The Nature of the Book

This text takes a look at early modern England and the creative and commercial forces in which print culture was formed and its many arenas - commercial, intellectual, political and individual. It includes detailed information on booksellers shops, the Royal Society, paper manufactories and type foundaries. Also featured are replications of the bitter disputes between authors and printers, printers and booksellers and clerics and individuals as they debate and resolve the meaning and rights attached to the creation of ideas, their appearance in written form and then in print, and the opportunity to sell, buy, and read printed work. Focusing on the interplay between the scientific and print revolutions and on their roles, both complementary and antagonistic, the text looks at production and dissemination of knowledge. Print also being used to manipulate those findings for political, religious or idealogical reasons.