the History of Book in East South Asia

The essays in this volume discuss the history of the book in South Asia starting with the earliest palm-leaf manuscripts and ending with the development of vibrant print cultures which are still thriving today. The geographical area covered includes the various modern nation states that make up South Asia today and the history also takes account of The History of the Book in South Asia covers not only the various modern states that make up South Asia today but also a multitude of languages and scripts. For centuries it was manuscripts that dominated book production and circulation, and printing technology only began to make an impact in the late eighteenth century. Print flourished in the colonial period and in particular lithographic printing proved particularly popular in South Asia both because it was economical and because it enabled multi-script printing. There are now vibrant publishing cultures in the nation states of South Asia, and the essays in this volume cover the whole range from palm-leaf manuscripts to contemporary print culture.