The Provincial Book Trade in Eighteenth-Century England

✍ Scribed by John Feather

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 193
• Series: Cambridge Studies in Publishing and Printing History
• Edition: Reissue
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

It was not until the eighteenth century that books became widely available throughout the whole of England. Publishing remained largely London-based, but the provincial market grew steadily in importance. In this study, drawing on a wide range of primary sources, John Feather traces the economic, social and cultural forces which made possible this fundamental change, and assesses the impact of the metropolitan printed word on provincial society. He discusses the important issues of copyright and piracy; the various financial arrangements between booksellers and publishers; and above all the elaborate distribution and agency systems that enabled London publishers to retain their effective stranglehold by penetrating the provincial market at every level.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 8
Illustrations......Page 9
Preface......Page 10
Acknowledgements......Page 12
Note on Sources......Page 14
Note on Dates and Places......Page 16
Abbreviations......Page 17
London and the Country......Page 18
A Century of Growth......Page 29
The Market for Books......Page 49
The Distribution System......Page 61
The Bookselling Business......Page 86
The Printing Office......Page 115
Conclusion......Page 140
APPENDIX......Page 142
William Seale's Paper Stock......Page 147
John Cheney's Printing Equipment......Page 149
The Universal British Directory......Page 151
Subscribers to Thomas Hervey's......Page 155
Subscribers to Elisha Coles's......Page 156
Subscribers to Job Orton's......Page 157
Notes......Page 158
Index of the Provincial Book Trade......Page 184
General Index......Page 190