A Handbook of the History of Printing in Europe and the Mediterranean with a special Focus on Theatralia, Musicalia and Orientalia. 3 Volumes. Edited by Don Juan Archiv Wien / Geoffrey Roper, London
Aims and content
The purpose is to provide a concise but comprehensive reference resource on the history of printing in Europe and the Mediterranean area. It seeks to break new ground in treating Europe and its immediate neighbours to the east and south, principally the Ottoman Empire and its successor states, as a cultural whole, with continual interaction and interpenetration between its different parts, not least in the fields of the book and the performing arts.
The work will focus on three particular themes, or categories of material:
1. Theatralia
The beginnings and development of the printing and publishing of
- theatrical texts and libretti
- periodicals, reports and reviews of theatrical performances
- texts about theatre
2. Musicalia
The beginnings and development of the printing and publishing of
- musical notation and scores, with particular reference to the three principal methods: movable types, engraving and lithography
- texts about music, opera and ballet, including musical periodicals and serials
3. Orientalia
The beginnings and development of printing and publishing in the non-roman alphabets of the eastern European and Mediterranean areas: Greek, Cyrillic, Glagolitic, Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, Syriac and Arabic.
This has a particular intercultural significance, because the printing of most of these scripts started, not in their countries or areas of origin, but in western Europe. At the same time, some of the problems of creating movable types for the cursive scripts (Arabic and Syriac) were akin to those of musical typography. A sound and concise chronological and topographical overview of these developments is much needed, and this handbook aims to fill this gap.
Arrangement of the material
Each European and Mediterranean country will have its own entry. These will cover the beginnings and subsequent landmarks of printing in the national language and in languages using other scripts, followed by accounts of the origins and development of the printing and publishing of drama texts, music and related material. Where historically important, some consideration will also be given to the beginnings of the printing of broadsides, newspapers, topographical works and images by way of woodcuts, engravings and lithographs.
Where possible, information will also be given on typical sizes and numbers of editions printed, and their distribution domestically and abroad.
Each entry will include two bibliographies:
- a chronological bibliography of the earliest publications in the above categories
- a list of the more important secondary sources
The handbook will include a short glossary of the most important technical terms in: English - German - Italian - Spanish - French - Arabic.
The Handbook is edited by Dr Geoffrey Roper (bibliographical scholar and print historian) in London and Dr Michael Hüttler (theatre scholar and project manager, Don Juan Archiv Wien) in Vienna.
It will be in the English language, and is expected to be published in 2014.
The length of the articles will vary according to the level of output of each country in the above fields, with a maximum of 15000 words.
Projectmanagement: Michael Hüttler