Tag: book history

The First Book with Page Numbers

                                              © Copyright 2010 Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf  The book is called  Sermo in festo praesentationis beatissimae Mariae virginis and it has the distinction of being the earliest known book to have page numbers. It was printed by Arnold Ther Hoernen in Cologne in 1470. More: The First Printed Page Numbers - I Love Typography Life Before (and After) Page Numbers - The Atlantic

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Advertising on the dust jacket

Dust jacket used by The Book Inn Lending Library, Seattle Washington ca. 1930's. Long before the Kindle Lending Library there were actual brick and mortar lending libraries. These were not public libraries but part of the offerings of book and department stores. Most charged a daily, weekly or monthly rate and many used their own printed dust jackets to both protect the book and as a revenue stream.Above is one used by The Book Inn Lending Library in Seattle. It features a slew of local advertising from neighborhood merchants (the library was in the now trending Ballard neighborhood). The ads feature the usual suspects;...

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