Nature of the Book

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

What makes a book?

Early books were handwritten, printed, bound, and decorated using a wide variety of materials from the natural world. From essential ingredients like flax, leather, copper, and lead, to the unexpected, like wasps and seaweed, Nature of the Book shows what the innovative use of these varied and sometimes surprising resources can tell us, touching on questions of purpose, process, trade, and economy. It tells a story of both local resourcefulness and global influence essential to the Western book as we know it.

letters for nature of the book backwards on a print rod

Look For:

beetles above cactus — Beetles, moths, and wasps, who played unusual roles in the making of books

drawing Chinese people outside of a fort and some on horse — Poisonous pigments, like an arsenic-based green, or this lead-based red-orange hue

medieval writing on manuscript — An upcycled medieval manuscript, salvaged and later used as a book covering

Did you know?

The Chinese were the first to make paper from pulped plant fibers nearly 2,000 years ago.

TO DO:

Find the modern makers, bringing ancient trades like printmaking and papermaking into the 21st century.
Trace the global routes of historic book-making materials and techniques.
Snap a selfie with an 18^th century bird illustration from Mark Catesby’s Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, a landmark work of natural science.

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