Work involving the production, editing, or compilation of books; the labor and craft of creating books; also, clerical or office work.
From 'book' (Old English 'bōc') + 'work' (Old English 'weorc', labor or activity). This term reflected the specialized craft of bookmaking, printing, and publishing from medieval times onward.
Medieval 'bookwork' was extremely specialized—scribes, binders, and illuminators were different craftspeople with separate guilds, and a book represented months of skilled labor.
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