An Author or Scribe at Work

This illustration from a book produced in late Roman/early medieval times shows either an author writing a book or a scribe making a copy of a book by hand. This was the painstaking and slow process necessary to produce books in antiquity; mechanical printing had not yet been invented, and therefore mass production of books was not possible. As a result, books were expensive and precious objects, as indicated in the painting by their being carefully placed on their sides in the cabinet behind the writer to keep their weight from warping their spines and pages. (Holy Bible [Biblia Sacra], Codex Amiatinus, 690–716 [parchment] / Anglo-Saxon / Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Florence, Italy / Mondadori Portfolio / Electa / Sergio Anelli / Bridgeman Images.)