Book History Films at the Internet Archive

I just love this film on book making from the Prelinger Archive.  I’m such a dork for technology. Especially when it has something to do with books and is explained in a cheesy, retro voice-over. My favorite part is the trimming machine.

More printing and book related video from the Internet Archive:

— An introduction to printing as a profession, circa 1947. Describes the variety of roles in a printing house and what each requires in the way of skills and education. Cool shots of linotype and monotype machines in action.

— I quite liked this short instructional film for those learning to set type professionally, (1959). Though I can’t imagine doing this for eight hours a day, much less twelve, as in the early modern period.

— A test run of the Espresso Book Machine with some commentary. I don’t think that at this point the end result is quite as polished as intended.

— Linotype (1960) is a very detailed two-part look at the workings of a mechanical typesetting machine. Pretty dry, but if you’re mechanically inclined you might find it interesting. Part II.

— Newspaper Story (1950). An Encyclopedia Britannica educational short on newspapers, from the initial reporting work all the way through the printing process, simplified for schoolchildren.

— A film on bookbinding produced by the AFL-CIO in 1961. Very cheesy and romanticized. The first half is a demonstration of the re-binding of an old book, including marbleizing the pages and adding gilt lettering. The second half explores binding on an industrial scale.

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