'All earthly existence must ultimately be contained in a book.' French poet Stephane Mallarme understood that books hold the world's stories. From the earliest known myths and legends to postmodern fictions, books are mirrors of real worlds, windows into imagined worlds and keepers of powerful ideas. Beautifully illustrated, The World of the Book is a celebration of this age-old tradition drawing upon the rare collections of the State Library of Victoria. A journey through time and across the globe, this volume features great books and publishing innovations of the past and present. It also revels in the sheer beauty of books as objects to be desired and treasured. Within these covers you will discover an illuminated manuscript created for the Medici family of Florence in 1479; masterpieces of early printing, such as Gutenberg's Bible and Aldus Manutius's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili; books recording the scientific discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo and...