A congenial book or simply a good project? Reflections upon layouts of books from various eras

Abstract

The article puts forward the thesis that the modern term "congenial book" meaning a harmonious combination of the content of a work (the text together with additional material, including graphic material) and its function in the form of an appropriate form, i.e. a typographic design that takes into account all the needs of the reader and its implementation using appropriate materials (paper, binding, etc.), can also be extended to ancient books.

Contemporary examples of congenial books include the works by Andrzej Tomaszewski, who stresses that typographic design must derive from the text, reflect its character and fulfill a specific function, such as cognitive, didactic or aesthetic one.

These principles, however, are not an invention of the last half-century, but have been applied by book designers since ancient times, as evidenced by analyses of publications from different eras. The juxtaposition of a biblical manuscript, an anatomical textbook and atlas, a hagiographic publication, a volume of poetry and a popular science book proves that each of these books was carefully designed to enhance the content and fulfill a specific function. Each of them also has characteristics typical of the time of its creation, which makes it possible to see which elements of the works are universal and which are the result of the so-called taste of the era.