PRINTING AND THE MIND OF MAN: Catalogue of Exhibitions at the British Museum and at Earls Court, London, 16-27 July 1963

London: Messrs. F.W. Bridges & Sons Ltd and the Association of British Manufacturers of Printers’ Machinery (Proprietary) Ltd, 1963. First Edition of the original printing of this great work. The original catalogue of the Exhibitions at The British Museum and at Earls Court, London 16-27 July 1963. With many plates and illustrations throughout, including not only illustrations of the books, but also of the printing machinery and presses used throughout the centuries. 8vo, bound in the original printed and decorated paper wrappers. [128], 32 plates; [64], 16 plates pp. A handsome copy with some evidence of use, a page of catalogue text has been provided in facsimile and bound in perfectly, good notes concerning copies obtained by a collector of books presented in the catalogue.. FIRST EDITION OF THE ORIGINAL CATALOGUE FOR THE EXHIBITION. For bibliographers, book collectors, librarians and scholars, the initials PMM are probably cited more than any other reference when describing Western Civilization’s most important and influential books.
This exhibit was “Arranged to Illustrate the History of Western Civilization and the Means of the Multiplication of Literary Texts Since the XV Century,” to quote the foremost pages of the catalogue. The exhibit featured almost 200 examples of printing mechanisms and printing materials that were significant to the development of Western history. Included are THE GUTENBERG BIBLE, Aristotle, Cicero, Euclid, Lincoln’s THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS, and Galilieo’s DIALOGO, just to name a small number.. A very interesting collection of works and an unusual (yet handy) reference.
In this original printing, the catalogue is presented in two parts just as the exhibition was presented to the public at both Earls Court and the British Museum.