The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland: v. 2: Enlightenment and Expansion 1707-1800

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.

Reviews of The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland: v. 2: Enlightenment and Expansion 1707-1800

This is cultural and intellectual history of the most precise kind: the books and pamphlets that were written, who produced, read, collected and absorbed them and the impact these publications had on the inner and outer life of eighteenth century Scotland. Whether it is the subject of the Union of 1707, the Enlightenment, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, David Hume, James Boswell, Adam Smith, Robert Burns or any of numerous other topics and figures, the reader will find in this volume the fast beating pulse of the most exciting century in Scottish literary and cultural history. All who work in eighteenth century Scottish Studies will need to test their ideas and conclusions against the findings of this magnificent volume. — Gerard Carruthers, Reader in Scottish Literature, University of Glasgow Amongst the national histories of the book, the Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland already occupies a prominent position. The publication of Volume 2: Enlightenment and Expansion, 1707-1800 will add to the acclaim given to the earlier published volumes (volumes 3 and 4). The editors Stephen W. Brown and Warren McDougal and their distinguished contributors have written an essential book for the study of Scottish culture and its history: it belongs in all major public and research libraries, and in many personal libraries. — Trevor H. Howard-Hill, Editor, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America