This version posted on 5/24/08

 A Curious Artist's Timeline
By Christine Cox

Click the graphic above to download
the PDF version.
You'll need Adobe Acrobat reader to view it.

Some printers lose the edges of the text. You can change the document to print to your printer's margins by doing the following:

• While in the PDF document click File>Print

• Change the page scaling to "reduce to printer's margins"

• Click OK
  
  Click this graphic for a larger view of the dialog box

5/24/08 Wahoo! The University of Iowa Libraries, Preservation Department, Conservation Unit very generously gave me permission to use their book model photos for the timeline! The photos really add a lot to the timeline and now we can see examples of some of the main binding styles during different periods of history. I'd like to thank Kristin Baum for working with me on this project.

3/26/08 Lots more additions to the papermaking and metals portion of the timeline.

2/26/08 I've added tons of new updates to the timeline, especially to the metals area. The timeline was getting so big that I had to extend it to 33 pages or it would have been too small to read.

2/15/08 I just did a bunch of updates to the timeline. Most of them are in the papermaking area but there are others too. Did you know that Gutenberg was a metalsmith or that Leonardo invented the rolling mill? Amazing confluences of history.

If this type of thing fascinates you, I highly recommend the TV series (available on DVD) called "Connections." Follow the link to find Connections on Amazon.com

12/25/07 This is so cool!!!

I started this timeline early in 2007 to see how metals, books, paper, calligraphy, glass and enamels developed in relation to one another. I get the information as I'm reading, well, anything (I'm kind of a perpetual student). I'm constantly updating the timeline so check back periodically to see if a newer version has been posted.

It's made to be printed out (23 pages) and then taped together on the 8.5" side of the pages. I originally used it as a scroll but found that it was too hard to go from one page to another quickly. Now I fold it accordion style and it reads like a book. You don't have to print it. You can just store it on your hard drive and refer to it when you need to.

This is a gift from me to you, so if you do something really cool with it, please make a second one and send it to me!

Note: This is just a personal exercise for myself. Please do not rely on this information for anything important as it is not guaranteed in any way.