Cirrus@Austlit

'The "long eighteenth century" is a familiar designation in the fields of historical and literary studies, and it is a concept with particular resonance for bibliography and the history of the book. Physical bibliography in the Greg-Bowers tradition has foregrounded the practices of the hand-press period, which counts the "long eighteenth century" as both its twilight and its period of most intense activity. In many ways, scholarly interest in print culture and the history of the book has followed the contours established by bibliographical scholars. The recent Cambridge History of the Book in Britain provides a case in point: the latter volumes of the series seem to be dominated by a protuberant eighteenth century (Vol. 5, 1695-1830), producing a shorter view of the nineteenth (Vol. 6, 1830-1914), which in turn impinges on the territory of the (as yet uncompleted) seventh volume on the twentieth century.' (Authors introduction)