This panel features four papers that examine various aspects of the object we know as the "book." Ranging in scope from medieval Japan to the present, the panel deals with issues of both the materiality and functionality of the book as more than a mere vehicle for the printed word.
Lawrence Marceau and Julie Davis investigate the role of illustrations within books before the advent of newer visual media such as television and film. Marceau's study explores the interactions between illustration and the printed text, and uses early translations of Aesop's fables to discuss how the format of the book shaped its content. Davis's paper casts light on the important roles of illustrator and publisher who were involved in the production of the early modern book as a commodity for popular consumption.
Papers by Linda Chance and Sari Kawana deal with the book as status symbol in medieval and modern Japan. Chance's paper describes how the premodern book functioned as an instrument that could generate cultural capital and intellectual karma for its owner. Kawanaﾕs paper examines how labels such as "zenshû," "jôhon," and "sôsho" fueled the desire to own collectible editions when everything else in contemporary society was becoming disposable.