Since the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century, books and print culture have been central to the shaping of culture and society. "The Book History Reader "is the first comprehensive volume to bring together a variety of work - much of which is now out of print or impossible to access - examining key aspects of book history. International in scope and interdisciplinary in nature, book history studies is a rapidly growing subject which analyses books and print as cultural artefacts. "The Book History Reader "is an essential collection of writings examining different aspects of the history of books and print culture: the development of the book, the move from spoken word to written texts, the commodification of books and authors and the power and profile of readers. The second edition features new articles covering issues of gender, material culture and bibliographical matters and a new section on the future of the book in the electronic age. Arranged in thematic sections and featuring a general introduction to the Reader as well as an introduction to each section, the editors illustrate how book history studies have developed a broad approach which incorporates social and cultural considerations governing the production, dissemination and reception of print and texts. This pioneering book will be a vital resource for all those involved in publishing studies, library studies, book history and also those studying English literature, cultural studies, sociology and history.

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.

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.

Table of Contents

1. Theorizing the history of the book 2. From orality to literacy 3. The coming of print 4. Authors, authorship, and authority 5. Printers, booksellers, publishers, agents 6. Readers and reading 7. The future of the book

Following on from the widely successful first volume, this second edition has been updated and expanded to create an essential collection of writings examining different aspects of the history of books and print culture.

Arranged in thematic sections, bringing together a wide range of contributors, and featuring introductions to each section, this new edition:

contains more extracts covering issues of gender, material culture and bibliographical matters

has a brand new section on the future of the book in the electronic age

examines different aspects of book history including: the development of the book, spoken words to written texts, the commodifcation of books, and the power and profile of readers.

This pioneering book is a vital resource for all those involved in publishing studies, library studies, book history and also those studying English literature, cultural studies, sociology and history.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements 1 David Finkelstein and Alistair McCleery Introduction PART ONE What is book history? editors’ introduction 2 Robert Darnton what is the history of books? 3 Fredson Bowers Bibliography, Pure Bibliography and Literary Studies 4 D. F. McKenzie the book as an expressive form 5 Thomas R. Adams and Nicolas Barker A new mdel for the study of the book 6 Jerome McGann the socialization of texts 7 Harold Love Early modern print culture: assessing the models 8 Roger Chartier Labourers and Voyagers: from the text to the reader 9 Pierre Bourdieu the field of cultural production PART TWO The impact of print editors’ introduction 10 Scott B. Noegel Text, Script, and Media: New Observations on Scribal Activity in the Ancient Near East 11 Walter Ong orality and literacy: writing restructures consciousness 12 Marcel Thomas Manuscript 13 Roger Chartier the practical impact of writing 14 Jan-Dirk Müller the body of the book: the media transition from manuscript to print 15 C.A. Bayly The Indian ecumene: an indigenous public sphere 16 D. F. McKenzie the sociology of a text: orality, literacy and print in early new zealand 17 Elizabeth Eisenstein defining the initial shift: some features of print culture 18 Adrian Johns the book of nature and the nature of the book PART THREE Texts and authors editors’ introduction 19 Roland Barthes the death of the author 20 Michel Foucault what is an author? 21 Paula McDowell Oral Religio-Political Activism and Textual Production 22 Mark Rose literary property determined 23 John Brewer authors, publishers and the making of literary culture 24 Leah Price Cultures of the Commonplace 25 Jane Tompkins masterpiece theater: the politics of hawthorne’s literary reputation 26 John Sutherland the victorian novelists: who were they? 27 Robert L. Patten When is a book not a book? 28 James L.W. West III the magazine market 29 Jayne Marek Toward International Cooperation: The Literary Editing of H.D. and Bryher PART FOUR Texts and readers editors’ introduction 30 Wolfgang Iser interaction between text and reader 31 E. Jennifer Monaghan literacy instruction and gender in colonial new england 32 Kate Flint reading practices 33 Jonathan Rose rereading the english common reader: a preface to a history of audiences 34 Richard Altick the english common reader: from caxton to the eighteenth century 35 Stanley Fish interpreting the variorum 36 Elizabeth McHenry Forgotten Readers: Recovering the Lost History of African American Literary Societies 37 Janice Radway a feeling for books: the book-of-the-month club, literarytaste and middle-class desire PART FIVE The future of the book Editors’ Introduction 38 Mark Poster The Digital Subject and Cultural Theory 39 Paul Duguid Material matters: the Past and futurology of the Book 40 Geoffrey Nunberg Farewell to the Information Age Bibliography Index,

Whether in the creation of early manuscripts, in the formation of libraries, through fine printing, or the development of mass media, Scotland's contributions to the history of the book, both within the nation and beyond its boundaries, have been remarkable.
Published in four volumes, The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland brings together the work of leading scholars in order to investigate the history of the Scottish book from earliest times to the present.
The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland
Volume 4: Professionalism and Diversity 1880-2000
Edited by David Finkelstein and Alistair McCleery
'Much more than just an account of how books were physically produced in and commercially distributed from Scotland, this volume explains the interaction of Scottish writers with their publishers and the changing media environment in which both publishers and writers have had to operate. The broad scope of the publishing economy presented in each chapter is counterpointed by the fine detail of individual struggles to surmount the challenges of publishing in a country moving from the centre to the margins of a global industry. In fascinating detail, volume 4 of The Edinburgh History of the Book recounts the transformation in Scotland's publishing and literary fortunes from 1880 to 2000.' - Cairns Craig, Director of the AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen
'Volume Four of The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland presents a deeply researched and inclusive account of Scottish publishing, reading, and writing through a period that saw major shifts in the country's role in the international world of print. Lucidly writtenand theoretically astute, its overview essays are balanced by engaging studies of specific features ranging from paper mills to Harry Potter. The authors and editors are to be congratulated for this foundational contribution to the cultural history of Scotland and to book history worldwide.' - Carole Gerson, Simon Fraser University, editor of volume 3 of History of the Book in Canada
In this volume a range of distinguished contributors provide an original analysis of the book in Scotland during a period that has been until now greatly under-researched and little understood.
The issues covered by this volume include the professionalisation of publishing, its scale, technological developments, the role of the state, including the library service, the institutional structure of the book in Scotland, industrial relations, union activity and organisation, women and the Scottish book, and the economics of publishing. Separate chapters cover Scottish publishing and literary culture, publishing genres, the art of print culture, distribution, and authors and readers. The volume also includes an innovative use of illustrative case studies.