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Of Books and Bees: Prescription and Practice in the Farming Book of Henry Best (c.1642)

After months of research and discussion on our project, it’s become second nature to consider what how-to books offered besides useful instruction. Evidence of the readership of many early modern how-to books shows that learning the methods for household tasks, practical skills or curious experiments was rarely the sole motive for their consumption. They were… Continue reading Of Books and Bees: Prescription and Practice in the Farming Book of Henry Best (c.1642)

The Ferguson Collection. A Tribute to Performance Art

„Put on a pullover – but don’t stick arms or head through the normal openings – squat down and pull the end of the pullover down over your knees and feet. In this position endure for 20 seconds.“  This weird instruction is part of Erwin Wurm’s series One Minute Sculptures. Here, the viewer becomes the… Continue reading The Ferguson Collection. A Tribute to Performance Art

Those Who Patch Know. On How-Tos that Flourish

A flat bicycle tire is never welcome. It usually happens at the worst possible moment: on the way to my seminar or at the start to an excursion to the idyllic lakes in Brandenburg. Strangely, it almost always affects the rear wheel, which is harder to remove – a kind of buttered toast effect (the… Continue reading Those Who Patch Know. On How-Tos that Flourish

How-to Books, and How to Bond. Field Notes from My Trip to Glasgow.

On paper, my trip to Glasgow was all about research in the Ferguson Collection. Steff’s assignment was clear: he wanted me to take a “deep dive into the sources” and so I arrived equipped with my analytical goggles and an extra air tank that would allow me to submerge myself for hours in the murky… Continue reading How-to Books, and How to Bond. Field Notes from My Trip to Glasgow.

How to Find Traces of Use in Old Books. At Venerable Shelves in Wolfenbüttel

In an age when books are categorized on Amazon by their condition — ‘like new,’ ‘good,’ ‘with minor signs of wear’ – blemishes seem to be considered a flaw. But what if these very traces are the real treasures? What if it’s not the untouched, pristine block of pages that matters, but what lives between… Continue reading How to Find Traces of Use in Old Books. At Venerable Shelves in Wolfenbüttel

How to Be ‘Galant‘. About Guides of a Special Kind

As we are now well aware: How-to books shaped everyday life in early modern Europe. There is no other explanation for why so many printed self-help media came onto the market. The Renaissance etiquette manual was something else, a guidebook explicitly designed for personality development, for ‘self-fashioning’, a ‘how to be’ book, so to speak,… Continue reading How to Be ‘Galant‘. About Guides of a Special Kind

George Conyers: a How-to Book Specialist in Early Modern London

Much of my research on our ‘how-to’ project so far has concerned one person: the London bookseller George Conyers. Active between around 1682 and his death in 1740, through his long career Conyers occupied a rare position in the early modern English booktrade which makes him especially worthy of consideration for the student of how-to.… Continue reading George Conyers: a How-to Book Specialist in Early Modern London

Instructions, Problem-Solving, and Practical Knowledge.

Rethinking Cultures & Histories. This is the motto of our new project homepage about how-to books. What motivated us? There are the notorious why and what questions, which you can discuss forever: Why is there something rather than nothing? What is nature and what sets it in motion? Who or what is God? But you… Continue reading Instructions, Problem-Solving, and Practical Knowledge.

Some Impressions from the Workshop Talk in Wolfenbüttel

‘Read me and Wishes Come true’ – that was the title of the workshop talk that Hartmut Beyer and I organised. This is a format that has been informing the staff of the Herzog August Library about research projects based at the library for many years. Guests are always welcome, whether physically or virtually. ‘How-to… Continue reading Some Impressions from the Workshop Talk in Wolfenbüttel