Parnaso Lusitano or Selected Poems by Ancient and Modern Portuguese Authors (Parnaso Lusitano ou Poesias Selectas dos Auctores Portuguezes Antigos e Modernos) [Portuguese] Year: 1826-1834 Call Number: RBK1800-00112 This is an anthology of selected poems by renowned Portuguese poets, both ancient and modern. It is a 16mo small book, bound in imitation zebra-dyed sheepskin, with a flat spine and gilded edge, and each volume is equipped with a dark green Morocco leather label; the edges of the cover are rolled and gilded, the three sides of the book are marbled, the lining pages are of marbled paper, and a silk bookmark is attached. The combination of rolled decorative gilding and Moroccan leather tags made from North African goatskin is a characteristic feature of middle-class bookbinding in the Georgian era in Britain. The Georgian era in eighteenth-century England was a pivotal period in the country’s transition from a traditional to a modern society. The Age of Enlightenment and the emergence of the first scientific revolution brought radically different new developments to human life. In terms of publishing and reading, the technological advances in printing and paper-making during the Industrial Revolution led to a large number of books— mainly novels, poems, and travelogues—being made available to people from all walks of life. As a result, trends such as mass reading and public reading began to emerge. 295 63
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