Tag Archives: Book History

Taking Care of Papyrus Scrolls in Antiquity

Posted on August 10, 2025 by Brent Nongbri

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 →

Posted in Book Trade in Antiquity, Voluminology | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Decoration of the Fore-edges of Coptic Codices

Posted on December 27, 2024 by Brent Nongbri

There is a fun article in The New York Times about the growing trend among publishers of producing deluxe editions of romance and fantasy books. The article mentions different kinds of cover enhancements but focuses on decoration of the fore-edge. … Continue reading →

Posted in Book binding, Book covers, Chester Beatty Papyri, Codicology, Maurice Nahman, Saqqara Codices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Relief from Ostia Showing Writers at Desks

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Brent Nongbri

The museum at the archaeological park at Ostia Antica has reopened after many years of closure for renovations. The results are quite impressive, and I hope to have a chance to post some reflections about the museum itself soon, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeological context, Codices, desks, Ostia, Tablets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Crosby-Schøyen Codex, the Length of kollēmata, and Dates of Codices

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Brent Nongbri

The upcoming auction of the Crosby-Schøyen Codex prompted me to revisit the edition of the codex and think a bit about the book’s construction. One datum that didn’t really register with me before I started making papyrus rolls is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bodmer Papyri, Codicology, Papyrus Making, Schøyen Collection, Tura Papyri, Voluminology | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Hugo Ibscher and the Cover of the Berlin Akhmimic Proverbs Codex

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Brent Nongbri

In 2022, I published a short paper on the construction of the Beatty-Michigan codex of the Pauline epistles (P46, TM 61855). I suggested that the surviving page numbers in the codex might not be an entirely reliable guide to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin Coptic Proverbs Codex, Book binding, Book covers, Chester Beatty Papyri, Chester Beatty Pauline Epistles, Codices, Codicology, Crosby-Schøyen Codex, Schøyen Collection | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Potential Early Papyrus Codex at Graz

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Brent Nongbri

Back in June 2023, several news outlets picked up the story of “the Graz mummy book.” A team at the University of Graz led by Theresa Zammit Lupi had identified P.Hib. 113, a papyrus extracted from mummy cartonnage and published … Continue reading →

Posted in Book binding, Codices, Codicology, Ink, Mummy cartonnage, P.Hib. 113 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Storing Scrolls

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Brent Nongbri

I have papyrus rolls on my mind right now, but I’m also interested in parchment rolls. I’ve been reading an excellent new book by Bruce Holsinger, On Parchment: Animals, Archives, and the Making of Culture from Herodotus to the Digital … Continue reading →

Posted in Voluminology | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Qumran Cave 1 Questions, Part 3: Is Cave 1 Really Cave 1?

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Brent Nongbri

This is the third in a series of questions relating to the source of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls to appear on the market in 1947. The first post dealt with the Genesis Apocryphon, and the second with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Archaeological context, Dead Sea Scrolls, Find Stories | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments