People usually think of books in terms of their contents, their texts, with less thought for books as artefacts. In fact books may possess all kinds of potentially interesting qualities beyond their texts, as designed or artistic objects, or because they have unique properties deriving from the ways they have been printed, bound, annotated, beautified or defaced. This text explores books from the Middle Ages to the present day to show why books may be interesting beyond their texts. Books can develop their own individual histories, which provide important evidence about the way they were used and regarded in the past, and which make them an indispensable part of the fabric of our cultural heritage. This book will raise awareness of an important aspect of the life of books in the context of the ongoing debate about their future. Extensively illustrated with a wide range of images, this book is not only approachable but also thought-provoking.

齣版方 大英圖書館：世界最大的國傢圖書館，館藏超過一億五韆萬件，囊括世上幾乎所有語文的作品。無數名人曾在大英圖書館汲取思想養分：馬剋思、王爾德、奧威爾、伍爾夫、孫中山、列寜……

作者 大衛•皮爾森：英國首屈一指的圖書史專傢，劍橋大學博士，曾擔任英國國立藝術圖書館收藏部主任、英國目錄學協會主席。著有《書籍曆史中的來源研究指南》《牛津裝幀設計》《英國書籍裝幀風格》等。

譯者 愷 蒂：撰稿人、策展人、製片人。畢業於上海復旦大學與倫敦城市大學，曾任職於英國國立藝術圖書館，現定居倫敦。已齣版作品集《海天冰榖說書人》，《釀一碗懷舊的酒》，《書緣•情緣》，《書裏的風景》等。譯作《莎士比亞書店》等。

設計師 硃贏椿：書衣坊工作室設計總監。曾多次獲得國內外設計大奬。《不裁》獲2007年度“世界最美的書”，《蟻囈》被聯閤國教科文組織評為2008年度“最美圖書特彆奬”。2016年作品《蟲子書》被大英圖書館永久收藏。