History of Bookselling
The BRN's first themed event featured presentations from Dr. Will Smith and Professor Simon Eliot. Dr. Smith discussed the multi-generational history of Sam Read Booksellers, emphasizing oral histories and archival research. Professor Eliot highlighted the value of "unwitting testimony" in archives, using examples like public library catalogues and publisher correspondence to reveal hidden insights.
Publishing Your Friends: Interwar Booksellers and Their Literary Networks
Matthew Chambers, Author of London and the Modernist Bookshop (CUP 2020), will be discussing his work on the role of literary communities and networks in the growth of the bookshop. The event will be recorded. A “bookseller” could once describe a...
