Bookmarks
The book mark is one of those ever so simple tools that many of us take for granted. Behind every cardboard and printed bookmark, however, there is a long history of...marking one's place in a book. Aside from regular paper bookmarks, many people prefer to use bookmarks made of metal, wood or different fabrics like leather. Others prefer platic bookmarks that can clip onto the pages.
Bookmarks date back to the medieval ages when they were made of pieces of cords that one could attach to the edge of the book. The pseudo invention came to be by way of necessity as upon printing the very first books readers needed a utensil to mark their place in the book. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I was one of the first people to own one. This is a likely scenario as books were still rare and expensive in the fifteen hundreds and only the elite could get their hands on them. Bookmarks were attached to the books themselves and were made out of expensive material and expensive to buy.
Cheaper, detached bookmarks began to be sold in the eighteen hundreds. These bookmarks were made out of fabrics, usually silk. By the late eighteen hundreds, bookmarks began to be mass produced, intended for readers to mark their place in the Bible. Today the most common bookmarks are made of thin card paper and sometimes come free with the purchase of a book. While anything can actually be used as a bookmark, most people tend to prefer real bookmarks. The concept of the bookmark also made its way to the internet. Just as it became necessary to mark ones place in a book, it became necessary to mark web sites that people wanted to come back to.
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