Structure & Materials
Structure & Materials
Reading objects in Special Collections - the importance of structure and materials
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The structure of an object and the materials used to create it can reveal information about its original purpose, its value, or the audience it was created for.
Researchers can examine how objects were made or can analyse the quality and type of materials used to make them.
The quality and decoration of any binding or the type of paper or parchment used can give clues about the time, location and original function of an object.
We use the word materiality when we speak about the physical qualities of a book: its structure, what it is made out of, and how it is bound for example, as distinguished from its contents.
