Foreign-language printing in London 1500-1900 : [... based upon papers given at a highly successful one-day conference held in the British Library Conference Centre on 8 May 2000

GrahamJefcoate I ## German Printing and Bookselling in Eighteenth-Century London evidence and interpretation When Bemhard Fabian suggested over ten years ago that I should widen my researches into German printing and bookselling in eighteenth-century London, the scale of the task was hardly apparent. Some evidence had begun to emerge through early reports to the Eighteenth-Century Short-Title Catalogue (ESTC) 2 during the 1980s. Although many German-language imprints claiming 'London' as place of publication could easily be dismissed as deceptions by German printers and publishers intending to mask their responsibility for controversial or subversive texts, some were clearly genuine. The extent of German-language printing and bookselling in colonial America was becoming better known. 3 In addition, it was clear that printers and booksellers on the margins of the London trade with apparently German names were responsible for a considerable number of non-German titles. If some of these were indeed well known, the German contribution to their publication had been overlooked. By 1988, when I joined the ESTC team at the British Library, only one or two substantial articles and a number of bibliographical notes about aspects of German printing and bookselling in eighteenth-century London had appeared. In the late 1970s a lively correspondence in Factotum, the ESTC's 2 3 This is a much revised and greatly expanded version of papers given at two conferences in May 2000: see my 'German Immigrants and the London Book Trade, 1700-70', in From S /rangers to Citizens: tbe integration of immigrant communities in Britain, The Fourteen Essays In This Volume Represent The First Systematic Attempt To Document And To Analyse The Tradition Of Foreign-language Printing In London During The Period 1500 To 1900. The Surveys And Case Studies Use A Variety Of Approaches To Document And Describe This Particular Aspect Of London Printing History, From The History Of Printing, Of Publishing, And Of Bookselling, To Consideration Of The Book As A Cultural Artefact.--book Jacket. Preface / Clive Field -- German Printing And Bookselling In Eighteenth-century London: Evidence And Interpretation / Graham Jefcoate -- Printers, Publishers And Proletarians: Some Aspects Of German Book Trades In Nineteenth-century London / Susan Reed -- Dutch Printing In London. I. A Survey. Ii. The Strange Case Of Double-dutch Double Vision: Bilingual Pamphlets Of 1615 / Anna E. C. Simoni -- Scandinavian Printing In London In The Eighteenth Century And Its Social Background / Peter Hogg -- French-language Publishing In London To 1900 / David J. Shaw -- A King's Last Days: True And False Memoirs Of Louis Xvi's Valet / Morna Daniels -- Italian Printing In London 1553-1900 / Stephen Parkin -- Early Italian Printing In London / Denis V. Reidy -- Unspanish Practices: Spanish And Portuguese Jews, Protestants And Liberals, 1500-1900 / Barry Taylor -- Greek Printing In England, 1500-1900. I. A Survey. Ii. Stephanos Xenos, A Greek Publisher In Nineteenth-century London / Chris Michaelides -- Russian Revolutionaries In London, 1853-70: Alexander Herzen And The Free Russian Press / Kate Sealey Rahman -- Poetry And Polemics: The Polish Book Trade In London, 1836-67 / Janet Zmroczek -- The Beginnings Of Hungarian Printing In London / Bridget Guzner -- Statistical Survey / David Shaw. Edited By Barry Taylor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. For centuries London has boasted a rich variety of communities from all over Europe. In this ground-breaking new volume, thirteen papers, written by British Library curators and other specialists in the history of the book, examine the long tradition of London printing in languages other then English. Contents "German Printing and Bookselling in Eighteenth-Century evidence and interpretation" (Graham Jefcoate); "Printers, Publishers and some aspects of German book trades in nineteenth-century London" (Susan Reed); "Dutch Printing in bilingual pamphlets if 1615" (Anna E C Simoni); "Scandinavian Printing in London in the Eighteenth Century and its Social Background" (Peter Hogg); "French Language Printing in London to 1900" (David J Shaw); "A King's Last true and false memoirs of Louis XVI's valet" (Morna Daniels); "Italian Printing in London 1533-1900" (Stephen Parkin); "Early Italian Printing in London" (Denis V Reidy); "UnSpanish Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Protestants and liberals 1500-1900" (Barry Taylor); "Greek Printing in England 1500-1900" (Chris Michaelides); "Russian Revolutionaries in London 1853-70: Alexander Herzen and the free Russian Press" (Kate Sealey Rahman); "Poetry and the Polish book trade in London 1836-67" (Janet Zmroczek); "The Beginnings of Hungarian Printing in London" (Bridget Guzner). There is also a useful index of printers, publishers and booksellers. Here, 13 papers, written by British Library curators and other specialists in the history of the book, examine a long tradition of London printing in German, Dutch, Scandinavian languages, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, Modern Greek, Russian, Polish and Hungarian.