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Before the printing press was around, books were created with materials that might be considered shocking today, such as animal skins, gold, plant materials and other unique materials 鈥� skulls were even used as writing surfaces!

However, this isn鈥檛 a surprise in the University of Northern Colorado鈥檚 English 495 class, 鈥淗istory of the Book,鈥� taught by English Associate Professor Kristin Bovaird-Abbo, Ph.D. One of the key assignments of this class allows students to re-create a manuscript page using some of the techniques that were used to produce the first books in the ancient world.

鈥淎 lot of students grew up on computers and didn鈥檛 have the experience of writing on typewriters, so I wanted them to have a chance to see what it was like for a medieval scribe to put together a work,鈥� said Bovaird-Abbo. 鈥淭he class used heavy-duty paper instead of vellum, which would have been made from animal skin and is very expensive; the students also used turkey feather quills with a medieval recipe for ink to complete their writing.鈥�

Along with the manuscripts project, the class also attempted to make illuminations 鈥� a process of gluing a thin, fragile sheet of metal, known as gold leaf, in the shape of a 'W' to the front of their manuscripts, which Bovaird-Abbo describes as 鈥渁 very difficult process鈥� though she was impressed with the results. The process is called "gold leaf" because the metal foil is very thin like a leaf.

Another example of an assignment includes working with the moveable type that鈥檚 typically found in printing presses. One of the innovations of the printing press in the 15th century was the use of moveable type cast in metal, as opposed to woodblocks; woodblocks wore down quicker and were time-consuming to make. The students had the opportunity to use small pieces of Baskerville type, which originated in the mid-18th century, to compose phrases. This tricky assignment involves placing the letters on backwards, which makes it easy to accidentally flip a 鈥榖鈥� or 鈥榙.鈥�

This is the first time that Bovaird-Abbo has taught this course, but she鈥檚 hopeful that students will enjoy it, so she can teach it again in the future. Mary Harbert, a senior English major, had this to say about the class:

鈥淎bbo's History of the Book class has been an amazingly hands-on experience. Each day is something new, from being able to handle pages and books dating back hundreds of years to working with historically accurate ink and quills. Being able to get a true feeling of all the components of the book, from how it's made to how it began, has been immensely satisfying as an English major and fellow book lover. This is my last class before graduating and I'm glad to have such engaging content each day."

English 495 is a chronological survey of the history of books starting with stone and papyrus and ending in modern digital books we see today. The main focus of the class is the Western world, but there is time dedicated to places like China, Japan and Egypt.

鈥擯roduced by Joshua Parsons and Katie-Leigh Corder.