February 19 – extended to June 26, 2016

This exhibition is curated by the students in English 500 (Textual Studies and Methods of Research), under the supervision of instructor Dr. Janelle Jenstad.

Legacy Maltwood (at the Mearns Centre – McPherson Library)

Book histories often focus on authors and readers. Yet publishers and printers play key roles in both the art and business of book production. This includes the material form and aesthetics of the book, the acquisition of rights, the shaping of the text, editorial history, and canon formation. Showcasing materials from the University of Victoria Special Collections and University Archives, this exhibition traces the role of publishers and printers in literary history from early production in scriptoria to 21st-century BC small presses. Come learn how early publishers remade the codex in the sixteenth century, who owned and regulated the right to print, how 18th-century printers made Shakespeare, what drove Dickens to become his own publisher, how Lady Chatterley’s Lover escaped the censors, why serial publication mattered, and how literary archives shed light on relationships between publishers and authors.

Image Metal type, Special Collections and University Archives, UVic Libraries, photograph by John Frederick.