| Bookends are first and foremost an item
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| | was that individual pages made access to
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| of function. A bookend's only reason to
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| | information easier by indexing, which
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| exist is to be placed at the end of a row
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| | eventually made books more popular. Hand
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| of books to keep it from falling over.
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| | written on fine parchment or vellum, hand
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| While it is a simple concept, the history
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| | bound in fine leather and sometimes
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| of bookends is wrapped within the very
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| | highly decorated outside and in, these
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| history of written language itself.
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| | early books were works of art in
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| Before books, knowledge and information
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| | themselves. They were of such high value
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| was passed by word of mouth. The more the
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| | that books were actually chained to the
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| knowledge base of humans increased, the
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| | shelves they were stored on to prevent
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| more the need for some way of keeping a
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| | theft. They took so long to produce at
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| record of things. Among the first 'books'
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| | such great expense that a library with as
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| known are clay tablets with marks made
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| | few as 25 volumes was worth a fortune.
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| into the wet clay which was then fired in
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| | These were stored in piles, or singly on
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| an oven like pottery. This was the first
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| | slanted boards where they were read.
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| known written language, called Cuneiform
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| | The development of movable type for
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| Script, developed over 6,000 years ago.
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| | printing them slowly made them more
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| As innovative as these first writings
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| | affordable and numerous. With so many
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| were, it was not the most practical way
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| | more books available, shelving systems
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| to record information, and carrying large
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| | holding books vertically to save space,
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| clay tablets around was definitely not
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| | with the spines facing outward for ease
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| convenient. The next innovation in the
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| | of identification were developed to
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| written word came with the introduction
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| | categorize and store them for ready use.
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| of the scroll, approximately 5,000 years
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| | The problems of a half-row of them
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| ago. The first scrolls were made from
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| | constantly falling over, sometimes off
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| animal skins or papyrus.
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| | the shelf, was solved by the use of
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| The scroll held many advantages over the
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| | bookends in these Renaissance libraries.
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| clay tablet. They weren't as cumbersome,
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| | Bookends have been with us ever since.
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| could hold much more information as the
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| | From plain metal bookends to highly
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| scroll could be made as long as was
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| | ornate bookends, their function remains
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| needed, and offered opportunities of
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| | the same. They are a part of the
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| editing text that were not possible with
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| | evolution of the written word that began
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| clay tablets once they had been fired.
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| | with those cuneiform tablets over 6,000
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| The ancient Judeans used the scroll to
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| | years ago. That there was ever a need for
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| transmit their holy texts, beginning a
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| | such an item speaks volumes about the
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| tradition that is still practiced in
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| | ingenuity, creativity and practicality of
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| modern Judaism with Torah scrolls.
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| | the human mind.
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| The advantage that books had over scrolls
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