Used books

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In a recent sale catalog, a bookseller described a sixteenth-century volume as "rather soiled by use." However, the following year, it was noted for being "well and piously used," with marginal notations that highlighted its early owner's engagement. This shift in perception reflects a growing appreciation among cultural historians and book historians for marked-up copies over pristine ones. William H. Sherman's exploration of Renaissance England reveals a culture that took "mark my words" literally. Early printed books are filled with marginalia, customized bindings, traces of food and drink, penmanship exercises, and doodles, all offering a rich archive of information about the lives of books and their readers. Drawing from a survey of thousands of early printed works, the text examines what readers wrote and what these marks reveal, employing tools from archaeology, history, and literary criticism. Topics include the role of book-marking in schools and churches, the use of the "manicule" symbol, women's contributions to information management, and the attitudes of collectors and librarians toward annotated books from the Middle Ages to today. This comprehensive study aims to make the marks of Renaissance readers more visible and meaningful to scholars, collectors, and bibliophiles.