The History of the Book in the Early Modern Period: 1450-1800

On this course, participants will explore book production using examples from Trinity College Dublin and the Edward Worth Library, Dublin, while exploring the history of the book during the early modern period. It is offered by Trinity College Dublin through Future Learn, an online education platform.

The early modern period was an exciting time for invention and innovation. It describes how books were made, bound and illustrated, including the engravings of Anthony Van Dyck, and early editions of Aesop’s Fables.

Some of the learning objectives of the course are:

• Identifying the different parts of an early modern book
• Reflecting on how the invention of the printing press changed religious, scientific, medical and political views of the world
• Explaining how early modern books were created
• Describing how the early modern book trade operated
• Classifying provenance marks and annotations in early modern books