Dirty books: Quantifying patterns of use in medieval manuscripts using a densitometer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Early users of medieval books of hours and prayer books left signs of their reading in the form of fingerprints in the margins. The darkness of their fingerprints correlates to the intensity of their use and handling. A densitometer is a machine that measures the darkness of a reflecting surface can reveal which texts a reader favored. This article introduces a new technique, densitometry, to measure a reader's response to various texts in a prayer book.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-26
Number of pages26
JournalJournal of Historians of Netherlandish Art
Volume2
Issue number1-2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2010

Keywords

  • Medieval manuscripts
  • Densitometer
  • Conservation

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