Cirrus@Austlit

'Oxford University Press had its origins in the information technology revolution of the late fifteenth century, which began with the invention of printing from movable type. The first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, only two years after Caxton set up the first printing press in England. Despite this early start, the printing industry in Oxford developed in a somewhat haphazard fashion over the next century. It consisted of a number of short-lived private businesses, some patronized by the University. But in 1586 the University itself obtained a decree from the Star Chamber confirming its privilege to print books. This was further enhanced in the Great Charter secured by Archbishop Laud from King Charles I which entitled the University to print "all manner of books". The University first appointed Delegates to oversee this privilege in 1633. Minute books recording their deliberations date back to 1668, and OUP as it exists today began to develop in a recognizable form from that time.

The association with the name "Clarendon" began in the early eighteenth century when the Clarendon Building was built in Broad Street, Oxford, partly financed out of the profits derived from the publication of Lord Clarendon's History of the Great Rebellion. The Delegates still meet in a room in the Clarendon Building, although the press itself had moved to its present quarters in Walton Street by 1830. Until the end of the nineteenth century, when the name Oxford University Press was first adopted, The Clarendon Press was the recognized trademark. The association continues today with the Clarendon Press imprint, widely respected as a guarantee of the highest academic quality.

Today OUP USA is Oxford University Press's second major publishing centre, after Oxford, producing annually nearly 500 titles. Since 1896, OUP's development in all areas has been rapid. Music, journals, and electronic publishing have all been introduced within the last 75 years, and ELT publishing, which started with books to teach English in Africa and India, has grown into a major international business. OUP is now one of the largest publishers in the UK, and the largest university press in the world.' (Oxford University Press website: http://www.oup.com/about/history/)