Pianotype

09/27/22 • 35 min

In which Anna and Judith uncover a publishing innovation that promised to spark a revolution - but didn't. Expect the spectre of automation, invisible women, union disputes, rock-star pianists and a new take on the sound of typesetting.
The Anatomy of Sleep was the first book ever typeset by machine. By the time of the second edition, it was set by hand. Today, the machine that made it is virtually unknown. So what happened?
CONNECT WITH ANNA & JUDITH
Find more information and images at the Bookshapers website.
Follow Bookshapers on Instagram.
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BOOKS & LINKS
CREDITS
Recorded by Anna Faherty and Judith Watts. Edited and produced by Anna Faherty.
Incidental music: La Campanella, composed by Franz Liszt in 1851 and performed by Romuald Greiss on an 1850 piano. Available at Wikimedia Commons.
Sound effects: The sound of the typewriter from tams_kp on freeounds.org
Theme music: Folk guitar music track from Dvideoguy on freesound.org | Typewriter sound effect from tams_kp on freeounds.org | Print shop sound effect from ecfike on freesound.org

Previous Episode

The Sign of the Penguins

In which Anna and Judith travel to Antarctica to embark on the greatest possible adventure: publishing a book! Expect cold, dark and dismal weather, the printing press from hell and the stench of seal blubber - all wrapped up in tasty petit-pois endpapers.
Aurora Australis was the first book ever written, printed and bound in Antarctica. This rare collection of fact, fiction and poetry was self-published in 1908, at Shackleton's hut in Cape Royds.
CONNECT WITH ANNA & JUDITH
Find more information and images at the Bookshapers website.
Follow Bookshapers on Instagram.
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BOOKS & LINKS
The Heart of the Antarctic, a popular account of the expedition written by its leader, Ernest Shackleton. Published by Heinemann in 1910.
Antarctic Days: Sketches of the homely side of Polar life by two of Shackleton's men, an informal account of daily life during the expedition, written and illustrated by James Murray and George Marston. Published by Andrew Melrose in 1913.
Nimrod: Ernest Shackleton and the extraordinary story of the 1907-1909 British Antarctic Expedition, a present-day account by Beau Riffenburgh. Published by Bloomsbury in 2004.
See images of Shackleton’s hut (from the Antarctic Heritage Trust)
Find out what was in Shackleton’s library (from the BBC)
Watch how a modern day facsimile of Aurora Australis was produced (by the Folio Society)
CREDITS
Recorded by Anna Faherty and Judith Watts. Edited and produced by Anna Faherty.
Incidental music: All She Gets From The Iceman is Ice performed by Edward M Favor, released in 1908. Sourced from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive
Sound effects: The sound of the Antarctic katabatic wind from Stormpetrel on freesound.org
Theme music: Folk guitar music track from Dvideoguy on freesound.org | Typewriter sound effect from tams_kp on freeounds.org | Print shop sound effect from ecfike on freesound.org

Next Episode

Botanica Blackwellia

In which Anna and Judith travel back to the degenerate world of Eighteenth-century London. Expect user-focused content and design, a performance in rhyming verse and a dash of gin.
When Elizabeth Blackwell's husband ends up in a debtor's prison, she thinks writing and illustrating her own book will save the day, but it's a mammoth task.
CONNECT WITH ANNA & JUDITH
Find more information and images at the Bookshapers website.
Follow Bookshapers on Instagram.
Follow Bookshapers on Twitter.
USEFUL LINKS
See Elizabeth's letter of introduction to Hans Sloane at the British Library.
'A Curious Herbal as Material Witness' at the Linnean Society.
'Will the Real Elizabeth Blackwell Please Stand Up?' at NYBG.
CREDITS
Recorded by Anna Faherty and Judith Watts. Edited and produced by Anna Faherty.
Incidental music: Concerti Grosso, Opus 3 No 2 in B-flat major composed by George Frideric Handel in 1734 and performed by The London Baroque Orchestra. Available at Wikimedia Commons.
Sound effects: The sound of the typewriter from tams_kp on freeounds.org
Theme music: Folk guitar music track from Dvideoguy on freesound.org | Typewriter sound effect from tams_kp on freeounds.org | Print shop sound effect from ecfike on freesound.org

Bookshapers - Pianotype

Transcript

Introduction

The history of publishing is littered with amazing technological devices that enabled people to mass produce the written word. Some of these lasted the course. Others faded into obscurity, even those that promised to spark a revolution.

To me, they’re just such a lovely part of what makes print and publishing as attractive as it is.

Welcome to Bookshapers, the show that explores curious stories about the people and technology behind what we re