Search

This article questions the typical meaning of the term incunabula. Firstly, because the date that defines it does not have a solid foundation. Secondly, because defining it from temporality excludes a series of elements that are key to the birth and establishment of the book. The American historian Robert Darnton, in his famous article, extended the history of the book beyond the object, extending it to communication circuits and the different agents related to its production and uses, namely: authors, publishers, printers, suppliers, sellers, readers, and bookbinders (1982). This bibliographic review recovers other aspects that also define the incunabulum but that have been neglected and attempts to address the birth of the book from the circuits of communication and not only from temporality. Likewise, it brings together facts, discussions and definitions that are little known in the Spanish language, and that will allow specialists and communicators to have greater clarity about the books of the 15th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tracks the formation of the inculabula collection that forms part of the stock of the National Library of Colombia, manifesting how this collection has been subject to different forms of organization, systems of cataloguing and places. Factors such as: the reason and moment of entry of books account for the relation that individuals and communities have held with ancient and rare books. In order to do this, we examined different catalogues and indexes that the Library has had, as well as the reports presented by its directors. This study constitutes a irst step towards the recognition and dissemination of Colombian bibliographical patrimony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]