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The interface between authors and their readers is a fascinating subject in its own right, revealing a great deal about social attitudes, technological progress, aesthetic values, fashionable interests, political positions, economic constraints and individual personalities. This part of the Cambridge Library Collection reissues classic studies in the area of printing and publishing history that shed light on developments in typography and book design, printing and binding, the rise and fall of publishing houses and periodicals and the roles of authors and illustrators. It documents the ebb and flow of the book trade supplying a wide range of customers with products from almanacs to novels, bibles to erotica, and poetry to statistics.

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179 results in Cambridge Library Collection - History of Printing, Publishing and Libraries

Page 2 of 9

Bibliographical Catalogue of Books Privately Printed
  • Including Those of the Bannatyne, Maitland and Roxburghe Clubs and of the Private Presses at Darlington, Auchinleck, Lee Priory, Newcastle, Middle Hill, and Strawberry Hill
  • John Martin
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    01 January 2015
    First published in:
    1834
  • Reissued in its first edition of 1834, this catalogue gives a valuable insight into bibliographical activity in early nineteenth-century Britain. It is the work of the former bookseller John Martin (1791–1855), an antiquary who would later become librarian to the Duke of Bedford at Woburn Abbey. Martin's aim was to assemble a catalogue of books which were never intended for the open market, circulating only among the 'friends and connexions' of those who produced them. Spanning more than two centuries of small-scale British publishing, the resulting work is an extraordinarily eclectic resource, enlivened throughout by an eye for curious detail. The latter portion of the work documents the books, bills and pamphlets which emerged from the regional presses of Martin's own day, and records the early membership and output of the Roxburghe, Maitland and Bannatyne clubs, which would in time become the foremost bibliophilic societies of Victorian Britain.

The Bibliographical Decameron
  • Or, Ten Days Pleasant Discourse upon Illuminated Manuscripts, and Subjects Connected with Early Engraving, Typography, and Bibliography
  • Volume 2
  • Thomas Frognall Dibdin
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    01 January 2015
    First published in:
    1817
  • Bibliomania, the almost obsessive collecting of rare books and early editions by the aristocracy, which peaked in 1812 with the sale of the Valdarfer Boccaccio, was fuelled in no small part by the work of the bibliographer Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1776–1847). His most famous book, Bibliomania, popularised the word's use in England. The present work was first published in three volumes in 1817 and may be considered a continuation of Bibliomania in both style and content. Using a dialogue format with extensive footnotes, it covers all aspects of bibliography from early illuminated manuscripts and printed books through to contemporary book collectors and auctions. The work is notable for the number and quality of its illustrations. Volume 2 presents the rise and progress of printing, particularly on the Continent, and a survey of the history of bookbinding. Dibdin's Bibliomania (revised edition, 1811) and his Reminiscences of a Literary Life (1836) are also reissued in this series.

The Bibliographical Decameron
  • Or, Ten Days Pleasant Discourse upon Illuminated Manuscripts, and Subjects Connected with Early Engraving, Typography, and Bibliography
  • Volume 1
  • Thomas Frognall Dibdin
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    01 January 2015
    First published in:
    1817
  • Bibliomania, the almost obsessive collecting of rare books and early editions by the aristocracy, which peaked in 1812 with the sale of the Valdarfer Boccaccio, was fuelled in no small part by the work of the bibliographer Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1776–1847). His most famous book, Bibliomania, popularised the word's use in England. The present work was first published in three volumes in 1817 and may be considered a continuation of Bibliomania in both style and content. Using a dialogue format with extensive footnotes, it covers all aspects of bibliography from early illuminated manuscripts and printed books through to contemporary book collectors and auctions. The work is notable for the number and quality of its illustrations. Volume 1 presents a detailed survey of illuminated manuscripts and early printed books, focusing on the continuity of illustration and decoration. Dibdin's Bibliomania (revised edition, 1811) and his Reminiscences of a Literary Life (1836) are also reissued in this series.

