The exhibition

“Signs – Books – Networks: from Cuneiform to Binary Code”, on permanent display at the German National Library’s German Museum of Books and Writing, provides a brief history of humanity based on the three media innovations of writing, book printing and digital networks.

Tally sticks, tattoos, anatomy textbooks, neon signs, camouflaged publications, gravestones, novels and love letters – humans have been using written characters to record their messages, fantasies and knowledge of the world for more than 5,000 years. Before writing was invented, people passed information from generation to generation by word of mouth. However, writing, book printing and computers now enable knowledge to be stored for posterity.

The exhibition invites visitors to investigate early forms of communication, memory techniques, writing systems, historic book formats and modern recording techniques. It sheds light on the advances made by Johannes Gutenberg, opens up “worlds of reading”, reports on cases of censorship and presents masterpieces of medieval and modern book art. The rapid development of media at the beginning of the 20th century illustrates how books have lost their status as the most important medium and now have to compete with radio, television and digital net worlds. At the end of the tour, the exhibition takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the future of media in six artistic dioramas.

In 2013, the permanent exhibition was awarded the Antiquaria Prize for Book Culture. The jury justified its decision as follows: “The judiciously chosen route from cuneiform to digital technology appeals to experts and non-experts alike and has met with an enthusiastic response.”

A journey in images

Photo: Klaus-D. Sonntag

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Sounds – signs – scripts

Language, images and scripts are the building blocks of communication. The development of early scripts in the Near East and Egypt 5,000 years ago signalised the first quantum leap in the history of media. While the spoken word is limited by constraints of space, time and memory, the written word can record ideas and information for posterity.

Pagination

: Making a mark …

Information for your visit

Address and getting here

German National Library
German Museum of Books and Writing
Deutscher Platz 1
04103 Leipzig

Getting here

We advise you to use public transport.