The Business of Books: Booksellers and the English Book Trade 1450-1850 » (New Edition)

James Raven is professor of modern history, University of Essex. He is the author of numerous studies in cultural history and has published extensively on the history of the book and related topics.

In 1450 very few English men or women were personally familiar with a book; by 1850, the great majority of people daily encountered books, magazines, or newspapers. This book explores the history of this fundamental transformation, from the arrival of the printing press to the coming of steam. James Raven presents a lively and original account of the English book trade and the printers, booksellers, and entrepreneurs who promoted its development.
Viewing print and book culture through the lens of commerce, Raven offers a new interpretation of the genesis of literature and literary commerce in England. He draws on extensive archival sources to reconstruct the successes and failures of those involved in the book trade—a cast of heroes and heroines, villains, and rogues. And, through groundbreaking investigations of neglected aspects of book-trade history, Raven thoroughly revises our understanding of the massive popularization of the book and the dramatic expansion of its markets over the centuries.

List of illustrations, figures, and tables     ix
Acknowledgements     xii
Note on the text     xv
List of abbreviations     xvii
Introduction: the enterprise of booksellers     1
The arrival of print: domestic and foreign     11
Markets and martyrs: early modern commerce     46
The late Stuart trade: new horizons     83
Investing in books: the supremacy of the booksellers     119
High and low: locating the trades     154
Boosting demand: stationers, printers, and sellers     193
Challenges and survivals: the late eighteenth century     221
Promoting the wares     257
Risking failure     294
Steam and stamps: nineteenth-century transformation     320
Conclusion     351
Historiographical overview     373
Notes     379
Select bibliography     435
Index     456