"In this, Ralph Gibson's 30th monograph, books themselves have become objects of fascination, examination, and veneration. From the early days of ancient Roman stone carvings to the revolutionary printing of the Gutenberg Bible through today's explosion of information on the Internet, Ex Libris chronicles the written record, offering a new interpretation of the signs, letter forms, shapes, and images used to document human history. Features images from the world's greatest book collections and libraries, including the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris; the British Museum; the New York Public Library; the Pierpont Morgan Library; and the Cairo Museum."--BOOK JACKET.