Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Literary Criticism Books & Reading

The Edwardses of Halifax

The Making and Selling of Beautiful Books in London and Halifax, 1749-1826

by (author) G.E. Bentley

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2015
Category
Books & Reading, Editors, Journalists, Publishers, Great Britain, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Canadian, General
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442662001
    Publish Date
    Sep 2015
    List Price
    $69.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442645189
    Publish Date
    Sep 2015
    List Price
    $81.00

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

For three-quarters of a century, the Edwards family of Halifax were among Britain’s leading bookbinders, publishers, and antiquarian booksellers. The Edwardses of Halifax is the definitive account of the family business, begun by William Edwards in Halifax, Yorkshire, and expanded to London by his sons James and Richard. James, one of the most distinguished antiquarian book collectors and booksellers in Europe, scoured the Continent for rare books during the Napoleonic Wars and served as a secret agent for his friend Earl Spencer, the First Lord of the Admiralty. His brother Richard published an edition of Edward Young’s Night Thoughts with prints designed and engraved by William Blake, the most ambitious commercial work that Blake ever undertook.

A comprehensive history of this remarkable family, complete with illustrations of the family’s most important publications, The Edwardses of Halifax will be valuable for readers interested in the buying, selling, and collecting of antiquarian books and the publishing of illustrated books in late Georgian and regency eras.

About the author

G.E. Bentley, Jr is a professor emeritus in the Department of English at the University of Toronto and the author of more than thirty books.

G.E. Bentley's profile page