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Thursday, August 27, 2015

16th Century "e-Reader"

This is What a 16th Century e-Reader Looked Like

Wiebe de Jager | August 3, 2015


It’s easy to take thousands of books on holiday with you these days thanks to the e-reader, a device that can store enough books to keep you reading for months. E-readers are especially great for people who like to read lots of books at once as they automatically remember where you left off last time.

Le-diverse-et-artificiose-machine-del-Capitano-Agostino-Ramelli
Figure CLXXXVIII in Le diverse et artificiose machine del Capitano Agostino Ramelli, an illustration of a bookwheel. Public Domain marked. Source: Wikimedia Commons
But they’re nothing new. As early as 1588, the Italian military engineer Agostino Ramelli invented a device that allowed people to read multiple books at the same time, without having to worry about remembering page numbers. The so-called bookwheel (or reading wheel) could hold many (heavy) books, so it was possible to change books with minimal effort. The device provided a comfortable reading chair and through a sophisticated mechanism – similar to that of a ferris wheel – the books would remain facing upwards while the wheel turned.

<more at http://blog.europeana.eu/2015/08/this-is-what-a-16th-century-e-reader-looked-like/; related links: http://www.europeana.eu/portal/record/2020801/dmglib_handler_biogr_24756004.html (GROLLIER DE SERVIERE, Nicolas. Description: French inventor and ornamental turner who became well known for creating a series of fantastic machines.) and http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/02/behold-the-kindle-of-the-16th-century/273577/ (Behold, the Kindle of the 16th Century. February 27, 2013)>

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