Journal of the
Printing Historical Society
Edited by James Mosley, the first number of our Journal was published in November 1965. Representative of the technologies of its day, the single-colour text was letterpress printed. Lithographic sections carried photographic and line illustrations for ‘The tinted lithograph’ by Michael Twyman and ‘Académisme et typographie’ by André Jammes respectively.
Now in full colour, and offset printed throughout, the Journal upholds the same high standards of content and production today and attracts contributions from professional academics and independent scholars around the world.
Latest number
Third Series 6 (2025)
Journal, Third Series 6 (2025), contains an obituary of James Mosley by Bob Richardson and an obituary of David Chambers by Paul W. Nash and the following articles: Anthony Hamber, ‘Rudolph Appel (1815–1898), anastasic printing and the development of photozincography in mid-nineteenth century Britain’; Shankari Priyadarshini Ravichandran, ‘Kannada foundry types from the Specimen book of the Basel Mission Press (1882)’; William Noblett, ‘Sales of interest to the London printing community, 1709–1799’; Steve Harrison, ‘Signifier of modernity: the demise of the long-s in English newspapers, 1784–1810’; Julie Mellby, ‘Ernest Edwards and the permanent photograph’; Yll Rugova, ‘The type and first Croation publication of the polyglot press of the Sacra Congregazione de Propaganda Fide’; William S. Kemp, ‘The French Bible printed at Geneva in 1546 by Jean Girard with types furnished by Michel Du Boys’; Chiara Betti, ‘An analysis of six guilded intaglio plates in the Rawlinson collection’; Roger Gaskell and Patrick Goossens, ‘Three rolling-presses in the Plantin-Moretus Museum’.
How to obtain the current number of the Journal
The current number of the Journal is issued to members when it is published (before the end of the year). It can also be purchased by others at a price of £40 per copy. Members receive a 50% discount if ordered in this way. Postage and packing will also be charged. To order a copy of the current number please send an email to secretary@printinghistoricalsociety.org.uk.
Why not join?
Membership of the Society supports its aims and is open to individuals and institutions, and we encourage all who have an interest in printing history to consider a subscription. New members receive a copy of the current number of the Journal.
Previous numbers
Content summaries for the New Series and the Third Series, covering the years from 2000 to the present, are on the Journal Indices page.
An index to the First Series, compiled by Paul Nash, is available here.
How to order
Copies of many previous numbers of the Journal are available. The price for a First or New Series number is £20 per copy. Third Series numbers cost £40 per copy. Members receive a 50% discount on these prices. Postage and packing will also be charged. Please send an email, with details of the numbers you would like to buy, to secretary@printinghistoricalsociety.org.uk
Notes for contributors
The Journal of the Printing Historical Society welcomes submissions of scholarly articles on all aspects of the subject, including (but not limited to) the following: the history of the processes and mechanics of printing of all kinds and all periods; the personnel, skills and institutions of the printing industry; the design and manufacture of, and trade in, printers’ type and machinery; illustration and printmaking processes; typographical design; the products of the press (books, periodicals, ephemera and prints); the substrates of print (paper, parchment etc.); bookbinding and the book-trade; the impact of printing on society and on related crafts and professions, including engineering, calligraphy, manuscript-production, publishing and graphic art (and vice versa); and archives and documents in printing history. Reviews and review articles on recent monographs in these subjects are also welcome.
Articles usually range between 2,000 and 8,000 words, but longer papers and shorter notes are also welcome. Illustration is encouraged, and the Journal includes full colour images when appropriate. The Journal is peer-reviewed, each paper being rendered anonymous and read by at least two scholars in the field before acceptance for publication.
The Journal is now in its Third Series, which is published annually, in the winter of each calendar year. The deadline for submission for each volume is 1 June.
A Style Guide and further information for contributors may be had from the Editor:
Martyn Ould
Cliff Edge, Beer Hill
Seaton
EX12 2QD, UK
editor@printinghistoricalsociety.org.uk
For reviews please contact the Reviews Editors, Helen Williams and Elizabeth Savage (contact details will appear here; in the interim please use those of the Editor)