The Bibliographical Decameron
  • Or, Ten Days Pleasant Discourse upon Illuminated Manuscripts, and Subjects Connected with Early Engraving, Typography, and Bibliography
  • Volume 3
  • Thomas Frognall Dibdin
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    01 January 2015
    First published in:
    1817
  • Bibliomania, the almost obsessive collecting of rare books and early editions by the aristocracy, which peaked in 1812 with the sale of the Valdarfer Boccaccio, was fuelled in no small part by the work of the bibliographer Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1776–1847). His most famous book, Bibliomania, popularised the word's use in England. The present work was first published in three volumes in 1817 and may be considered a continuation of Bibliomania in both style and content. Using a dialogue format with extensive footnotes, it covers all aspects of bibliography from early illuminated manuscripts and printed books through to contemporary book collectors and auctions. The work is notable for the number and quality of its illustrations. Volume 3 presents accounts of book collectors and auctions since 1811, and bibliographical and general indexes to the whole work. Dibdin's Bibliomania (revised edition, 1811) and his Reminiscences of a Literary Life (1836) are also reissued in this series.

The Enemies of Books
  • William Blades
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
    First published in:
    1888
  • First published in 1881, this popular and entertaining work by the printer and bibliographer William Blades (1824–90) examines the numerous threats that books have faced throughout their existence. Based on the author's experience of collecting printed works, the book explores such destructive forces as fire, water, disgruntled pirates, ignorance, and vermin. Even bookbinders and collectors are accused of causing mischief. In 1886, Blades was cruelly tormented by one of his enemies when his printing works burned down. A founder of the Library Association, he most notably investigated the work of Caxton: his two-volume Life and Typography of William Caxton (1861–3) is also reissued in this series. After his death, his extensive collection of books formed the basis of the St Bride Printing Library. Six editions of The Enemies of Books emerged between 1881 and 1886. Reissued here is the revised, enlarged and illustrated version that appeared in 1888.

Prices of Books
  • An Inquiry into the Changes in the Price of Books Which Have Occurred in England at Different Periods
  • Henry Benjamin Wheatley
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    01 January 2015
    First published in:
    1898
  • A prolific author and bibliographer, Henry Benjamin Wheatley (1838–1917) wrote or edited dozens of works during a distinguished literary career. First published in 1898 as the fourth volume in Richard Garnett's 'Library Series', Prices of Books traces the market value of books in England from the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century. Wheatley recounts the history of booksellers, and manuscript and book pricing in England, providing detailed analyses of significant auction sales over three centuries. He also devotes chapters to the pricing history of Shakespeare's works and other notable English publications. Serving as a fascinating micro-history of England's reading and book-collecting habits, this work will appeal to those interested in antiquarian culture and the history of the book. Several other works by Wheatley are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection, including the delightful Literary Blunders (1893).

A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
  • Volume 1
  • Montague Rhodes James
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    24 September 2009
    First published in:
    1912
  • M. R. James (1862–1936) is probably best remembered as a writer of chilling ghost stories, but he was an outstanding scholar of medieval literature and palaeography, who served both as Provost of King's College, Cambridge, and as Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, and many of his stories reflect his academic background. His detailed descriptive catalogues of manuscripts owned by colleges, cathedrals and museums are still of value to scholars today. This two-volume catalogue contains James's description of the manuscript holdings of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and will be welcomed by librarians and researchers alike.

The History and Art of Printing
  • In Two Parts
  • Philip Luckombe
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
    First published in:
    1771
  • Philip Luckombe (1730–1803), printer, author and shell-collector, published this work in 1771. (He had published a shorter version, A Concise History of the Origin and Progress of Printing, anonymously in the previous year.) Born in Exeter, he learned the printing trade there, and became a freeman of the city in 1776, but moved to London, where he wrote travelogues and several books on printing, edited dictionaries and encyclopaedias, and became an authority on shells. The first part of the book is concerned with the history of printing, including the various charters issued to the Stationers' Company, and the second with the practicalities of 'the art and mystery of printing' and 'the necessary materials used in a Printing House', including typefaces, presses and paper, and the duties of a warehouseman. This technical information continued to be used and quoted until the middle of the twentieth century.

