The History of the Book in the West: 1800�1914: Volume IV(The History of the Book in the West: A Library of Critical Essays)

This collection of published papers on the development of the publishing cycle from author to reader includes work by many of the leading authorities on the history of the book in the nineteenth century, including James Barnes, Simon Eliot, Kate Flint, Elizabeth McHenry, Robert Patten, David Vincent and Ronald Zboray. It contains examples of different approaches, reflecting the fact that scholars come from a variety of disciplinary traditions, such as bibliography, typography, literary studies, library studies and the history of science. The introduction provides an overview of both the historical context and recent work on the subject. The volume is divided into five sections: National Publishing Structures in America, France, and Russia; International Trade; Publishing Practices; Distribution; Reading. The collection includes work in the tradition of French book history which has focussed on the systems and structures of the publishing industry and Anglo-American book history characterised by detailed analyses of the publication of a specific title or the practices of an individual reader.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction; Part I National Publishing Structures: The rise of a national book trade system in the United States, 1865-1916, Michael Winship; The publishing industry and printed output in 19th-century France, Frédéric Barbier; The literature of the Lubok, Jeffrey Brooks; La presse est libre...1815-1880, Anthony Smith. Part II International Trade: International copyright: 4 interconnected histories, Catherine Seville; The Chace Act and Anglo-American literary relations, James L.W. West III; Evolutionism, internationalism and commercial enterprise in science: the international scientific series 1871-1910, Roy M. MacLeod; Depression and innovation in the British and American book trade 1819-1939, James J. Barnes. Part III Publishing Practices: Two centuries of printing: book production history diagrams, Michael Twyman; The annual pattern of publication 1800-1919, Simon Eliot; Printing, Allan C. Dooley; The professional author, Robert L. Patten; John Murray's family library and the cheapening of books in the early 19th-century Britain, Scott Bennett; The printing, proof-reading and publishing of Thackeray's Vanity Fair: the 1st edition, Peter L. Shillingsburg. Part IV Distribution: Marketing speculation, James A. Secord; The press and the book trade, Jack Simmons; Book distribution and American culture: a 150-year perspective, Ronald J. Zboray. Part V Reading: The pursuit of books, David Vincent; 'An association of kindred spirits': black readers and their reading rooms, Elizabeth McHenry; Women, men and the reading of Vanity Fair, Kate Flint; Crusoe's books: the Scottish emigrant reader in the 19th century, Bill Bell; Name Index.

About the Author :
Stephen Colclough is Lecturer at Bangor University, UK and Alexis Weedon is Professor and Director of the Research Institute for Media Art and Design, University of Bedfordshire, UK

Review :
'...a scholar desiring an introduction to and representative samples of nineteenth-century book history (especially British) will find a good starting point here.' Victorian Studies