Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia
Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia

Author: William Brotherhead

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2006-04-01

Total Pages: 129

ISBN-13: 0271045124

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Published in 1891, Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia contains the memoirs of William Brotherhead, a dealer in old and rare books. This remarkable volume offers valuable insights into literary society in nineteenth-century Philadelphia as well as the antiquarian book business. In addition to an overview of his own life in this changing profession, Brotherhead provides brief commentaries on more than thirty of his peers in the trade. Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia gives the reader a glimpse of the professional, religious, and ethnic demographics of nineteenth-century Philadelphia. Brotherhead also remarks on the prices and editions of several notable purchases and sales made in his shop over the years. He concludes by describing several famous collections, such as that of William Bradford, and depicts the burgeoning old-book trade in the United States as a key part of its relationship with Europe.

Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia
Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia

Author: William Brotherhead

Publisher: Metalmark

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9780271027531

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Published in 1891, Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia contains the memoirs of William Brotherhead, a dealer in old and rare books. This remarkable volume offers valuable insights into literary society in nineteenth-century Philadelphia as well as the antiquarian book business. In addition to an overview of his own life in this changing profession, Brotherhead provides brief commentaries on more than thirty of his peers in the trade. Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia gives the reader a glimpse of the professional, religious, and ethnic demographics of nineteenth-century Philadelphia. Brotherhead also remarks on the prices and editions of several notable purchases and sales made in his shop over the years. He concludes by describing several famous collections, such as that of William Bradford, and depicts the burgeoning old-book trade in the United States as a key part of its relationship with Europe.

Literary Philadelphia: A History of Poetry and Prose in the City of Brotherly Love
Literary Philadelphia: A History of Poetry and Prose in the City of Brotherly Love

Author: Thom Nickels

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1626198101

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Since Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin put type to printing press, Philadelphia has been a haven and an inspiration for writers. Local essayist Agnes Repplier once shared a glass of whiskey with Walt Whitman, who frequently strolled Market Street. Gothic writers like Edgar Allan Poe and George Lippard plumbed the city's dark streets for material. In the twentieth century, Northern Liberties native John McIntyre found a backdrop for his gritty noir in the working-class neighborhoods, while novelist Pearl S. Buck discovered a creative sanctuary in Center City. From Quaker novelist Charles Brockden Brown to 1973 U.S. poet laureate Daniel Hoffman, author Thom Nickels explores Philadelphia's literary landscape.

How Books Came to America
How Books Came to America

Author: John Hruschka

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2015-06-17

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 027107227X

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Anyone who pays attention to the popular press knows that the new media will soon make books obsolete. But predicting the imminent demise of the book is nothing new. At the beginning of the twentieth century, for example, some critics predicted that the electro-mechanical phonograph would soon make books obsolete. Still, despite the challenges of a century and a half of new media, books remain popular, with Americans purchasing more than eight million books each day. In How Books Came to America, John Hruschka traces the development of the American book trade from the moment of European contact with the Americas, through the growth of regional book trades in the early English colonial cities, to the more or less unified national book trade that emerged after the American Civil War and flourished in the twentieth century. He examines the variety of technological, historical, cultural, political, and personal forces that shaped the American book trade, paying particular attention to the contributions of the German bookseller Frederick Leypoldt and his journal, Publishers Weekly. Unlike many studies of the book business, How Books Came to America is more concerned with business than it is with books. Its focus is on how books are manufactured and sold, rather than how they are written and read. It is, nevertheless, the story of the people who created and influenced the book business in the colonies and the United States. Famous names in the American book trade—Benjamin Franklin, Robert Hoe, the Harpers, Henry Holt, and Melvil Dewey—are joined by more obscure names like Joseph Glover, Conrad Beissel, and the aforementioned Frederick Leypoldt. Together, they made the American book trade the unique commercial institution it is today.

Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia
Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia

Author: William Brotherhead

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-20

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 9781331897767

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Excerpt from Forty Years Among the Old Booksellers of Philadelphia: With Bibliographical Remarks The qualifications required in each of the above departments are of a general mediocre character, such as any one with ordinary brains can soon learn - a few months are generally sufficient. The old bookseller - one who is worthy of the name - must have high qualifications, besides the mere objective merits of the general tradesmen. The first requisite he requires is a thorough knowledge of literature - he should be a cyclopaedia, able to answer questions about the general nature of books, and their authors. The whole field of history he should know, from Homer to Macaulay. The new discoveries in history, either biblical or general, he should know. The latest discoveries in Egyptian history, such as the 3000 years old papyri, with the biblical discoveries of Tischendorf and other profound scholars - all should be known by him. I do not mean a very profound knowledge, but a general one. I am aware that in the past, as well as the present, mere old ragmen - old junk dealers - have been and are metamorphosed into old booksellers - a disgrace to its high intellectual worth. I am also aware of some who are mere catalogue old booksellers, and who, parrot-like, can spin you off the latest books collected by a Bohn or Quaritch, but are not aware of the contents of any of the books, nor of the special idiosyncracies of the authors. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."