Vol. 23 (2020): Cromohs
Approaches to the Paper Revolution

Introduction: Approaches to the Paper Revolution: The Registration and Communication of Knowledge, Value and Information

PDF
  • José María Pérez Fernández
José María Pérez Fernández
University of Granada
Bio
Cover image Cromohs 23, 2020, background: Jan Gossaert, Portrait of a Merchant, ca. 1530, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, National Gallery of Art. Open access image
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/cromohs-12572

Published 2021-03-24

Keywords

  • paper in motion,
  • connectivity,
  • media history,
  • communication,
  • book history,
  • history of science,
  • catalogues,
  • collection studies,
  • history of libraries,
  • archives,
  • commercial correspondence,
  • commercial and financial bills,
  • bills of health,
  • newsletters
    • ...More
    Less
Copyright Notice

Abstract

Invented in China and brought to Europe by Muslim merchants across the Silk Road, the use of paper in the West took off in the Mediterranean towards the end of the Middle Ages. Overshadowed in cultural and media history by the invention of print, paper has played a fundamental role as the media infrastructure for innumerable processes involving the registration and communication of knowledge and value in communities and institutions, from religious orders, mercantile societies, to global empires.

This thematic section of Cromohs features four essays. Three essays examine particular cases of paper as a medium for the codification and exchange of knowledge, information and value, whereas the fourth outlines the state of the art on the history of the so-called paper revolution and methodological issues illustrated with relevant case studies. These essays exemplify the research conducted by the Paper in Motion workgroup within the People in Motion COST action.

PDF