Task 1.6 - References for the Illustrated academic essay

For my Task 2 essay I will be using ArchBook which is an open-access collection of illustrated essays about features in the history of the book. This open source is quite reliable since it contains encyclopedic resources such as the Cambridge History of the Book in Britain and is currently supported by the University of Toronto's iSchool.  In the essay I will be comparing and linking different types of interactive works, both historical and contemporary. In my opinion,  ArchBook is quite useful since it connects works from both periods regarding interactivity in books. Another feature which I found extremely useful is that each topic has its own definition and historical overview (like Wikipedia but with academic standards).

For the historical part I will be discussing Volvelles and Flaps(pop ups). These were both early interactive works.

What are Volvelles? What was their use?

Volvelles consist of one or more layers of circular discs which were fixed firmly to a leaf; each disc was rotated separately from the others. This medieval instrument performed calculations for a variety of purposes but mostly to calculate the motion of the Moon in relation to that of the sun. "Volvelles in particular have been called 'astronomical computers' due to their ability to perform basic computational exercises such as calculating astronomical phenomena..." (Gravelle M., Leroux C., Mustapha A., 2012). The first known Volvelle was created by Matthew Paris (Benedictine Monk) in 1250. He got inspired from the circular charts that appeared in the abbey's books.

Volvelles were a popular addition in astronomy books such as the one found in Johannes Sacrobosco's Sphaera, which is a 13th century astronomy text. (fig. 1)

Figure 1 - Sphaera from Ioannis de Sacrobosco, Sphaera (Paris: Apud Gulielmum Cauellat,1552).

 Image courtesy of Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.

Like volvelles, flaps or pop-ups also represented an early interactive interface. Flaps were also found in books during the 16th and 17th centuries, especially in anatomy books where several pieces of paper(flaps) were "pasted and arranged to depict various layers of viscera. Readers of such books lift or separate these flaps to reveal the interior anatomy of the human body. "(Lindsay McNiff and Michelle Kelly Schultz, 2012). Since flaps were used to explain subjects that required three-dimensional imagery, one may find various pop-ups in geometry books such as  Euclid’s The Elements of Geometrie. The flaps were cut to lie flat, which allowed the book to close naturally. (fig. 2)

Figure 2 - Geometric Flaps used to represent 3-dimensional shapes, Euclid's The Elements of Geometrie.

 Image courtesy of Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto.

Bibliography:

ArchBook, 2014. Architectures of the Book [ONLINE] Available at: http://drc.usask.ca/projects/archbook/index.php. [Accessed 06 March 2014].

ArchBook, 2014. Architectures of the Book - Flaps [ONLINE] Available at: http://drc.usask.ca/projects/archbook/flaps.php. [Accessed 06 March 2014].

Gravelle M., Leroux C., Mustapha A., 2012. Architectures of the Book - Volvelles. [ONLINE] Available at: http://drc.usask.ca/projects/archbook/volvelles.php. [Accessed 06 March 2014].



V&A Collection (Victoria and Albert Museum)

Another source which I will be using for my essay is an article from the V&A Collection. This source is quite reliable since it offers links to online collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum. This Museum is situated in London and is the world's greatest museum of art and design.

This website offers a preview of current exhibitions and also content related to past exhibitions. The V&A Collection website is divided into tabs according to various art movements. Therefore one can search the collection according to the desired period. It also offers a number of courses where one can take part in yearly courses and gain knowledge regarding art periods.

This museum/website has a collection of over 4.5 million objects, from which I found a book consisting of 20 sheets of paper joined together. This was made to form a panorama of the Queen's Coronation Procession. This took place in June, 1838 and the artist of this panorama was Joseph Robins.

This lithography was painted by hand on cloth boards. It also has "the title in gilt on the front cover, and a gilt crown on the back cover; Inside the covers, and on a sheet of paper, are the publisher's title and advertisements; Published by Joseph Robins, Bride Court, Fleet Street and C. Tilt, Fleet Street, London; 1838." (V&A Images , n.d)

Since the Queen was crowned when she was only 19 years old, the monarch required a lighter crown therefore "on the outer cloth boards there is a gilt embossed image of 'The Queen's New Crown'." (V&A Images , n.d)

Bibliography:

V&A Search the Collections, 2014. Print | Robins, Joseph (and C. Tilt). [ONLINE] Available at: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78226/print-robins-joseph-and/.  [Accessed 01 April 2014].