Repertorium bibliographicum
  • Or, Some Account of the Most Celebrated British Libraries
  • William Clarke
  • Published online:
    05 January 2015
    Print publication:
    17 July 2014
    First published in:
    1819
  • Little is known about William Clarke, the author of this 1819 survey of libraries in Britain, though hints in the opening pages suggest that he was acquainted with the activities of the Roxburghe Club. His object is 'to assist … the collector in his pursuit of valuable editions of rare books'. A short survey of the major libraries of Europe is followed by descriptions of the collections which make up the British Museum's library, the great 'public' libraries, including those of Oxford and Cambridge, and the libraries of learned societies. Private libraries covered include those of Sir Joseph Banks, William Beckford, and the duke of Marlborough. The final portion of the work describes the content of some great library sales (a fuller list of sales having been given earlier in the book), from the seventeenth century to Clarke's own time. This remains a useful source for bibliographers and those interested in the provenance of books.

Passages of a Working Life during Half a Century
  • With a Prelude of Early Reminiscences
  • Volume 3
  • Charles Knight
  • Published online:
    05 January 2015
    Print publication:
    31 July 2014
    First published in:
    1864
  • Charles Knight (1791–1873), the son of a Windsor bookseller, was apprenticed to his father at fourteen. He read widely and systematically, and began to buy, collect and sell rare books. He also worked as a journalist, and, on moving to London, set up as a publisher, then took to freelance writing, and acted as manager of the publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. In 1832, he launched the Penny Magazine, offering the working classes useful information, within a moral context of thrift and self-discipline. Knight continued to write - on Shakespeare, on Caxton, on English history - while at the same time being at the centre of the British publishing industry. His 1864–5 three-volume autobiography (reissued here in its posthumous 1873 edition) provides insights into the economics as well as the personalities of the mid-Victorian publishing world. Volume 3 covers the 1850s, and continues up to 1865.

White Knights Library
  • Catalogue of that Distinguished and Celebrated Library Which Will Be Sold by Auction
  • Robert Harding Evans
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
  • The dispersal of the library amassed by George Spencer-Churchill (1766–1840), Marquess of Blandford and later fifth Duke of Marlborough, is most commonly cited today as a preservative against folly. The collection contained some of the most sought-after incunabula of a period defined by the high prices paid for early printed books. It included a fine selection of Caxtons, spectacular botanical and emblem books, and the iconic Valdarfer Boccaccio - the first edition of the Decameron, purchased by Blandford in 1812 for the unprecedented sum of £2,260. The Boccaccio was symptomatic of the profligate expenditure of its buyer. By 1819 his spendthrift ways had ruined him, leading to the sale of his opulent estate at Whiteknights, near Reading, and the dispersal of one of the key libraries in the era of bibliomania. Reissued here together are the two parts of the auction catalogue, both annotated by an auction attendee who recorded details of the purchasers and the prices paid. Ed Potten, Head of Rare Books at Cambridge University Library, has provided a new introduction that places the catalogue in its wider context.

A Bibliography of Printing
  • With Notes and Illustrations
  • Volume 2
  • Compiled by E. C. Bigmore, C. W. H. Wyman
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    28 August 2014
    First published in:
    1884
  • This three-volume bibliography of printing was published between 1880 and 1886 by E. C. Bigmore (1838–99) and C. W. H. Wyman (1832–1909), who had, unknown to each other, been working on similar projects and were brought together by the antiquarian bookseller and publisher Bernard Quaritch. The scope of the work, which quickly became a classic, includes 'typographic, lithographic, copperplate printing, etc., with the cognate arts of type-founding, stereotyping, electrotyping, and wood-engraving', but excludes the topics of paper and bookbinding. The three volumes are arranged in alphabetical order of surname of author; anonymous works are ordered by the wording of the title. Compiled with the assistance of such historians of printing as William Blades and John Southward (several of whose works are available in this series), this authoritative work is of continuing value to bibliographers. Volume 2, published in 1884, covers the letters M to S.

