Scribal Practice and Global Cultures of Colophons, 1400–1700

This book is the first to chart the global diversity of colophons between 1400 and 1800. The volume presents a new approach to scribal cultures that expands traditional definitions. Moving from the paradigm of codicological information towards a thorough interpretation of the wider social worlds of colophons in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, this volume uncovers the fascinating cultural history of early modern scribes. Chapters examine how those engaging in the composition and distribution of colophons shaped scribal identities, group cultures and bookish communities in a world in which manuscripts mattered. Authors build on approaches from anthropology, cultural studies, codicology, history, and philology to offer a new conceptual framework that studies colophons as scribal practices embedded in their changing social and cultural worlds. As a new contribution to the history of the book, this volume’s global approach pushes the boundaries of what constitutes a colophon.

PRAISE:
“The essays collected in this volume argue for a broad definition of the colophon and demonstrate its significance as scribal practice and social act for authors as well as otherwise forgotten scribes and readers. Bahl and Hanß have done a wonderful job bringing together experts ranging from India to Germany and from the Americas to Sudan and Malaysia. This is a tour de force of sophisticated global erudition.”
Filippo de Vivo, Professor of Early Modern History, University of Oxford

“In its wide global range and rich variety of studies, this expertly edited volume provides an unprecedented view into the scribal practices of diverse cultural traditions in the early modern period. Focusing on colophons, broadly defined, the authors challenge the provincialism of western histories of the book, and demonstrate the benefits of global perspectives for revitalizing the field. The combination of expert scholarship and vivid examples makes for engaging reading for anyone with an interest in the history of literacy and writing.”
Johanna Drucker, Breslauer Professor of Bibliographical Studies and Distinguished Professor of Information Studies, UCLA

“This volume finally gives the colophon the place it deserves: as a topic in its own right, as a process mediating scribal agency and as a transcultural social practice. The book succeeds in putting the colophon on the research agenda by cutting across traditional regional and chronological boundaries of academic disciplines. We thus see scribes and printers at work in Thailand, the Deccan, Delhi, Damascus, Antwerp and Timbuktu. If you love books, read this book – simply fascinating and a pleasure to read.”
Konrad Hirschler, Professor in Islamic Studies, Universität Hamburg.

“In this cross-disciplinary endeavor, eleven authors tell lively and exciting stories of historical scribal practices. Hereby, the colophon takes center stage, and we are invited to discover a broad range of its various functions in different social and political contexts. As authoritative textual elements in manuscript cultures, they can serve as stamps of individual agency, as powerful tools in hierarchical constellations as well as means for crafting scribal and archival communities.”
Verena Klemm, Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Leipzig.