Seforimchatter The Early Jewish Printed Book: Episode 1 (with Michelle Margolis)
Dec 28, 2025
Michelle Margolis, the Norman E. Alexander Librarian for Jewish Studies at Columbia University, shares her expertise on early Hebrew printing. She delves into the fascinating mechanics of movable type and Gutenberg's significant role in transforming Jewish learning. Margolis discusses how early printing shaped community needs and its cultural impact, exploring the origins of Hebrew presses in Rome and the priorities of commentaries in print. The conversation also highlights connections between those fleeing the Inquisition and the spread of Hebrew works in the Ottoman world.
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Movable Type Transformed Book Production
- Movable type lets printers reuse individual letters to compose many pages much faster than carving whole pages.
- This innovation, credited to Gutenberg, enabled scalable book production across Europe after the 1450s.
How Early Presses Worked Mechanically
- Printers used matrices to cast many identical metal letters, then locked them into a frame with 'furniture' for printing.
- The wooden screw press, adapted from a wine press, physically impressed inked type into paper repeatedly.
Colophons Reveal Early Press Workflows
- Colophons recorded printers, typesetters, patrons, and publication dates at the end of early books rather than on title pages.
- Printers needed literate proofreaders because type-setters (often women or children) made errors when assembling type.