As a form of writing, travelogues are first-person accounts that present a given place as seen through the eyes of a specific interpreter. With the advent of steam-powered locomotion in the nineteenth century, this genre experienced a marked shift. No longer limited to an aristocratic elite, long-distance travel was now in reach of a greater swath of society whose desire to show themselves as cultured made them eager to share their impressions of far-off lands.Focussing primarily on...

Welcome and opening remarks from Christine Smith, chair of the Concordia Library Research Forum committee. Recording: https://youtu.be/2YKgLVSJtvQ

As the book trade expanded in the early nineteenth century, new technologies and materials began to be used in bookbinding, this included the invention of machine-made bookcloth in the 1820s. This early bookcloth was made from thin cotton or linen, and was coated with a mixture of starch, fillers, and colourants to impart a brilliant eye-catching hue to the covers. This new type of bookcloth was less expensive to use than traditional leather and quickly became the standard for mass-produce...