Princeton University

 

The history of the book trade begins in the late middle ages when the development of the printing press allowed for the mass production of affordable texts for an increasingly literate population. Before then books were produced by hand, one at a time, often on commission for a particular patron. A proper book industry had developed by the sixteenth-century, evidenced by the (comparatively) large-scale production and distribution of books.

 

Printing books required specialized skills and expensive equipment and the industry struggled to establish itself in England. Until it did, England had to rely on books from abroad. We can trace the supply of books from foreign presses by examining the English overseas customs accounts (TNA, E122), which recorded goods being imported and exported into the country. The information provided in these account shows the formation of a formal distribution network. This is shown by the eventual standardization in import duties imposed on cargoes of books and also in the shipping containers being used, a sign that books became a common commodity. We also see a class of merchants who specialized in importing books developing; many having books printed specifically for the English market. Earlier accounts reveal that books could be just one of many commodities in a given shipment which were brought over in small numbers. By the end of the middle ages we find a small group of merchants who only imported books and then in large quantities.

 

This paper will examine several London customs accounts, covering the second half of the fifteenth and the first half of the sixteenth centuries. A few scholars (e.g. Henry Plomer, Paul Needham, Nelly Kerling) have used customs accounts in researching trade in books, but they have tended to discuss individual accounts and present their findings anecdotally. Only by looking at the information provided by the customs records more analytically can we get a picture of general trends concerning the supply of books coming from outside England.  

 

Most research related to book history has tended to focus on printing or ownership. The study of distribution has often relied on the examination of extant texts to establish that a copy of a title printed at X had made its way toY at some point in time. Custom accounts are more difficult to work with, as the only year currently available in print is for 1480/1 (E122/194/24). But only by examining these records can we see the burgeoning book industry at work and the development of a distribution network.