First approximations to the graphic study of the patrimony library of the Order of Preachers (Tunja, Colombia)

Abstract

This article is the product of an investigation oriented to the graphic and historical study of the ancient book in Colombia, in which the Collection of the Order of the Preacher by the Library of the Santo Domingo de Guzmán Convent, in the city of Tunja ( Boyacá, Colombia) was chosen to describe and characterize old books, in terms of graphic and editorial design; The research that is being developed by the research group: Image Studies of the School of Design, Photography and Audiovisual Production, and the seedbed in Theory and History of Graphic Design, added to the Bogotá University, Jorge Tadeo Lozano. This study corresponds to the first phase of research, in which the criteria and categories from the collection of graphic design were proposed to identify and classify, as old books, the corpus that was possible to consolidate in the collection. To do this, a serie of instruments was used that allowed collecting information related to material and design elements of the book. The results that are exposed in this article are intended to be a contribution to the conservation and dissemination of the cultural heritage of the Nation, from the disciplinary area of graphic design and motivate interest in the ancient book among professionals and researchers in this disciplinary field, through the analysis of the relationship between aesthetics, material culture and graphic production, as well as the knowledge of the existence and importance of this collection.