Jane Roberts

Ian Anders Gadd

Alexis Weedon

Stephen Colclough

Pamela R. Robinson

Eleanor F. Shevlin

This collection brings together published papers on key themes which book historians have identified as of particular significance in the history of twentieth-century publishing, such as the internationalisation of publishing businesses and the book in a multimedia marketplace. These reprinted essays feature comparative perspectives and insightful and innovatively presented scholarship from leading scholars in the field.

A Library of Critical Essays

The History of the Book in the West

Influenced by Enlightenment principles and commercial transformations, the history of the book in the eighteenth century witnessed not only the final decades of the hand-press era but also developments and practices that pointed to its future: ’the foundations of modern copyright; a rapid growth in the publication, circulation, and reading of periodicals; the promotion of niche marketing; alterations to distribution networks; and the emergence of the publisher as a central figure in the book trade, to name a few.’ The pace and extent of these changes varied greatly within the different sociopolitical contexts across the western world. The volume’s twenty-four articles, many of which proffer broader theoretical implications beyond their specific focus, highlight the era’s range of developments. Complementing these articles, the introductory essay provides an overview of the eighteenth-century book and milestones in its history during this period while simultaneously identifying potential directions for new scholarship.

Volume III

The History of the Book in the West: 17001800

Sabrina Alcorn Baron

Eric N. Lindquist

Inspiring debate since the early days of its publication, Elizabeth L. Eisenstein's The Printing Press as an Agent of Change: Communications and Cultural Transformations in Early-Modern Europe (1979) has exercised its own force as an agent of change in the world of scholarship. Its path-breaking agenda has played a central role in shaping the study of print culture and book history - fields of inquiry that rank among the most exciting and vital areas of scholarly endeavor in recent years. Joining together leading voices in the field of print scholarship, this collection of twenty essays affirms the catalytic properties of Eisenstein's study as a stimulus to further inquiry across geographic, temporal, and disciplinary boundaries. From early modern marginalia to the use of architectural title pages in Renaissance books, from the press in Spanish colonial America to print in the Islamic world, from the role of the printed word in nation-building to changing histories of reading in the electronic age, this book addresses the legacy of Eisenstein's work in print culture studies today as it suggests future directions for the field. In addition to a conversation with Elizabeth L. Tony Ballantyne, Vivek Bhandari, Ann Blair, Barbara A. Brannon, Roger Chartier, Kai-wing Chow, James A. Dewar, Robert A. Gross, David Scott Kastan, Harold Love, Paula McDowell, Jane McRae, Jean-Dominique Mellot, Antonio Rodriguez-Buckingham, Geoffrey Roper, William H. Sherman, Peter Stallybrass, H. Arthur Williamson, and Calhoun Winton.

Print Culture Studies After Elizabeth L. Eisenstein

Agent of Change

This five volume series provides a comprehensive resource of the most significant published papers on book history in the West. The editors have carefully selected the best literature from a wealth of relatively inaccessible sources and written substantial introductions which provide an overview of the period.

Eleanor F. Shevlin

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