The most disreputable trade
Subtitle: publishing the classics of English poetry, 1765-1810
By: Thomas F. Bonnell.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 387
ISBN-13: 9780199532209
Subjects: Literature publishing -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century; Literature publishing -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century; English literature -- Publishing -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century; English literature -- Publishing -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century; Poetry -- Publishing -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century; Poetry -- Publishing -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century; Publishers and publishing -- Great Britain -- History; Monographic series -- Publishing -- Great Britain -- History; Books and reading -- Great Britain -- History; Canon (Literature)
Description: "A publishing phenomenon began in Glasgow in 1765. Uniform pocket editions of the English Poets printed by Robert and Andrew Foulis formed the first link in a chain of literary products that has grown ever since, as we see from series like Penguin Classics and Oxford World Classics. Thomas Frank Bonnell explores the origins of this phenomenon, analysing more than a dozen multi-volume poetry collections that sprang from the British press over the next half century.

Why such collections flourished so quickly, who published them, what forms they assumed, how they were marketed and advertised, how they initiated their readers into the rites of mass-market consumerism, and what role they played in the construction of a national literature are all questions central to the study." "Based on work with archival materials, newspapers, handbills, prospectuses, and above all the books themselves, Bonnell's findings shed light on all aspects of the book trade. Valuable bibliographical data is presented regarding every collection, forming an indispensable resource for future work on the history of the English poetry canon."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [353]-370) and indexes.
Table of contents: title: Our native classics, complete and uniform; title: The Elzevirs of Glasgow : Robert and Andrew Foulis; title: William Creech and John Boyle : the classics spread across Scotland; title: John Bell's little trifling edition revisited; title: Johnson's prefaces and Bell's connected system of biography; title: The best judges of vendible poetry : William Strahan, Joseph Wenman, et al.; title: Robert Anderson's comprehensive view of English poetry; title: Charles Cooke's pocket library; title: John Sharpe and Alexander Chalmers : a body of standard English poetry; title: Splinter canons, fugitives, and empire.