Literary Reference - Books & Reading, 18th Century American History - Social Aspects

Cultures Of Print

Name: Cultures Of Print
Author: David D. Hall
ISBN: 9781558490499

by David D. Hall

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Synopsis

How did people in early America understand the authority of print and how was this authority sustained and contested? These questions are at the heart of this set of pathbreaking essays in the history of the book by one of America's leading practitioners in this interdisciplinary field.

David D. Hall examines the interchange between popular and learned cultures and the practices of reading and writing. His writings deal with change and continuity, exploring the possibility of a reading revolution and arguing for the long duration of a Protestant vernacular tradition. A newly written essay on book culture in the early Chesapeake describes a system of scribal publication. The pieces reflect Hall's belief that the better we understand the production and consumption of books, the closer we come to a social history of culture.

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Editorials

Library Journal

In this collection of six skillful essays, Hall (Witchhunting in Seventeen Century New England 1638-1692, Northeastern Univ., 1990) breaks new ground. Starting with the assumption "that the better we understand the production and consumption of books, the closer we come to a social history of culture," Hall expertly lays out the state of our knowledge in the areas of printing, literacy, reading, and the interchange between learned and popular culture in early America. He then argues for a new approach to the early American cultures of print. By stressing how print was used rather than dwelling on quantitative studies of book production and distribution, Hall sketches a fuller, more human picture of early American culture. While acknowledging the authority exerted by the church and the state in controlling the content of printed material, Hall points out that much is missed if we fail to consider the effects of the marketplace and the intermediary role of entrepreneurial printers and booksellers. Recommended for academic and large public libraries with an interest in American studies.Paul A. D'Alessandro, Portland P.L., Me.