Cambridge University Press, 1584-1984

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, first edition, 1984. Cloth, 8vo, 24 cm,. xvii, 343 pp. From the blurb : In 1984 the Press celebrated four hundred years of continuous printing and publishing, and this history gives a readable and not-too-formal introduction to that unique record. It is the story of the development of the printing and publishing arm of the University of Cambridge, from the medieval system of resident stationers who dealt in manuscripts to the present large printing and publishing house which produces computer software and audio cassette tapes as well as books (mostly now computer-set). The narrative is given its proper setting in the development of the University, which has inevitably determined the history of the Press itself; in the history of the book trade as a whole; and in the intellectual and political history of England. which has at times affected the fortunes of the Press. The story has unique elements: a royal charter on which the University's right to print and publish was founded, a commitment to Bible printing from the beginning, the development of an equal commitment to learned printing and publishing, and a centuries-long struggle with the London book trade, which resented competition. There are anecdotes about powerful personalities, from Richard Bentley to Stanley Morison, which give colour and life to the sober black-and-white history of printing and publishing. Small booklabel on front pastedown endpaper, ownership inscription on front free endpaper, otherwise Fine in Fine dustwrapper.