Printer's Error

March 13, 2017
Rare-book dealer and Pawn Stars expert Rebecca Romney and her husband, writer J.P. Romney (The Monster on the Road Is Me), dive into the history of the printed book with this treasure trove of the stories behind legendary books and their authors. The duo discuss forgeries of works by Galileo and Shakespeare as well as the difficulties of verifying the first printed book in Western history, the Gutenberg Bible, which was never signed by printer Johannes Gutenberg, making copies nearly impossible to identify. Some readers will be surprised to learn that even the concept of authorship is a relatively new one; through the Middle Ages, writers were viewed as mere channels for the Almighty to communicate with, and thus went unpaid. As for copyright, today’s authors have Charles Dickens to thank for fighting for both credit and proper remuneration for their efforts, according to the Romneys. Additional anecdotes—such as the story behind the creation of the revolutionary mapping technique called the Mercator Projection and the destruction of “one of the world’s most beautiful fonts,” the Doves Type—add breadth to this terrific collection.

January 1, 2017
The role of printed books in Western civilization recounted in diverting essays that recapitulate some significant events in the annals of bibliomania.The Romneys--Rebecca is the rare-book expert on the History Channel's Pawn Stars; J.P. is a writer and historical researcher--tell the secrets of paper and ink, publishing and buying, selling and collecting printed books. The authors offer bright character sketches of the book world's saints and sinners, heroes and losers, savants and simple dopes. They reveal the ineluctable power of the printing press and the odd peccadilloes of antiquarian book people. They also include obligatory discussions of Gutenberg's Bible and Shakespeare's First Folio, which holds a certain "curse" in that "most of those who participated in the creation of Shakespeare's Folio were dead within four years." The drollery among the dusty bookshelves will attract general readers to the innocuous pleasures of bibliomania. Within the entertaining passages, the authors define terms like "incunabula," "colophon," and "ISBN" for the uninitiated, and they pay homage to renowned publishers across the years. Along with favorites of the bookish folk, the Romneys introduce characters like Marino Massimo De Caro, the talented rare-book forger; T.J. Cobden-Sanderson, who built and destroyed what has been called the most beautiful type font ever; and monastic Johannes Trithemius, defender of the art of handwriting against the advance of the new technology of the printing press. Here, too, is Mercator mapping the globe, Dickens pleading for royalties from America, and Mary Wollstonecraft serving as the model of a modern liberated lady. The authors' description of the printing and dissemination of Western literature, mythology, and science employs a vocabulary beyond the usual antiquarian lingo, employing occasional double-entendres and mildly naughty words for a contemporary readership--some of the snarky parenthetical asides should amuse bibliomaniacal newbies. A spritely visit to the land of rare books.

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February 1, 2017

Dramatic tales and humorous anecdotes dot the landscape of the history of printing in Europe and America. Rare book expert Romney (History Channel's Pawn Stars) and her husband, J.P. (The Monster on the Road is Me), offer a sampling of stories from the time when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press and moveable type in the 15th century. One curious vignette is about Gutenberg himself, who left no record of his life, and therefore, little was known about him. Scholars could not even prove that he invented the printing press until a German history professor discovered archival material in 1741. Other stories tell of the perils of printing ideas, such as attempts to produce English-language versions of the New Testament despite its prohibition by the Catholic Church. The authors also write about how the history of printing in America and the flourishing of newspapers such as Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette were instrumental to the Colonists winning independence from Great Britain. VERDICT Written in an engaging, accessible style, these accounts will appeal to fans of Pawn Stars, as well as scholars of literature and printing history.--Donna Marie Smith, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., FL

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