ART & HISTORY OF BOOKS.|THE by Levarie, Norma - 1995

New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press, 1995. cloth. 4to. cloth. xx, 315+(1) pages. An unabridged reprint of the first edition which was published by James Heineman, with a new foreword by Nicolas Barker. This book is a tightly written and lavishly illustrated panorama of book design from its earliest history to recent years. Tracing the history of fine books against a background of changing patrons, improving technology, religious and social change, and the state of the arts throughout the world, this volume encompasses both illustrated and unillustrated books with a breadth of detail not found in any other work. With 176 facsimile pages from books of unusual beauty or interest, many of them photographed especially for this volume, THE ART & HISTORY OF BOOKS, is more than a valuable reference source: it is a perfect example of expert design, cogent description, and relevant illustration. Lacking dust jacket.