Reading Imperfection

This article investigates early modern engagements with error
and their physical embodiment in material texts. It focuses on Thomas Browne’s
work that is entirely dedicated to error: Pseudodoxia Epidemica, first published
in 1646. Browne demonstrates a curious openness towards error, and in its
textual transmission he miswrites certain things that would make imperfect
readers of others. “Reading imperfection,” then, applies to three areas: the
errors in the world that Browne encountered, his creation of an inherently
imperfect printed text in writing about them, and how they were received by
contemporary readers. The article focuses on the correction of these mistakes
by the extensive manuscript annotations of Christopher Wren (1589–1658),
arguing that error was not merely an accusation but a valuable discourse. Wren’s
responses demonstrate that searching after error was a fundamental aspect
of early modern intellectual activity and textual culture, profoundly shaping
knowledge production, transmission, and reception through the material
book. KEYWORDS: Thomas Browne, Francis Bacon, Christopher Wren,
Pseudodoxia Epidemica, early modern error, book history, textual criticism,
history of science, intellectual history, corrections, annotations, marginalia,
reading practices, print culture, manuscript culture