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Any study of the late medieval history of the book in Britain must eventually turn to London where, from the fifteenth century onwards, the book trade made the City dominant in national book commerce. In City of London archives, the first mention of the trade is in 1403, when various book craftsmen sought to form a common fraternity. Migration to Paternoster Row or to streets and lanes nearby continued steadily throughout the fifteenth century; as many as 136 stationers and book artisans, at various times, established business premises and residence in the environs of St Paul's. As security for a book order or for craft services provided to a customer, some form of agrement or acorde was required by a stationer or by an artisan directly engaged by the customer. William Caxton's death, probably in the early spring or late winter of 1492, marks the beginning of a new phase in London's developing market for printed books.
This chapter is based on a sample of over 4,300 printed books which bear clear evidence of having been in private ownership in Britain before 1557. It examines who owned books, what books they owned and what factors influenced that ownership. Apart from availability, the primary factors influencing book ownership were need and means. Several features of book ownership overall emerge from the sample, in Scotland as well as in England. On a basic level, people owned books which they needed: books were professional tools. For lay owners, such as the gentry and merchants, social networks influenced their ownership of books. In addition to demonstrating by the sheer quantity of certain texts that need determines book ownership, the books by and on Aristotle highlight the features of book ownership in England. Students in the higher faculty of theology would have needed texts of systematic theology, but students of all levels needed more humble texts of pastoral theology.
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