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5 Apr 2014

How Books Are Born

Has it ever occurred to you that we don't appreciate physical books anymore? Well, at least not as much as we used to. We literally take paper books for granted, assuming that they are going to stay there forever and that our 'romance' with e-books is no more than just a mere fling. It is true that nowadays we give more and more preference to e-readers instead of traditional books. And it's understandable: e-books are way cheaper, always available and it's easy to transport them, without having to worry about overweight in the airport.

As a consequence, though, we eventually stopped appreciating the art of bookmaking.

The first print book ever was made by Johannes Gutenberg in 1454, Mainz, Germany. That makes the bookmaking craft only 560 years old. Not that much, if you think about it. So it makes me just sad to realize that the art of bookmaking may die so young and that the books themselves will eventually end up as objects that are merely massing dust.

Take a look at this 2-minute video made by Daily Telegraph that shows how hardback books are made. The birth of books is a long, complicated process carried out with love and patience so that we, bookworms, would always have something to sniff. I know. Sounds great, doesn't it?



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