MATERIAL BOOK ANALYSIS
Purpose
This assignment asks you to study a specific copy (or digital surrogate) of a British novel published between
1700-1900 and to write an essay discussing the material form of this copy of the novel, considering the
relationship between that material form and content, and suggesting what this object contributes to an
understanding of the novel genre in its period. Specific questions to help you think through these issues are
offered below; you should also consult Werner.
Due date
Thursday, 28 October
Please turn in both the document file (minimum 10 pages + Works Cited) and a separate zip file of
images in Blackboard.
Skills
This assignment asks you to demonstrate the following skills.
Identifying and describing the physical features of a book
Analyzing what physical features of a book might suggest about cost, quality, audience, and so on.
Understanding connections between material form, content, genre, publishing considerations, reading
experiences, and genre.
Possible sources for your book or digital surrogate:
Online databases:
ECCO (Eighteenth-Century Collections Online) or NCCO (Nineteenth-Century Collections Online) or
HathiTrust
Advantages: All of you have access to these resources through the TTU library
ECCO and NCCO offer a large choice of texts
Disadvantages: scans & databases do not include information about binding and the like
TTU Special Collections
Advantages: You can handle the books and see bindings, etc.
Always available during business hours
Disadvantages: Limited selection
Not available to distance students
Another institution’s Special Collections
Advantages: If available, would allow distance students to handle texts
Disadvantages: May have limited selection
Detailed instructions:
Your thesis should be a statement about how this particular text materially contributes to an understanding of
the history of the novel genre in its period. To arrive at and support this thesis, your essay should consider the
following kinds of questions about content and form:
If you have a physical copy to work with, consider the cover.
What kind of cover does it have (paperback or hardcover)? What does the material of the cover feel
like – strong, good quality, poor quality, etc.? Are there signs of wear or use?
Is the binding a publisher’s binding or was it added by the owner? If by the owner, what does the style
and quality of the binding suggest about how the owner felt about the book?
What does the cover look like? Does the cover have pictures or just text? What kind of images does it
have? What kind of reader might this image appeal to? Is the cover as a whole well-designed
and attractive, or not?
Are there blurbs on the back cover or dust jacket flaps? Is there a plot summary? Is there any other
information in these places, like an author photo or bio? What do these elements add to the
book?
How does the title page present and categorize the book? Is it identified as a novel? If not, how is it
described, and why might it be described that way? Does the title page seem to be aimed at a
particular audience?
Does the book have a dedication, or a preface, or an introduction? How does this prefatory material frame the
book? What might this framing suggest about the author’s or the publisher’s intentions for or
marketing of the book?
Does the book have a table of contents? If so, how is it organized? How are the chapters identified, and why?
Does this suggest anything about how authors or booksellers expected readers to read the novel and
use the book?
Does the book include any advertising information about the titles and/or prices of other books that the
publisher sells? If so, what does this suggest about the publisher and their positioning in the market?
What is the size and format of the book, and how many volumes is it? What does the size and format of the
book suggest about the publisher’s costs or about the potential audience?
What kind of paper was used for the book? What size and style of print was used? Do these material details
indicate quality, time, and expense? What do they suggest about the publisher’s expenses and the
intended market for the book?
Are there any illustrations? If so, what type and how many? Where in the book are they placed? Are they
signed? What is the purpose or function of the illustrations? What do they suggest about the
publisher’s expenses and the intended market for the book?
What is the condition of the book? Are there any marks of provenance (ownership) such as an owner’s
signature, bookplate, or book label? Is the book damaged or worn? If so, does the damage suggest
use or mistreatment? Is there any marginalia? If so, what kind? Can you tell who may have owned
or read the book and how they might have used it?
How many editions of the book were there in its time (and since)? Does it appear to have been popular? Is
this novel considered an important one by scholars, particularly with reference to histories of the
novel genre? Is there much or little criticism on this text? Does its canonical or non-canonical status
appear to correlate with the material form of this particular copy?
For an example of scholarship combining literary and material analysis, see Janine Barchas’s Graphic Design,
Print Culture, and the Eighteenth-Century Novel.