Changes in the look of the book

doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521866248.003

1 - Changes in the look of the book

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2010

David McKitterick

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David McKitterick

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David McKitterick: Affiliation:
University of Cambridge

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Summary

Queen Victoria has been described as the ‘first media monarch’. It is a term that demands some explanation, for it depends on understanding how print and visual culture changed during her reign, and how the cheap illustrated pamphlets, journals and newspapers, the invention of photography and its application in large-scale markets, faster means of communication like the telegraph, and new, faster and more convenient means of travel, all contributed to the creation and manipulation of images of the monarch, her consort and her family. In simple terms, she was by no means the first media monarch. Since ancient times, rulers have depended on whatever media are available to them. ‘Whose is this image and superscription?’ asked Jesus, knowing that the coin shown to him by the Pharisees depicted Caesar. Thanks to the printing press and to the programmes of painters such as Holbein and Isaac Oliver and their copyists, representations of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I linked royal power with personal likenesses of a detail and on a scale unavailable previously. George III became more familiar to his subjects than any of his predecessors thanks to the hand-coloured etchings of James Gillray, sold for the high price of half a crown each and displayed for public amusement in shop windows. The matrimonial and other adventures of the Prince of Wales, later George IV, were depicted with yet more freedom.

Keywords

bookbinding British publishers first media monarch typesetting stereotyping paper-making machine retail prices

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain , pp. 75 - 116

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521866248.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2009

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