This collection takes as its point of departure the proposition that one
can, in fact, tell a book by its cover. The contributors examine the
ways in which the material qualities of books--including typography,
paper, bindings, layout, and promotional copy--as well as their editing,
production, and distribution profoundly affect how they have been read
and understood.
The volume includes essays on the publishing history of Melville's early
novels, Twain's The Innocents Abroad, the Tauchnitz edition of
Hawthornes's The Marble Faun, and Jackson's Romona. Other chapters
examine the reception of Dante's works in America, Houghton Mifflin's
biographical series, the binding styles of Ticknor and Fields, and the
packaging of literature for American high Schools., reviewing a previous
edition or volume