[Guest blog post from Dr Sian King, an academic librarian in the UK who wanted to fill the vacuum left following retirement by spending many happy days in libraries and archives researching and writing! Having already done an MA in the History of the Book, the foundation was laid to pursue the topic in greater depth and with expert guidance. This blog post is based on her recent (2020) University of Birmingham Ph.D. thesis, The Distribution and Ownership of English Chapbooks and Other Cheap Print in South Wales and Its Borders, 1660-1730: Developmental Influences on Commerce, Religion and Education.]
During my research for a doctorate on the production and distribution of chapbooks and other cheap print in south Wales 1660 to 1730, I spent some time in Gloucester Archives examining their records on Robert Raikes (1690-1757), an early provincial printer. He set up the very first press in Gloucester in 1722, producing a newspaper, the Gloucester Journal, which his agents distributed far and wide. He was an innovative and entrepreneurial businessman who also spotted a market for small books of folk tales, poetry, scandalous tales and prophetic stories.
From the archive catalogue, I requested and examined a box labelled with the name of Robert Raikes which contained his will and one other small and delicate item which I unfolded with a growing sense of curiosity and wonder. Although slightly restored by some later hand, and also given a paper cover, the original very fragile item entitled The Beginning, Progress and End of Man lay within. It was a little book with flaps revealing ‘metamorphic’ pictures with text, printed by Raikes (no date) and sold by John Wilson in Bristol for 1d. After taking photos, I carried out some research on this genre and, of course, came across the Learning as Play website and Jacqui-Reid Walsh’s research.
The Raikes edition is based closely on the 1654 edition by Elizabeth Alsop (in London), even to the extent of possibly using the same woodcut blocks. The text is also identical, so it is hard to believe that Raikes did not somehow have access to a previous version. The book measures 16cm x 16 cm, (folded) and has been created from a single sheet 29.5 cm x 31.5 (approx.).
The 5 pages with flaps closed
The 5 pages with flaps open
The date of publication is unknown, but based on Raikes relationship with John Wilson of Bristol gleaned from the advertisements in his newspaper, I have estimated 1725 to 1727. I have drawn the attention of archivists at Gloucester as to the rarity of this item, and they have now afforded it a separate catalogue entry with information . The hope is that they will also send a record to ESTC, but at least this unique item now has a record in the Union Catalog of Early Moveable Books.