The Origin of Printing
  • In Two Essays
  • William Bowyer
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    17 July 2014
    First published in:
    1774
  • This work, first published in 1774, consists of a reissue of the Dissertation on the Origin of Printing in England by Conyers Middleton (1683–1750), first published in 1735, together with an abridgement of an account of the origin of printing by the Dutch lawyer Gerard Meerman (1722–71). It was compiled by the scholar and publisher William Bowyer (1699–1777) and his apprentice and later business partner John Nichols (1745–1826), several of whose works are also published in this series. Both essays debate the origins of printing, disputing the traditional account that Gutenberg introduced it to Europe and Caxton to England. Appendices describe the progress of printing in Greek and Hebrew, and the first printed polyglot Bibles. The names and achievements of Gutenberg's contemporaries in Germany and the Low Countries are given their due in this interesting overview of the earliest period of printing in the West.

The Life and Typography of William Caxton, England's First Printer
  • With Evidence of his Typographical Connection with Colard Mansion, the Printer at Bruges
  • Volume 2
  • William Blades
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
    First published in:
    1863
  • This two-volume work on the life and activities of the printer William Caxton, a vital source for bibliographers, was written by another printer, William Blades, and published in 1861–3. Blades (1824–90), apprenticed into the family firm, developed a great interest in the history of his trade, collecting an extensive library of antiquarian books, and becoming an expert on early typefaces. He brings to his study of Caxton (which follows in the wake of works on incunabula by Ames, Herbert and Dibdin) his own practical experience of the craft of printing, largely unchanged, except for the addition of machine power, since Caxton's day. He examined more than 450 Caxton printings, in Britain, France and the Low Countries, while preparing the work. Volume 2 offers an essay on Caxton's working practices and a bibliographical account of every book printed by him then known to have survived.

A Bibliography of Printing
  • With Notes and Illustrations
  • Volume 3
  • Compiled by E. C. Bigmore, C. W. H. Wyman
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    28 August 2014
    First published in:
    1886
  • This three-volume bibliography of printing was published between 1880 and 1886 by E. C. Bigmore (1838–99) and C. W. H. Wyman (1832–1909), who had, unknown to each other, been working on similar projects and were brought together by the antiquarian bookseller and publisher Bernard Quaritch. The scope of the work, which quickly became a classic, includes 'typographic, lithographic, copperplate printing, etc., with the cognate arts of type-founding, stereotyping, electrotyping, and wood-engraving', but excludes the topics of paper and bookbinding. The three volumes are arranged in alphabetical order of surname of author; anonymous works are ordered by the wording of the title. Compiled with the assistance of such historians of printing as William Blades and John Southward (several of whose works are available in this series), this authoritative work is of continuing value to bibliographers. Volume 3, published in 1886, covers the letters T to Z.

A Bibliography of Printing
  • With Notes and Illustrations
  • Volume 1
  • Compiled by E. C. Bigmore, C. W. H. Wyman
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    28 August 2014
    First published in:
    1880
  • This three-volume bibliography of printing was published between 1880 and 1886 by E. C. Bigmore (1838–99) and C. W. H. Wyman (1832–1909), who had, unknown to each other, been working on similar projects and were brought together by the antiquarian bookseller and publisher Bernard Quaritch. The scope of the work, which quickly became a classic, includes 'typographic, lithographic, copperplate printing, etc., with the cognate arts of type-founding, stereotyping, electrotyping, and wood-engraving', but excludes the topics of paper and bookbinding. The three volumes are arranged in alphabetical order of surname of author; anonymous works are ordered by the wording of the title. Compiled with the assistance of such historians of printing as William Blades and John Southward (several of whose works are available in this series), this authoritative work is of continuing value to bibliographers. Volume 1, published in 1880, contains an introduction and covers the letters A to L.

