Book printing at the university press at Oxford between 1660 and 1780

Ould, M.A (2021) Book printing at the university press at Oxford between 1660 and 1780. PhD thesis, Bath Spa University. doi: 10.17870/bathspa.00014293

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Abstract

My research has yielded publications that contribute to the field of printing history through the first comprehensive accounts of the operation of two large English printing houses in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: the Learned Press at Oxford in the period 1660 to 1780 and the Oxford Bible Press in the period 1769 to 1772. Those publications contribute to the field in two ways. Firstly, my research into the Oxford Bible Press in the period 1769 to 1772 reveals operational features of a large printing house that could otherwise only be speculated about, in particular the extent and nature of concurrent printing there*. Secondly, my research into the Learned Press at Oxford has produced insights into the operation of a large printing house at a level not seen before, surpassing in detail D. F. McKenzie’s description of the Cambridge University Press in the period 1696 to 1712. Both areas contribute extensive economic data for the period, including pay rates, the prices of materials and services, productivity figures, and the movement of workers. Moreover, from the basis established by my publications I have been able to widen my contribution by confirming and in some cases challenging McKenzie’s assertions about the operation of an eighteenth-century printing house. (*‘Concurrent printing’ is a term used for the situation where more than one work is in hand in a Press at any one time.)

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Note:	This is a PhD by Publication. Part of the overall thesis is a collection of six articles/book chapters by M.A. Ould, published between 2013 and 2019. The full text for these items is not available from ResearchSPAce - it contains the critical commentary only.
Keywords:	printing history, printing houses, 17th century, 18th century, Oxford, Cambridge, economic history, operations management
Divisions:	School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities
Date Deposited:	03 Sep 2021 16:48
Last Modified:	21 Apr 2023 13:36
URI / Page ID:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/14293

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