The History of Books and Printing

doi:10.1017/9781009205443.010

7 - The History of Books and Printing

from Part I - The Textual Record

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 October 2025

Sarah L. Noonan

Edited by

Merja Kytö and

Erik Smitterberg

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Merja Kytö: Affiliation:
Uppsala Universitet, Sweden
Erik Smitterberg: Affiliation:
Uppsala Universitet, Sweden

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Summary

This chapter provides an overview of the history of books and printing in English, in four sections defined by time period. Each section briefly surveys the technological innovations of that period and discusses how the changing print industry influenced and reflected developments of English between 1476 and the present. After an introduction (7.1), Section 7.2 discusses the rise of print in England during the incunabula and early print period (1476–1640). Section 7.3 then follows the continued expansion of print across England and North America during the hand-press period (1641–c. 1800), and Section 7.4 considers the explosion of printed texts during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The final section culminates with an overview of the rise of digital reading platforms and a discussion of how the ongoing evolution of text technologies continues to influence the development of English today.

Keywords

printing book history spelling books dictionaries grammar manuals orthography digital publishing

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Type: Chapter
Information: The New Cambridge History of the English Language
Documentation, Sources of Data and Modelling
, pp. 177 - 199

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009205443.010 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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