Early Modern Herbals and the Book Trade

Between 1525 and 1640, a remarkable phenomenon occurred in the world of print: England saw the production of more than two dozen editions identified by their imprints or by contemporaries as 'herbals'. Sarah Neville explains how this genre grew from a series of tiny anonymous octavos to authoritative folio tomes with thousands of woodcuts, and how these curious works quickly became valuable commodities within a competitive print marketplace. Designed to serve readers across the social spectrum, these rich material artifacts represented both a profitable investment for publishers and an opportunity for authors to establish their credibility as botanists. Highlighting the shifting contingencies and regulations surrounding herbals and English printing during the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, the book argues that the construction of scientific authority in Renaissance England was inextricably tied up with the circumstances governing print. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core at doi.org/10.1017/9781009031615.

Printing the Levellers: Clandestine Print, Radical Propaganda, and the New Model Army

this article uses techniques of typographical analysis to identify the print houses that secretly produced the most important writings associated with the incipient ‘Leveller’ grouping as it took shape in 1646–47. It examines the key printers, Jane Coe and Thomas Paine, while illuminating the dynamics of the clandestine book trade of the 1640s. It then shows that these same printers acted as stationers of choice for the emergent New Model Army agitators, producing works such as the The Case of the Army Truly Stated and An Agreement of the People, among other titles. The resulting account sheds light on the origins and nature of the Leveller movement, and allows for discussion of the connections between the Levellers and the New Model Army. More broadly, this article highlights the centrality of printers as political protagonists and suggests that new modes of bibliographical analysis can address major problems in early-modern history.

Henry Playford: a Bibliographical Study

<p>Henry Playford (1657-1709) was one of the most important London music publishers in the period 1680 to 1710. He was the son of the music publisher John Playford and a member of the Company of Stationers, and his business practices owed much to his father and to his training in traditional methods of book publishing and production. Henry Playford's publishing career is here examined in two ways: as a continuation of his father's methods; and as a response to competition from publishers of engraved music, most notably John Walsh. The lives and trade practices of both John and Henry Playford are described. Publications are examined in three main categories: musical publications originally established by John Playford and continued by Henry; new kinds of musical publications introduced by Henry; and publications not containing music. Details concerning his career as a bookseller are presented, as is information relating to other activities not directly relevant to publishing or bookselling, most notably his activities in the sale of art works. His relationships with other members of the book trade - printers , partners and apprentices - are described, and documents relating to the lawsuit between Playford and the printer William Pearson are re-examined and re-assessed. His competitors and successors are identified , and their activities described. This section concludes with an examination of previous writings about Henry Playford, and a re-assessment of his place and importance in English music publishing. The basis of the study is a descriptive bibliography of the publications issued by Henry Playford. It is presented, together with indexes of the works and of book trade members, and with illustrations of some title - pages, printed ornaments, and engravings.</p>

Henry Playford: a Bibliographical Study

<p>Henry Playford (1657-1709) was one of the most important London music publishers in the period 1680 to 1710. He was the son of the music publisher John Playford and a member of the Company of Stationers, and his business practices owed much to his father and to his training in traditional methods of book publishing and production. Henry Playford's publishing career is here examined in two ways: as a continuation of his father's methods; and as a response to competition from publishers of engraved music, most notably John Walsh. The lives and trade practices of both John and Henry Playford are described. Publications are examined in three main categories: musical publications originally established by John Playford and continued by Henry; new kinds of musical publications introduced by Henry; and publications not containing music. Details concerning his career as a bookseller are presented, as is information relating to other activities not directly relevant to publishing or bookselling, most notably his activities in the sale of art works. His relationships with other members of the book trade - printers , partners and apprentices - are described, and documents relating to the lawsuit between Playford and the printer William Pearson are re-examined and re-assessed. His competitors and successors are identified , and their activities described. This section concludes with an examination of previous writings about Henry Playford, and a re-assessment of his place and importance in English music publishing. The basis of the study is a descriptive bibliography of the publications issued by Henry Playford. It is presented, together with indexes of the works and of book trade members, and with illustrations of some title - pages, printed ornaments, and engravings.</p>

Online Book Trade in Siberia and the Far East

The article analyzes the activities of regional Internet companies offering books in Siberia and the Far East. The research methodology is based on the combination of comparative-typological analysis and landscape-reconstructing approach. Use is made of monitoring results of bookselling enterprises in the region within the framework of the federal project “Cultural Map of Russia”. It is shown that online sales are a dynamically developing channel of the traditional (printed) retail book market in Russia. Based on the identification and analysis of the main characteristics of enterprises offering books on the Internet (location, subject of the Russian federation, assortment, degree of integration, structure of the enterprise, etc.), the most common groups of enterprises in the regional book market are identified: internet divisions of publishing houses; multi-profile online stores; online book stores without retail divisions; online stores of bookselling enterprises. As the most common type in the regional market, the Internet divisions of wholesale and retail independent and online bookselling enterprises are identified. The features of the presentation of a specialized book on the Internet are revealed. The main areas of specialization of federal, regional and local companies offering book products on the Internet along with other products are identified: educational and office supplies, educational games and toys, business and technical literature, etc. The trends and promising directions of development of the regional online book trade are revealed. Diversification of activities and multichannel are defined as the key trend in the development of the regional book market.