Annotated Bibliography: The History of Print up until the 1700s.

First off, I would like to say that my Annotated Bibliography was quite the library adventure. Consisting of two trips, each hours long, aggravated allergies and runny noses, and getting way too familiar with the fifth floor, the topic of my bibliography is "The History of Print up to the 1700s". The first time I went to the library, I was there for two hours and only found one source. However, after meeting with Dr. Burton and getting some good advice, I was able to find an abundance of material the second time around. Out of all my sources, I spent the most time perusing the Fleuron Anthology. To anyone who is interested in the history of fonts and letter decorations, this is the book to take a gander at. I never realized how interesting printed "arabesques" could be until I looked over this book. All-in-all, I enjoyed my experience learning about the history of print (fonts, ink, paper, Gutenberg, and typography).


S. H. Steinberg. Five Hundred Years of Printing. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Harmondsworth, Middlesex : Penguin Books, 1966. Print.

Five Hundred Years of Printing covers all the different phases of printing through the centuries. It covers early typography (Roman Type, Gothic Type), Gutenberg, the spread of printing throughout Europe, publishing, book illustration, patrons, official and private presses, periodical presses, libraries, censorship, the Incunabula Period, and printing in the vernacular.


Sir, Francis Meynell. Fleuron Anthology. Ed. Herbert Simon. Boston: Boston : David R. Godine, 1979. Print.

I absolutely fell in love with this book. The Fleuron Anthology covers the history of typography. Its pages are filled with beautiful pictures of some of the earliest prints of different kinds of font, printers' flowers and arabesques, initial letters, and title pages. It also included several chapters on notable printers of the time.

McKenzie (Donald Francis), D. F. A Chronology and Calendar of Documents Relating to the London Book Trade, 1641-1700. Ed. Maureen Bell. Oxford ; New York: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.

This book is basically a chronological almanac or journal consisting of papers, documents, and records concerning the London book trade between the years of 1641-1700. It was a huge, old, dusty book that aggravated my allergies. The cramped, printed paragraphs made my eyes blurry. Needless to say, this wasn't my favorite book. However, it was a helpful source guide when searching for references to the topic.

Edward, Pickard Hall. Printing : Its Parentage, Progress, and Practice, with some Account of the 'Authorised Version of the Bible' and of the Clarendon Press, Oxford. Oxford: Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1876. Print.

Besides being a mouthful to pronounce, Printing is composed of four parts: The Progress of Printing, The Practice of Printing, The Newspaper Press, and the Bible. The Progress of Printing consisted of an in-depth history of typography, having extensive information about different styles of fonts. The Practice of Printing takes it even further, with information about kinds of paper used, printing companies, and different types of ink. It was also filled with examples of ornate printed pages from centuries ago.

Lewis, John Noel Claude. Anatomy of Printing : The Influences of Art and History on its Design. New York: New York : Watson-Guptill Publications, 1970. Print.

Anatomy of Printing covers the background and beginning of printing, the reformation of the printing press, printing in the Renaissance, the waning of printing, printing in eighteenth century England, the Baroque and the Rococo, printing and the Neo-Classical movement, the Industrial Revolution, Art Nouveau, and modern printing (Dada, Surrealism, Cubism, Constructivism, modern typesetting).

Crawford, Douglas C. McMurtrie, Douglas. The Invention of Printing : A Bibliography. Ed. John Adamson. New York: New York : Burt Franklin, 1942. Print.

Crawford covers printing in the Orient and in Europe, going over textile printing, playing cards, metal engravings and woodcuts, block books and binders stamps. He then covers the history of printing inventions, 16th century to the modern day. He has several chapters devoted to Gutenberg and the technique of the School of Gutenberg. He also goes over the technique of the School of the Dutch.