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Botanica Blackwellia

In which Anna and Judith travel back to the degenerate world of Eighteenth-century London. Expect, user-focused content and design, a performance in rhyming verse and a little gin.

When Elizabeth Blackwell’s husband ends up in a debtor’s prison, she thinks writing and illustrating her own book will save the day, but it’s a mammoth task.

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Pianotype

In which Anna and Judith uncover a publishing innovation that promised to spark a revolution – but didn’t. Expect the spectre of automation, invisible women, union disputes, rock-star pianists and a new take on the sound of typesetting. The Anatomy of Sleep was the first book ever typeset by machine. By the time of the second…

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The Sign of the Penguins

In which Anna and Judith travel to Antarctica to embark on the greatest possible adventure: publishing a book! Expect cold, dark and dismal weather, the printing press from hell and the stench of seal blubber – all wrapped up in tasty petit-pois endpapers.   Aurora Australis was the first book ever written, printed and bound…

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Trailer 01: The pianotype

The pianotype was an elegant Victorian machine, which promised to revolutionise typography and literature. But why has no-one heard of it?    LINKSYou can view the 1842 edition of ‘The Anatomy of Sleep’ by Dr Edward Binns online at the Internet Archive.  You can see pictures of the Pianotype machine in Anna’s blog post for…

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