Doesn’t obsolescence mean that books will soon gather the same nostalgia and respect that a horse now has in our collective memory? To quote C.W. Anderson:

“Many people have sighed for the ‘good old days’ and regretted the ‘passing of the horse,’ but today, when only those who like horses own them, it is a far better time for horses.”

As our beasts of burden, horses were treated as stinky, abused creatures. People built their carriage houses miles away, if they could afford to, in order to avoid their smell. Horses were whipped, beaten, and finally turned into glue. Today, our modern paper mills foul the air in places like Berlin, New Hampshire with a smell akin to rotten eggs, while our waste dumps pile high with the refuse from an over-reliance on the paper-printed word. Books, magazines and the like don’t get any respect. If we had to whip them, we would. We certainly do throw them away as though they count for nothing.

These days, horses are seen as majestic and powerful animals. They represent privilege or nature, rather than burden and industry. In their marginalization, they have found a new, more respected place in our world. Imagine a day when the printed word will be cherished nostalgically over digital ink! A traditionally bound book, not as a commonplace necessity, but cherished as a respected and celebrated rarity. Imagine having your book printed with the attention and care of an illuminated manuscript. Quite the thought.