Oxford University Press Launch of The Oxford Companion to the Book

On Wednesday 24 February Quaritch was pleased to host the Oxford University Press launch of The Oxford Companion to the Book at our premises at 40 South Audley Street.  The event began with a wine reception at 5:30 p.m. and guests enjoyed a speech by one of the editors of the book, Mr. Henry R. Woudhuysen.

The Oxford Companion to the Book is a unique work of reference covering the broad concept of the book throughout the world from ancient to modern times. Including traditional subjects such as bibliography, the history of printing, editorial theory and practice, and textual criticism, it also engages with newer disciplines such as the history of the book and the electronic book; in addition it pays particular attention to how different societies shape books and how books shape societies.

The two-volume work is organized in two parts, totalling a million words, and is illustrated with engravings, photographs, line drawings, maps, and examples of various typographical features.

The text is structured as two parts — Part I consisting of 51 substantial essays surveying the subject generically and by geographical region, and Part II comprising around 5,000 alphabetically arranged entries providing easily accessed detailed information. The two parts are inter-connected by a web of cross-references, and the whole is served by a subject index and a general index.

The work has been written by a team of over 400 scholars from 27 countries, under the editorship of two general editors — Michael F. Suarez S.J. and H. R. Woudhuysen, with a distinguished team of 28 associate and assistant editors.

For more information please visit the Oxford University Press website: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/