In a 2018 blog post entitled The Diminishing Marginal Value of Aesthetics, technologist Toby Shorin argued that the speed with which visual media is produced and shared today has diminished its inherent value. This handwritten and handbound edition draws inspiration from Shorin’s essay and develops its thesis on the relationship between craft and media, highlighting the challenge of reproducing creative output without equivalent study and patience.

In the digital age, reproducing another's writing is frowned upon as plagiarism, an unethical or, in some instances, even an illegal act. But prior to the invention of the printing press, copying a manuscript was regarded as an honour to the text and its author—due in no small part to the immense amount of time and cramped fingers required for such a feat.