Category Archives: Book Trade in Antiquity
Some Papyrus Codices and Poor Copyists in a Letter of Jerome
As the codex replaced the roll as the main vehicle for the transmission of literature in antiquity, the terminology of the Roman book also shifted. One of the most common Latin designations for a papyrus roll was volumen. By the … Continue reading
A Walk in the Imperial Fora
For the first time since it opened, I took the walk on the new pathway through the imperial fora in Rome. From the Roman Forum you can go past the curia (where, at the moment, a portion of the Magna … Continue reading
Taking Care of Papyrus Scrolls in Antiquity
The digital edition of a new book has recently become available: The volume is the result of a workshop back in 2022 in which I was fortunate enough to participate. It was a somewhat unusual seminar in the sense that … Continue reading
Pumice, Parchment, and Papyrus
In the latest issue of the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists (2024, just out–table of contents here), I have an article on the use of pumice on papyrus (AAM here). Here is the abstract: Papyrological handbooks published in … Continue reading
Stichometry 2: The Edict on Maximum Prices
In an earlier post, I reviewed the evidence for a stichos or versus being equal (in theory) to 16 prose syllables. The count of stichoi in a work provided a standardized way of describing its length. A stichometric count could … Continue reading
Moss, God’s Ghostwriters
Over the last few years, Candida Moss has published several very interesting articles on different aspects of slavery and early Christianity, such as: “The Secretary: Enslaved Workers, Stenography, and the Production of Early Christian Literature,” Journal of Theological Studies 74 (2023) … Continue reading
Manufacturing a Papyrus Roll
Over the years, I’ve had many occasions to talk about the manufacture of papyrus rolls. I typically describe them as fairly simple artifacts–several individual sheets of papyrus pasted together to form a roll. And a papyrus roll is relatively simple … Continue reading
Buying Papyrus in Roman Antiquity
I recently came across the reference in Theodor Birt that reminded me of an old problem. After a description of the production of papyrus sheets, Birt states that “the resulting sheets were sold individually (Die so entstandenen Blätter kamen einzeln … Continue reading
Buying Books in Rome circa 86 CE
The surviving writings of the satirical poet Martial provide a number of insights into Roman book culture. He has been an especially important figure in discussions of the history of the codex, as he mentions on multiple occasions portable parchment … Continue reading
