After the printing press was invented, would people still make and purchase hand-copied books for reasons of aesthetics the way people today might buy 'hand-made' products that possess no practical advantage over machine-made ones?

by johhny-turbo
reximhotep

While I am not sure of a hand written book, I know of the existence of a hybrid: There was a printes edition of Luthers Bible translation that was then ornamented with eloborate hand colored paintings. The book is found in the Anna-Amalia-Bibliothek in Weimar, Germany, and there is a facsimile edition: [http://www.amazon.de/Biblia-Luther-Bibel-1534-vollst%C3%A4ndiger-Nachdruck/dp/3438055031/ref=pd_cp_b_1]

farquier

There are some examples of deluxe manuscripts made after the invention of the printing press, yes. The most famous are probably the Spinola Hours and the Grimiani Breviary; most of these very late manuscripts are to the best of my knowledge extremely high-end personal prayerbooks. Outside of western Europe of course manuscripts were still made for a very long time after the invention of the printing press; in fact Syriac manuscripts were copied by monks well into the 20th century and I think there may still be a few scribes active today. And Torah scrolls are still liturgically required to be hand-copied.