The Book-Makers

A fascinating book that speaks volumes * Financial Times, Summer Reads of 2024 *This really is the loveliest of books and you will never take for granted reading a physical copy again * i *Agile storytelling and chatty erudition evoke not just the physicality of the book but also its innate humanity * Observer *A passionate paean to the book, in all its forms, as an object … So interesting, so thought-provoking * Literary Review *The Book-Makers breathes bibliophilia. It recalls Walter Benjamin’s essay ‘Unpacking My Library’. Like Benjamin, Smyth unpacks his contents lovingly … I cannot recommend it highly enough * Spectator *Emphasising the human aspect in all its chaotic truth, The Book-Makers is far from your standard Gutenberg-to-Google history of the book… [Smyth] is almost uniquely well-qualified to convey what his 18 makers felt under their fingertips, and why it mattered to them so much. It is, in the truest sense, an enthusiast’s book; one that deserves to find enthusiasts of its own * Telegraph *Vivid and often-surprising … The charm of The Book-Makers comes from its interest in wear and tear, blunders and errata, the spontaneous and the scrappy, the residual and the recycled – and in edges, of pages and bindings, society and taste * Times Literary Supplement *Refreshing … Smyth breathes both books-as-objects and their creators back into life * Financial Times *Bound to be brilliant … There’s no doubting the breadth of [Smyth’s] knowledge and love of the business * Guardian *Fun and informative … The Book-Makers gives you a lively sense of the way in which books have been made and unmade, crafted, handled and spliced down the centuries * Prospect *

Adam Smyth runs the 39 Step Press, an experiment in printing, from a cold barn in Oxfordshire. He is also Professor of English Literature and the History of the Book at Balliol College, University of Oxford.