3Dhotbed: 3D Printed History of the Book Teaching Tools

About the Project

3Dhotbed is a collaborative project that seeks to facilitate global book history instruction by creating and disseminating the data necessary to reproduce 3D printable teaching models and historical facsimiles of tools and implements related to book history. Led by faculty from the University of North Texas, the University of California Los Angeles, and Texas A&M University Libraries, the project collaborates with makers, instructors, and institutions around the globe to expand the growing collection of 3D printable models and tools. Learn more at the 3dhotbed website.

About the Collection

The collection includes downloadable datasets necessary to 3D print teaching models that can be used to teach book history in various educational settings, as well as facsimiles and working replicas of certain tools used in historical bookmaking. The Typecasting Teaching Toolkit demonstrates how moveable metal type was designed and cast during the hand-press era in the West. The collection also includes a fixed-width composing stick, woodcut and xylographic plate facsimiles that can be inked and printed, as well as papermoulds that can be used to cast handmade paper. The collection will continue to expand as the project takes on additional partners and collaborations.