I have worked as a rare books librarian in Oxford, and at the RIBA in London, since 1987. Between 2005 and 2015 I was superintendent of the Bodleian's printing workshop. I am currently Saturday Duty Officer at the Bodleian, Editor of the Journal of the Printing Historical Society and an independent researcher.
Küchenmeisterei was the first German cookery book to be printed, by Peter Wagner, at Nuremberg in... more Küchenmeisterei was the first German cookery book to be printed, by Peter Wagner, at Nuremberg in 1485. Further editions soon followed. This study draws attention to two manuscript versions whose relationship to the printed tradition is examined in detail. The author provides a translation, commentary, and glossary, and reproduces the Cologne manuscript (which, meanwhile, has presumably been lost in the disaster that has recently befallen the Historisches Archiv in Cologne).
Scaleboard, thin strips or leaves of wood, was used in printing for various purposes, notably to ... more Scaleboard, thin strips or leaves of wood, was used in printing for various purposes, notably to provide interlinear spacing, as well as in bookbinding. This article explores the nature, manufacture and history of scaleboard, and its uses inside and outside the printing industry from the late medieval period to the turn of the twentieth century.
The year 2020 marks the bicentenary of a revolution in the manner in which books were published i... more The year 2020 marks the bicentenary of a revolution in the manner in which books were published in England, and soon enough around the world, for 1820 was the year in which the first publisher's binding in cloth probably appeared. The first books published in cloth are often said to be the series of miniature, diamond-type 'classics' issued in London by William Pickering from 1820, and indeed Pickering is often credited with the 'invention' of publisher's cloth, albeit sometimes at a date later in the 1820s. This article examines the evidence for Pickering's role in the introduction of cloth as a uniform binding material, and attempts to separate the truth from the legend, to understand the nature of early bookcloth and the form and structure of those first publisher's cloth bindings, and to place the innovation in its historical context.
An analysis of the authorship of "Commendatory verses, on the author of the two Arthurs and ... more An analysis of the authorship of "Commendatory verses, on the author of the two Arthurs and the satyr against wit" (London: Printed in the year MDCC).
The "long s" was used in almost all British printing until 1800. Then, almost overnight... more The "long s" was used in almost all British printing until 1800. Then, almost overnight, the character was dropped by most printers. This article examines the lead up to this watershed, the printers and publishers who eschewed the long s before 1800, what happened in the printing industry at this time, and in the following years in which a few clung to the character.
A description and history of two rare table-top presses at the Oxford University Museum of Natura... more A description and history of two rare table-top presses at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, used there to print specimen labels between around 1850 and 1970.
The "first" type of Gutenberg: a note on recent research (2004). This article has been ... more The "first" type of Gutenberg: a note on recent research (2004). This article has been somewhat superseded by the work of Christoph Reske, published in Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (2015).
The "first" type of Gutenberg: a note on recent research (2004). This article has been ... more The "first" type of Gutenberg: a note on recent research (2004). This article has been somewhat superseded by the work of Christoph Reske, published in Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (2015).
This work traces the history of the Corvinus Press and also offers a bibliography of its contents... more This work traces the history of the Corvinus Press and also offers a bibliography of its contents, including ephemera, apocrypha, a list of typefaces used in the Corvinus books, and a list of the Press's devices, with facsimiles. The story of George Borrow's The Bible in Spain is also told.
The Library the Transactions of the Bibliographical Society, Sep 19, 2006
forming a Spanish American sense of national identity. Early readers found the catechisms short o... more forming a Spanish American sense of national identity. Early readers found the catechisms short of accurate information about their own countries: this led them to produce better-informed imitations. Roldán shows statistics of the decline in the use of foreign textbooks in Argentina between 1865 and 1898 (p. 212) and of the growth of national and regional geography books (pp. 228–29). The author is to be congratulated on a well-documented study of an important but neglected area of Latin American bibliography.
Küchenmeisterei was the first German cookery book to be printed, by Peter Wagner, at Nuremberg in... more Küchenmeisterei was the first German cookery book to be printed, by Peter Wagner, at Nuremberg in 1485. Further editions soon followed. This study draws attention to two manuscript versions whose relationship to the printed tradition is examined in detail. The author provides a translation, commentary, and glossary, and reproduces the Cologne manuscript (which, meanwhile, has presumably been lost in the disaster that has recently befallen the Historisches Archiv in Cologne).
Scaleboard, thin strips or leaves of wood, was used in printing for various purposes, notably to ... more Scaleboard, thin strips or leaves of wood, was used in printing for various purposes, notably to provide interlinear spacing, as well as in bookbinding. This article explores the nature, manufacture and history of scaleboard, and its uses inside and outside the printing industry from the late medieval period to the turn of the twentieth century.
The year 2020 marks the bicentenary of a revolution in the manner in which books were published i... more The year 2020 marks the bicentenary of a revolution in the manner in which books were published in England, and soon enough around the world, for 1820 was the year in which the first publisher's binding in cloth probably appeared. The first books published in cloth are often said to be the series of miniature, diamond-type 'classics' issued in London by William Pickering from 1820, and indeed Pickering is often credited with the 'invention' of publisher's cloth, albeit sometimes at a date later in the 1820s. This article examines the evidence for Pickering's role in the introduction of cloth as a uniform binding material, and attempts to separate the truth from the legend, to understand the nature of early bookcloth and the form and structure of those first publisher's cloth bindings, and to place the innovation in its historical context.
An analysis of the authorship of "Commendatory verses, on the author of the two Arthurs and ... more An analysis of the authorship of "Commendatory verses, on the author of the two Arthurs and the satyr against wit" (London: Printed in the year MDCC).
The "long s" was used in almost all British printing until 1800. Then, almost overnight... more The "long s" was used in almost all British printing until 1800. Then, almost overnight, the character was dropped by most printers. This article examines the lead up to this watershed, the printers and publishers who eschewed the long s before 1800, what happened in the printing industry at this time, and in the following years in which a few clung to the character.
A description and history of two rare table-top presses at the Oxford University Museum of Natura... more A description and history of two rare table-top presses at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, used there to print specimen labels between around 1850 and 1970.
The "first" type of Gutenberg: a note on recent research (2004). This article has been ... more The "first" type of Gutenberg: a note on recent research (2004). This article has been somewhat superseded by the work of Christoph Reske, published in Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (2015).
The "first" type of Gutenberg: a note on recent research (2004). This article has been ... more The "first" type of Gutenberg: a note on recent research (2004). This article has been somewhat superseded by the work of Christoph Reske, published in Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (2015).
This work traces the history of the Corvinus Press and also offers a bibliography of its contents... more This work traces the history of the Corvinus Press and also offers a bibliography of its contents, including ephemera, apocrypha, a list of typefaces used in the Corvinus books, and a list of the Press's devices, with facsimiles. The story of George Borrow's The Bible in Spain is also told.
The Library the Transactions of the Bibliographical Society, Sep 19, 2006
forming a Spanish American sense of national identity. Early readers found the catechisms short o... more forming a Spanish American sense of national identity. Early readers found the catechisms short of accurate information about their own countries: this led them to produce better-informed imitations. Roldán shows statistics of the decline in the use of foreign textbooks in Argentina between 1865 and 1898 (p. 212) and of the growth of national and regional geography books (pp. 228–29). The author is to be congratulated on a well-documented study of an important but neglected area of Latin American bibliography.
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