Reading Imperfection

ABSTRACT: 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.