erikkwakkel: Devouring a book As I have shown in previous posts...

erikkwakkel:

Devouring a book

As I have shown in previous posts (like this one), medieval and early-modern books were damaged not just by the hands of their readers, but also by animals. Hungry animals, that is. Mice and beetles in particular loved to dig into the parchment and paper pages, devouring words in an unwanted way. This big hole in a 17th-century Italian manuscript is an extreme example, fortunately, through it is symptomatic for the fact that books are constantly under attack from nibbling creatures - who are as persistent as they are hungry. It is only in the care of a good library that such old books can lean back in peace, knowing they are safe.

Pic: image taken from this news piece.