Pacific lish/index.html>, or this summer’s bilingual happening near them. In the longer term, I University of Heidelberg, Germany annual conference in Montreal <http:// hope we’ll be able to create a way of enabling [email protected] sharp2015.ca/>. The translations commit- any member to visit any part of the world, Abhijit Gupta, Books – South Asia tee, which published five translated articles whether in person or virtually, and see at a Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India last September <http://www.sharpweb. glance local activities, resources, libraries and [email protected] org/translations/>, continues its work under archives, projects, and members. Lisa Pon, Exhibitions the stewardship of Susan Pickford, and there All of this explains why, at that online Southern Methodist University, TX, USA will be a special pre-conference