Reading Matters: Five Centuries of Discovering Books by Willes, Margaret - 2008-09-01

HARDBACK "UNCOMMON," SHIPPED FROM THE UK* Edition: 1st.* Impression: 1st. FNL.* Date of Publication: 2008* Publisher: Yale University Press.* Binding and cover condition: Emperor purple cloth covered boards, gilt title to spine. No bumps or rubs, minimal shelf wear to top and bottom edges and to head and tail of spine. No other faults. VG+.* Jacket condition: Colour illustration to dust wrapper showing a boy reading a comic in front of a book store. NOT PRICE CLIPPED but showing no shelf price. (£19.99). Minimal shelf wear to head & tail of spine. In clear attached protected wrapper. VG+* Contents condition: Ex-library copy with usual stamps and labels. End papers coloured (purple). Clean, crisp, tight and bright with no reading wear, no marks to text, no other visible faults. VG++.* Illustrations: Four pages colour plates, numerous b/w prints and line drawings within text throughout. * Pages: 262 pp. text. xxxiv pp. apps, notes, reading list, index & blank pages at rear.* Description: It is easy to forget in our own day of cheap paperbacks and mega-bookstores that until very recently books were luxury items. Those who could not afford to buy had to borrow, share, obtain second hand, inherit, or listen to others reading. This book examines how people acquired and read books from the sixteenth century to the present, Margaret Willes also investigates the means by which books were sold, lending fascinating insights into the ways booksellers and publishers marketed their wares. For those who are interested in books and reading, and especially those who treasure books, this one will inform, entertain, and inspire.* A NEAR FINE text ex-library copy of the 1st./1st. fnl. with NO MAJOR FAULTS. In clear attached protective wrapper.*