A New Method For Dating Hand-Printed Books

Now this is interesting: an article on the use of biology to date hand-printed books. An evolutionary biologist has developed a method to date maps and hand-printed books that scholars have not been able to date in the past. The work is done based on an analysis of the images made by tools (either copper plate or wood blocks). Because the deterioration of the tools is something that can be tracked, the undated images can be dated by comparing them to those images that are identical but dated. The biologist estimates that there are several hundred thousand undated books that are hand-printed, so there could be a surge of scholarship in the next few years once more work is done in this area. Via Alone On A Boreal Stage.