- Winner, Honourable Mention for Literature, Language and Linguistics, American Publishers Prose Awards, 2010
- Based almost exclusively on new primary research
- Explains the complex process of viewing documents as artefacts, showing readers how to describe documents properly and how to read their physical properties
- Demonstrates how to use the information gleaned as a tool for studying the transmission of literary documents
- Makes clear why such matters are important and the purposes to which such information is put
- Features illustrations that are carefully chosen for their unfamiliarity in order to keep the discussion fresh
