Tag Archives: 18th Century book trade

The Four 18th-Century Publishers and Booksellers Who Made Reading Affordable

Today it is easy to forget that books were once luxury goods. A modern reader can buy a novel for a few pounds, download thousands of classics completely free, or borrow almost anything from a library. But in the early eighteenth century, owning a finely bound volume was a privilege reserved largely for the wealthy….
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Written on March 8, 2026 at 10:15 am, by Jane Davis

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Categories: Blog, Homepage, In-depth
Tags: 18th Century book trade, Alexander Donaldson, British book trade, Cook and Harrison, copyright, Eighteen Century chapbooks, Eighteenth Century Chapbooks, Georgian London, James Lackington, John Ashton, John Bell, Numbers trade, The Temple of the Muses, William and Cluer Dicey

The Elephant in the Bookshop: The Paradox of an “Invisible” Workforce in London’s 18th Century Book Trade

Imagine stepping inside The Temple of the Muses in Finsbury Square — the bookshop famed in Georgian London as the largest in Europe. Shelves teem with novels, histories, pamphlets and curiosities. Priceless tomes sit side by side with cheap editions. Amid the bustle, male shop assistants in black frock-coats stand behind the circular counter underneath…
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Written on February 23, 2026 at 12:47 pm, by Jane Davis

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Categories: Blog, Homepage, In-depth, My Books
Tags: 18th Century book trade, 18th Century booksellers, 18th Century print trade, 18th century women, Doctrine of coverture, Dorcas lackington, Elizabeth Cox, Elizabeth Omer Delahoy, Georgian London, James Lackington, Longhollow: a Country Tale, Lucy Peacock, Martha Gurney, Mary Bryan, Mary Cooper, Mary Lewis, Mrs James Lackington, Rebecca Edwards, Sonnets and Metrical Tales, The Temple of the Muses