Publishing

Bruce Michelson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Publishing in Mark Twain’s lifetime underwent several technological revolutions, and Twain was at the center of many of them. His work as a typesetter gave him insight into the publishing process, which changed from intense manual labor in his younger days to increased automation by his later years. For most of his books, rather than publish through traditional publishing houses, he used subscription publishing, which involved door-to-door salesmen who showed prospective books to customers who ordered them for later delivery. He became a publisher himself when he started his own firm in 1885, successful at first with the publication of Huckleberry Finn and Grant’s autobiography, but ultimately a failure.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationMark Twain in Context
EditorsJohn Bird
PublisherCambridge University Press
Pages109-118
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781108617208
ISBN (Print)9781108472609
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2020

Publication series

NameLiterature in Context

Keywords

  • Book history
  • Mark Twain
  • Paige Compositor
  • Printing
  • Publishing
  • Samuel Clemens
  • Technology
  • Typesetting

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Arts and Humanities

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