Rare Book School
The American Book in the Industrial Era,
1820-1940
REQUIRED:
Lehmann-Haupt, Hellmut, et al. The Book in America: A History of the Making and Selling of Books in the United States. Rev. ed. (New York: Bowker, 1951).
Parts II-III (pp. 63-419). Still the best summary after 50 years. You may wish to skim or pass over parts that seem too detailed or tedious.
SUGGESTED:
For additional historical background, one or more of the following may be consulted:
Charvat, William. Literary Publishing in America, 1790-1850. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1959; reprin ted Amherst MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1993.
Sheehan, Donald. This Was Publishing: A Chronicle of the Book Trade in the Gilded Age. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1952.
West, James L. W., III. American Authors and the Literary Marketplace since 1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988.
For bibliographical background, the following may be helpful:
Gaskell, Philip. A New Introduction to Bibliography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972; corrected reprint 1974, reprinted New Castle DE: Oak Knoll Press, 1995); pp. [189]-310.
Bowers, Fredson. Principles of Bibliographical Description. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1949; reprinted New Castle DE: Oak Knoll Press, 1994; pp. [355]-453.