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main printed feature: advertisement

Books often included advertisements for other works from the publisher. These sometimes took the place of spaces that would otherwise have been blank (on the back of a title page, or the foot of a page) or were appended to the back of a volume.

Beaumont and Fletcher, Philaster, 1661 (A1v)

On this verso of a title page, the publisher has included a list of his publications for sale.

Beaumont and Fletcher, Philaster, 1661 (A2v)

An advertisement for the publisher's books takes advantage of what would otherwise be blank space on the page.

Behn, Widdow Ranter, 1690 (A4v)

This list of items also sold by this playbook's publisher include other plays as well as novels, with some including the format and the price of the work.

Moxon, Mechanick exercises, 1683 (F4v)

In the empty space at the end of a section in his book on printing, Moxon places an advertisement for volume one of Mechanick Exercises. He describes the book in terms of the number of sheets and illustrations that make it up, and that the price is given for it as gathered but not bound.

Moxon, Mechanick exercises, 1683 (S4v)

On what would otherwise be a blank page, this advertisement is for similar how-to books.

Rowe, Laura, 1775 (A1v)

This ad selling letterpress printing to the public appears on the back of a title page; the book lacks an imprint statement, and the shop location given here allows researchers to suggest a time-frame for the book's publication.

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Browse by going through all the images or all the tags, or by following the main tags below. To learn more about what the various features mean, click on the tag and read the description at the top of the page.

main printed features

  • advertisement
  • blank
  • book making
  • colophon
  • correction
  • error
  • form
  • frontispiece
  • imprimatur
  • index
  • initial letter
  • intaglio
  • movable parts
  • music
  • press figure
  • printed marginalia
  • printer's device
  • printer's ornament
  • privilege
  • register
  • signature mark
  • subscribers list
  • title page
  • two-color printing
  • woodcut

date published

  • 1450-1499
  • 1500-1549
  • 1550-1599
  • 1600-1649
  • 1650-1699
  • 1700-1749
  • 1750-1800

place printed

  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • England
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Mexico
  • Netherlands
  • Peru
  • Poland
  • Russia
  • Scotland
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • Ukraine
  • United States
Sarah Werner. "main printed feature: advertisement." Early Printed Books. https://www.earlyprintedbooks.com/feature/advertisement/. Version 20190427.
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