Passages of a Working Life during Half a Century
  • With a Prelude of Early Reminiscences
  • Volume 2
  • Charles Knight
  • Published online:
    05 December 2014
    Print publication:
    31 July 2014
    First published in:
    1864
  • Charles Knight (1791–1873), the son of a Windsor bookseller, was apprenticed to his father at fourteen. He read widely and systematically, and began to buy, collect and sell rare books. He also worked as a journalist, and, on moving to London, set up as a publisher, then took to freelance writing, and acted as manager of the publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. In 1832, he launched the Penny Magazine, offering the working classes useful information, within a moral context of thrift and self-discipline. Knight continued to write - on Shakespeare, on Caxton, on English history - while at the same time being at the centre of the British publishing industry. His 1864–5 three-volume autobiography (reissued here in its posthumous 1873 edition) provides insights into the economics as well as the personalities of the mid-Victorian publishing world. Volume 2 covers the 1820s to the late 1840s.

Passages of a Working Life during Half a Century
  • With a Prelude of Early Reminiscences
  • Volume 1
  • Charles Knight
  • Published online:
    05 December 2014
    Print publication:
    31 July 2014
    First published in:
    1864
  • Charles Knight (1791–1873), the son of a Windsor bookseller, was apprenticed to his father at fourteen. He read widely and systematically, and began to buy, collect and sell rare books. He also worked as a journalist, and, on moving to London, set up as a publisher, then took to freelance writing, and acted as manager of the publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. In 1832, he launched the Penny Magazine, offering the working classes useful information, within a moral context of thrift and self-discipline. Knight continued to write - on Shakespeare, on Caxton, on English history - while at the same time being at the centre of the British publishing industry. His 1864–5 three-volume autobiography (reissued here in its posthumous 1873 edition) provides insights into the economics as well as the personalities of the mid-Victorian publishing world. Volume 1 covers Knight's life up to 1826.

A Catalogue of the Books Relating to British Topography, and Saxon and Northern Literature
  • Bequeathed to the Bodleian Library in the Year MDCCXCIX by Richard Gough, Esq. F.S.A.
  • Compiled by Bodleian Library
  • Published online:
    05 December 2014
    Print publication:
    27 June 2013
    First published in:
    1814
  • The leading antiquary of his day, Richard Gough (1735–1809) served as director of the Society of Antiquities for over twenty-five years. The only son of a wealthy family, Gough benefited from being free to pursue his interests without hindrance. His independent fortune allowed him both to conduct his own research and to aid others with theirs. While the topography and Roman antiquities of the whole of Great Britain and Ireland formed his primary focus, he was also an eager proponent of Saxonist scholarship, as the panoply of his collected books on both subjects attests. These, together with a variety of maps, plans, drawings and charts, he bequeathed to Oxford's Bodleian Library. Originally published in 1814, this catalogue constitutes proof of a lifelong interest in, as well as generous support for the continuation of, antiquarian and topographical enterprises.

A Publisher and his Friends
  • Memoir and Correspondence of the Late John Murray, with an Account of the Origin and Progress of the House, 1768–1843
  • Volume 2
  • Samuel Smiles
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
    First published in:
    1891
  • This two-volume account of the life and friendships of the publisher John Murray (1778–1843), told largely through his voluminous correspondence, was published in 1891 by Samuel Smiles (1812–1904), whose Lives of the Engineers, Self-Help, and other works are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection. Murray was only fifteen when his father, the founder of the famous firm, died, but after a period of apprenticeship he took sole control of the business, becoming the friend as well as the publisher of a range of the most important writers of the first half of the nineteenth century, in both literature and science. Perhaps his most famous author was Lord Byron, whose memoir of his own life, considered unpublishable, was burned in the fireplace at Murray's office in Albemarle Street, London. Volume 2 describes innovations including the famous travel guides, and ends with an assessment of Murray's publishing career.

Page 2 of 9