Author: BISHOP, Philip R.
Title: Thomas Bird Mosher Pirate Prince of Publishers. A Comprehensive Bibliography and Source Guide to The Mosher Books Reflecting England's National Literature and Design.
Description: Oak Knoll, Delaware / British Library, London, Oak Knoll, Delaware / British Library, London. 1998, xvi,536pp, Illustrated. Cloth. With dustjacket. In very good condition. Pakketzending. This study describes the books produced by one of America's most controversial publishers, Thomas Bird Mosher, whose editions helped disseminate British literature and design to the American public. Variously described as 'literary pirate' by some yet praised as 'prince of publishers' by others, Mosher's passion for literary texts led him to reprint books without the author's permission, though he often paid royalties. Mosher never technically broke any copyright laws, and many authors defended him for assisting in introducing the American public to authors such as William Morris, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Walter Pater, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, George Meredith, Robert Browning and George Gissing in affordable editions. The designs of Blake, Rossetti, Pissarro, Strang, Morris and MacMurdo and presses such as the Vale, Chiswick and Kelmscott also appeared in 'The Mosher Books'. This study provides the story behind the literary piracy slanders against Mosher and includes sections on various aspects of 'The Mosher Books' such as books printed on vellum, privately printed books and an illustrated section on bindings.

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