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History General

History of the Book in Canada

Volume 2: 1840-1918

edited by Fiona Black, Patricia Lockhart Fleming & Yvan Lamonde

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Oct 2005
Category
General, Canadian
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802089434
    Publish Date
    Aug 2004
    List Price
    $117.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802080127
    Publish Date
    Oct 2005
    List Price
    $133.00

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

Vast in its scope and depth of scholarship, this second volume of the History of the Book in Canada extends the landmark research on Canadian book and print culture from 1840 to the end of the First World War. During this time, the lives of Canadians were shaped by technological innovation, political change, and settlement of the West by immigrants from Europe and migrants from eastern and central Canada and the United States. The development of steam power, telegraphy, photography, electricity, and the railroads transformed the book trades.

Whether it was an urban daily, a small-town weekly, a newspaper published in one of a dozen languages, or a magazine, the periodical press reached readers across the country. The period also saw Canadian authors such as L.M. Montgomery write bestsellers that are still popular today, and marked the introduction of new voices, including those of Black communities, Native peoples, and the Métis led by Louis Riel, into print.

Traditional genres of print - government publications, religious books, almanacs, and schoolbooks - were joined in the mid to late nineteenth century by new forms, such as department store catalogues. Advances in Canada's postal service carried print to a wider audience. Unchallenged by other media until the 1890s, print retained a central role in Canadian society into the new century and remained a key source of information and propaganda during the war years.

This second of three volumes in theHistory of the Book in Canada demonstrates the same research and editorial standards established with Volume One by book history specialists from across the nation. The fascinating story of print in the lives of Canadians continues in this significant contribution to Canada's cultural heritage.

Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal is simultaneously publishing French-language editions of each volume as Histoire du livre et de l'imprimé au Canada. Cet ouvrage est également disponible en langue française aux Presses de l'Université de Montréal.
ISBN: 2-7606-19737

About the authors

Fiona A. Black is the director of the School of Library and Information Studies at Dalhousie University.

Fiona Black's profile page

Patricia Lockhart Fleming is a professor emeritus in the Faculty of Information Studies and the Collaborative Program in Book History and Print Culture at the University of Toronto.

Patricia Lockhart Fleming's profile page

Yvan Lamonde is a professor in the Department of French Language and Literature at McGill University.

Yvan Lamonde's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, Gabrielle Roy Prize for English Criticism - Association for Canadian and Quebec Literatures