From a roll, bamboo slips and palm leaf, a screenfold, a quire, wooden boards, three paths for the needle, a printed sheet, and a cover that arrives afterwards. Open each one on the bench and see how loose leaves become a book.
Prologue · 1/8
A book, before any stitch
The oldest way to keep a long text in order is to roll it, not to sew it. Egyptian papyrus was made of short sheets joined at the edges and wound on a wooden core. Unroll it and the joins appear in a row. There is no thread. A leather scroll uses the same gesture, with a different support and a different join.
