medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: Tom Izbicki <[log in to unmask]>
> The look is one of Word Processor. That sets my teeth on edge. Not
that all "good" presses are free from sin. Princeton once called a set
up: IBM Selectric Gothic. It looked fresh from the typewriter.
i think i know what you mean, Tom, and if that "look" only affects your teeth,
you are lucky.
it frequently gives me Distress in my lower intestinal track.
i seem to recall that the Pits --typographically speaking-- were achieved in
the late '60s to mid-'70s, when we started to have the Worst of Both Worlds:
just enough Technology to come into play to oust the experienced (and
unionized) Lineotype typographers who had the skill (and sensibility) to lay
out an attractive page, in an attractive font, with suchlike exotic "features"
as justified borders and well laid-out footnotes (both of which had been
hallmarks of scholarly books since the late 16th c., btw);
but a computer technology which was still in its infancy, with very limited
(and universally ugly) fonts, no ability to justfy margins or format footnotes
within the page, etc.
the results were books which had the appearance (and appeal) of undergrad term
papers.
and, as you say, many of the UPs jumped on this Dreadful, Brain Dead Band
Wagon (at the same time --coincidenally-- that the Bean Counters took over the
Front Offices at the UPs and prices really began to rise sharply).
exceptionally, a few (U. of California Press comes to mind), swam against the
Flush and continued to produce quite attractive books, culminating, at the end
of the '70s in one of the most beautiful trade books (much less scholarly
books) ever published:
Walter Horn, et al. _The plan of St. Gall : a study of the architecture &
economy of, & life in a paradigmatic Carolingian monastery._ Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1979. 3 vols.
the quality of most UC books has fallen off just a bit from that high point,
but not by much.
and even PUP seems to have come to its senses, with an appropriately sumptuous
edition of a brilliant book:
Madeline Harrison Caviness, _Sumptuous arts at the royal abbeys in Reims and
Braine: ornatus elegantiae, varietate stupendes._ Princeton University Press,
1990.
> Most libraries use approval vendors like Blackwell. We tend to set Mellen
at Forms [you get information but are not sent the book] or No [no word at
all].
as was mentioned on this thread, not *every*thing which Mellen publishes is
worthless, no matter how it might appear physically.
that sounds like a good setting for them, to me.
c
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