marginalia, bibliographical and critical observations

Evidence

"printed books were used exactly as manuscripts: passages were excerpted and copied by hand, marginalia, bibliographical and critical observations and other notes (possession, selling and buying certificates, waqfiyyas) were accommodated"

Remarks

The transition from manuscript to print in Ethiopia saw printed items being treated like codices; readers manually added extensive ink marginalia (p. 259). In one example, a reader added quotations from 'al-Miṣbāḥ al-munīr' to a printed copy of 'Kifāyat al-ṭālibīn' (p. 267). This hybrid use highlights the blurred line between the two media in the early 20th century (p. 259).