There is a paper story to this painting from 1672 waiting to be told. Meet Jan Berckheyde's "A Notary in His Office" highlighted in 5 steps - a thread for friends of #paperhistory and #mediahistory of #EarlyModernEurope, and for #histodons in general. Expect a view into the inky paper states of Europe, a paper age dealing also with waste papers, fresh paper sheets waiting to be used, a high paper demand, and some document bags literally full of used papers. Let's roll @histodons
@histodons Paper is often only recognized when it is written upon or printed upon. Here, in the highlighted detail no. 1, a written piece of paper, neatly folded and full of information, is given from the notary to a client. This might be a letter, a contract, or a legal document; important is that this paper and the information stored on the paper held significance in the European administration practices running on paper and with paper. A paper move, like here, was often a power move.
@histodons Using paper as a culture included storing. The neatly stored bound books are relatively easy to store, as #bookhistory knows. But the used paper sheets caused problems and messy storing decisions as highlighted in detail no. 2. Used paper was waiting to be used again (as reading matter). Too often newly written communication flows inspired new papers of the future. And in between: the sheets were waiting somewhere. Stored to rot a bit, bored as artifact can be, dear #histodons .
@histodons Using papers led to storing and ordering needs. So, where to put all the used and waiting paper? This notary office, decided, like many secretaries at the time, to use document bags - literally filled with paper, written pages. These bags could be seen hanging in Dutch administration buildings. Watch out Eric Ketelaar's "Archiving people" on these bags. The opening and closing of the bags was at court a formal procedure; however, it was a paper exchanging business.
@histodons A closer look at every administrative activity of the period offers stored and waiting fresh paper sheets. Yet unused artifacts in different trading units of the paper trade: As detail no. 4 shows, you could buy paper as single sheets or in units up to 500, in the preferred format, quality and size, by the way.
@histodons Wherever paper was used, waste paper could also be found. Here, in detail no. 5 paper leftovers, waste papers, are lying on the floor next to a used quill. The presence of fresh unused papers, written upon "used" papers, and waste papers, in one scene remind #histodons of the material life of hand-made paper in early modern Europe: it was produced, it was used, and it was recycled - often to fresh 'new' paper. #EarlyModernEurope was a paper age with #recycling rhythms.
Hello historians, publishing staff with a lot of experience 😄 – is there a technical term for the index cards that publishers create for books and on which editions etc. are noted? It's not a routing card (Laufkarte). @histodons@bookstodon@dbellingradt
@histodons@sharporg As an author you should more than encourage your publisher to submit copies of your book to SHARP (and elsewhere). Some publishers just do not send books. For example, in the last two years, not one book from the series "Library of the Written Word" (Brill) appeared in front of the jury members. So choose your publisher wisely. Submitting free copies to win a prize or an award is, in my opinion, part of the support you want to get for your book.
On the painting with the title "The Alchemist" from the Flemish Mattheus van Helmont, circa mid seventeenth century, are many uses and abuses of #earlymodern paper products reflected in the details. I will address 7 of these paper issues in the thread. Bonus for #Alchemy friends: a large écorché figure, a distillation apparatus over a fire, and metal working assistants.
Enjoy.
@histodons Folded paper sheets ruled in early modern Europe. For letter writing activities, for administration, or for including your ideas into chapters of big books, or next to them - as in the highlighted part of the painting. The paper sheet was a mass artifact of the period, maybe THE most often produced artifact of the publishing, writing, and printing good old Europe. However, loose sheets were precious goods, easily damaged, burned, hard to collect over time. #PaperHistory
@histodons The history of knowledge production has a chapter on everyday practices. Working with books meant often: living with paper objects. The two small bound books on the table in the back remind the historian of this living with books context: next to the paper objects stands a water pitcher, and on top of the books is a small clay vase.
Knowledge practices of the European period 'Early Modernity" were often paper-related-practices, and they do have an everyday aspect.