David Finkelstein

Alistair McCleery

Jennie Renton

Bookselling in Scotland went through radical changes during the course of the twentieth century: the creation of more attractive shop interiors to replace the gloomy cathedrals of the pre-second world war era; increasing specialisation of outlets including the development of paperback bookshops; the growth of chains and the dogged persistence of independents; the abolition of the net book agreement; and the importance of the mass media in the promotion of books. This book provides a lively account of bookselling and booksellers through the life histories of key and representative figures in the Scottish book trade. Told in their own words, it offers, through a balanced blend of anecdote and analysis, the first insight into the nature of the trade and the characters who worked in it.

Booksellers and Bookselling in Scotland

An Honest Trade

Stephen Brown

Bill Bell

Warren McDougall

The first thorough study of the book trade during the age of Fergusson and Burns. The eighteenth century saw Scotland become a global leader in publishing, both through landmark challenges to the early copyright legislation and through the development of intricate overseas markets that extended across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Scots in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Dublin and Philadelphia amassed fortunes while bringing to international markets classics in medicine and economics by Scottish authors, as well as such enduring works of reference as the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Entrepreneurship and a vigorous sense of nationalism brought Scotland from financial destitution at the time of the 1707 Union to extraordinary wealth by the 1790s. Publishing was one of the country's elite new industries. Over forty leading scholars come together in this volume to examine the development of Scotland's book trade from 1707 to 1800. Printing, binding, bookselling, libraries, textbooks, distribution and international trade, copyright, piracy, literacy, music publication, women readers, children's books and cookery books are among the many aspects of print culture that they scrutinize. Key Features* Discusses copyright and piracy with new data at a time when intellectual property laws are returning to eighteenth-century precedents* Provides new understandings of Scotland's early modern readerships, including women's libraries, music literacy, and the way in which Scots found in the growth of literacy an international marketplace for intellectual property* Original scholarship and previously unpublished source material on secular Gaelic print* 16 exclusive full colour images of rare Scottish bindings from private collections, 25 additional colour plates + 60 b & w illustrations.

The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland: Enlightenment and expansion 1707-1800

This is a comprehensive introduction to books and print culture which examines the move from the spoken word to written texts, the book as commodity, the power and profile of readers, and the future of the book in an electronic age.

An Introduction to Book History

Head of the Centre for Open Learning David Finkelstein

The editors illustrate how book history studies have evolved into a broad approach which incorporates social and cultural considerations governing the production, dissemination and reception of print and texts.

The Book History Reader

This second edition of An Introduction to Book History provides a comprehensive critical introduction to the development of the book and print culture. Each fully revised and updated chapter contains new material and covers recent developments in the field, including: The Postcolonial Book Censorship by states and religions Social History, and the recognition of underrepresentation of its value to book history studies Contemporary publishing Each section begins with a summary of the chapter’s aims and contents, followed by a detailed discussion of the relevant issues, concluding with a summary of the chapter and points to ponder. Sections include: the history of the book orality to Literacy literacy to printing authors, authorship and authority printers, booksellers, publishers, agents readers and reading the future of the book. An Introduction to Book History is an ideal introduction to this exciting field of study, and is designed as a companion text to The Book History Reader.

Alistair McCleery

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