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History of Oxford University Press, Volume 1: Beginnings to 1780

In addition to my responsibilities as editor of this volume (which included providing an introduction and conclusion), I contributed three chapters: “The University and the Oxford Book Trade”, “An International Press”, and “The Press and the London Book Trade”. The introduction (14,000 words) identifies the volume’s central themes and sets the history of the university press at Oxford against relevant changes in higher education, urban growth, and technology between the 1470s and 1780s. The importance of the university press’s wider contexts is further developed by these three named chapters (42,000 words) that together comprise a single cohesive section at the end of the volume. They focus on the press’s relationships with the local, national, and international book trade, and consequently how these shape the press’s distinctive reputation both at home and abroad. The chapters are underpinned by my long-standing research interest in institutions and organizations. The first assesses the extent to which the press was an extension of Oxford’s book trade, and the ways in which both press and trade were affected by university’s direct oversight. The second explores the complex connections between the university press and the major players in the London book trade, including the Stationers’ Company. The third considers the press’s international reach and profile, and how its development compares with the university printing elsewhere in Europe in the period. The volume’s conclusion provides a succinct snapshot of the university press at 1780, enabling an effective hand-over to the succeeding volume.