Book Description

Excerpt from Scottish Chapbook Literature The diffusion of knowledge by means of the Chapbook practically began with the introduction of printing into Scotland. From the days when the Gude and Godlie Ballates of the Wedderburns were put in circulation, down to the middle of last century, the chapman was a travelling publisher of much importance. In crowded mart and on solitary moor he plied his calling: there he sold his broadsides by the ream, here he tempted the reading rustic to a judicious selection from his pack: in both cases he did what he could to spread knowledge and line his pockets. The object of this volume is to provide a brief account of the chapman and his literary wares: to present a short survey of the literature of the common people during a period of three centuries, to trace the rise and influence of the Chapbook, and to mark its decay, or rather its blending into the cheap publication of the present time. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.