Announcements
Current projects, current research, recent events and forthcoming publications.
Current projects
Printing colour
My long-term project concerns the history of medieval and early modern colour printing.
For my Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellowship on the subject see: News.
For theme-subjects see below under Current research.
For conferences, courses and presentations on the subject see Recent events.
For publications see Recent publications and scroll down to Colour printing history; also see below under Recent publications and under Forthcoming publications.
From Jikji to Gutenberg
European and American people familiar with the history of book printing usually consider Johann Gutenberg's 42-line Latin Bible (Mainz, Germany, c.1450–55) as the first book with text printed from moveable cast-metal type. However, the earliest experiments with printing from movable ceramic type were carried out in China from the 11th century CE. In Korea printing with moveable cast-metal type developed from the 13th century CE and was lasting. The oldest surviving Korean book printed with metal type is one copy of the second volume (of two) of the Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol (Master Baegun’s Excerpts from the Buddhas’ and Patriarchs’ Direct Pointing to the Essence of Mind), more commonly known as Jikji. The book was published at Heundock-sa Temple located in Cheongju, Korea, in July 1377.
The project From Jikji to Gutenberg: The Origins of Printing from Cast-Metal Type will observe the 650th anniversary of the printing of Jikji, predating Johann Gutenberg’s Bible by approximately 78-years. Research comparing the earliest Korean and Europan letterpress processes will be carried out by a team of some thirty American, Europan and Korean scholars and scientists from 2021. Results will be published in a volume. My contribution will compare the earliest European book printing inks with the earliest Korean printing inks. The project will culminate in a series of a exhibitions spread globally in 2027, displaying examples of early Korean and European letterpress, with educational videos and an accompanying catalogue with contributions by a few dozen scholars.
For information about the project see: https://jikji.utah.edu/.
For an explanation about Jikji see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jikji.
For a recent newspaper article on Jikji see: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/04/135_63447.html.
For a draught of the research statement see here (PDF, 5.7MB).
For the program preprints of the scholarly meeting of the research team in the Library of Congress in Washington DC on 13 and 14 April 2023 see: https://jikji.utah.edu/from-jikji-to-gutenberg-colloquium/.
For literature on the technical examination of printing ink in incunabula see here (PDF, 3.2MB).
For ‘The Colours of Black: Printing Inks for Blockbooks’ see here (PDF, 12.2MB).
Compilation Abraham Blooteling
A compilation of the prints by, after and published by Abraham Blooteling (1640–1690) for New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish: https://www.hollstein.com/running-research-projects/abraham-blooteling.html. Publication will be due in 2027. To be followed by compilations of the prints by, after and published by Cornelis Dusart (1660–1708) and Jacob Gole (1660?–1724) in the same series.
Current research
Bibliography of Books with Colour Printed Intaglio Illustrations 1475–1870
This is a current bibliography of books, serial works and periodical publications illustrated with manualy produced engravings and etchings. The plates are printed manualy, monochromatic in one colour (non-black) or polychromatic in two or more colours (including black), the plates are either inked à la poupée in multiple colours, are puzzle prints, composite prints, or plates printed in register with one colour per plate. Starting in c.1476 with a volume on astronomy, subjects range from anatomy and archeology through botany, cartography, paleography and zoology to illustrated novels, to also include artists manuals, novels, examples for embroidery and books on travel.
The project was presented during the conference Printing Colour 1700–1830: Discoveries, Rediscoveries & Innovations in the Long 18th Century (London, 10–12 April 2018); see under Recent events.
Colours of Anatomy: The Function and Style of Colour Printed Medical Figures compared to Fine Art Colour Prints 1500–1830
This project retrieves and analyses colour printed medical images (both single sheet prints and book illustrations) and fine art colour prints to research the appearance and meaning of the one in comparison to the other. The important question is how the appearance and function of early modern colour illustrations in medical literature differ from single-leaf colour art prints.
A poster on the project was presented during the conference Printing Colour 1700–1830: Discoveries, Rediscoveries & Innovations in the Long 18th Century (London, 10–12 April 2018). For the abstract see the programme: http://www.printingcolourproject.com/conferences/pc17001830/programme/. Download a small-size version of the poster here (PDF, 217KB), or contact me for the full-size one.
Bibliography of Medical Colour Figures: Single Sheet Prints and Book Illustrations, 1500–1830
A current bibliography of single sheet prints and book illustrations printed from woodcuts, engravings, etchings or mezzotints in colour, monochromatic or polychromatic, in relief, intaglio or in combination until the introduction of chromolithography. The main subjects are human anatomy and human pathology, with some works on veterinarian themes and medicinal plants.
Bibliography of Books with Colour Printed Text, 1450–1850
This work in progress begins with Gutenberg’s Latin Bible (1452–1455), of which copies of the first setting have rubrications printed in red (all other rubrications in these volumes and in all other copiesis are written manually). Gutenberg followers Fust and Schöffer produced books with black-and-red printing with blue-and red decorated initials from 1457. Here European printing in colour on paper and parchment started. Selected are monographs, periodicals and single-leaf texts. All compiled works have letterpress texts printed in colour other than the common black-red combination, thus in blue, brown, gold, green, white, yellow and their combinations, except for rare forms of printing in black-and-red, or in red only.