The Book Trade in Early Modern England: Practices, Perceptions, Connections

In the late fifteenth century, the book trade in England was modest in scale and ambition, hamstrung by legislation, centred in London and heavily dependent on its European connections. During the seventeenth century a nationwide market for books emerged and in 1695 the Licensing Act lapsed, allowing provincial printing to develop. By the early decades of the eighteenth century the trade had been radically transformed: it was national in character, better organized and perceptibly 'modern' in its structure. These essays, from recent 'Print Networks' conferences, shed light on this transformation, revealing the practices and perceptions of authors, translators, producers and collectors, the shifting geographical networks that characterized the early modern book trade and, crucially, what these changes meant for readers. Contributors: Maureen Bell, Bernard Capp, Sara Barker, Stacy Erickson, Victoria Gardner, John Hinks, Lucy Lewis, Dan Mills, Harry Newman, Charlotte Anne Panofre, Renae Satterley, Louise Wilson