It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of Oxford University Press (OUP). There will be few in the English-speaking world who do not know of its publications, and many in the non-English speaking world who have also benefitted from its myriad works. While Bibles and reference books (especially dictionaries) might come to mind first when one thinks of the OUP, its scholarly publications, atlases, guides, histories, educational works and journals are notable, as is its place in the growth of printing and publishing in England and the life of the University and the town of Oxford. This work (the first three of four volumes) provides a history of the press from its beginnings in the fifteenth century through until 1970.
Five centuries is a long time for one organisation, and, as noted in the general introduction, “the Press described in any one volume is substantially different from the Press described in any other volume” (p. vi); this ability to change and adapt is one factor that has enabled the Press’s continued survival and success. Apart from the commitment to scholarly publishing, several aspects are consistent through the volumes and provide continuity of approach: the practicalities of printing and publishing (type and paper, processes and materials, costs and workers); the “political and intellectual context provided by the University”; and the environment that is the book trade in the UK, especially the London book trade and the Cambridge University Press.
Volume I, edited by Ian Gadd, takes the reader from the first book printed in Oxford in 1478 through the activities of various individual university printers, the establishment of a university printer and press, and up to 1780. It provides a chronological history of the development of the press under first Archbishop William Laud, then John Fell and later William Blackstone, as well as topical approaches (The University and the Press 1684-1780 and The Workplace: Places, Procedures and Personnel 1668-1780). The next sections cover the 200 years from the 1580s to the 1780s: one divided by the different works that were printed by “the learned press and the Bible press”, including law and medicine, divinity and geography, science and mathematics and, of course, Bibles; the second (rather briefer) sets the press in its local, national and international context.
Volume II, edited by Simon Eliot, covers the period from 1780 to 1896 when the Press’s first overseas branch was established in New York. It “explains how a well-established university press coped with the Industrial Revolution and transformed itself into a nationally and internationally important mass manufacture of bibles, and school and reference books” (Eliot, Vol. II, p. 3). There are three sections, on the Press, its books (again, divided by the different kinds of works with educational publishing and dictionaries making their appearance) and its markets, echoing the topics in Volume I. Changes over this period were phenomenal, with the massive increase in production, significant technological changes and an expansion of the markets into other countries.
Volume III, edited by Wm. Roger Louis, covers the twentieth century to 1970; it is the longest of the three volumes, although covering the shortest timeframe. The Press expanded internationally over this time, not only publishing for other countries but also establishing offices throughout the world and publishing new types of materials. Sections focus on “The Press in Oxford and London and relations with the University”, the practicalities of the processes of printing and publishing, the different publications (now including Music and Children’s books) and six chapters detailing the world-wide expansion. The final section reflects on the Waldock Inquiry and its recommendations and the implications for the future of the Press after 1970.
The introduction and conclusion to each volume provides a concise overview of the three periods for those who want a briefer summary, while the scholar or historian will find each carefully researched, well-written chapter meets their needs. Contributors, as could be expected, are all experts in their various fields. Footnotes are extensive and make clear the extent and depth of the research that has been conducted by each contributing author. Appendices list chronology, Delegates of the Press, University statutes and charters and glossaries of “University and Technical terms”. It is well-supplied with illustrations, plates, maps and diagrams, and each volume has a comprehensive index. Although the General Introduction (in each volume) states that this is “not an official history with all the constraints which that status might imply”, it is hard to see how this falls short of the mark.
In short, the work is everything that the reader would expect from this long-established University Press. There are other good histories of the Press, but none so extensive or thorough. While not every reader will want to read it in full, it is an interesting and engagingly written work that brings together different topics and writing styles into one well-rounded whole. This is, indeed, a definitive history of OUP: beautifully produced, very readable, full of the detail of more than 500 years of the Press, its work and its University.
