Printing, Publishing and Pocketbook Compiling: Ann Fisher’s Hidden Labour in the Newcastle Book Trade

Helen Williams*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
14 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Ann Fisher (1719–1778), author of bestselling grammatical textbooks, co-founded and co-edited with her husband, Thomas Slack, the Newcastle Chronicle. Though she worked alongside him, and sometimes independently, in their Newcastle print shops, Fisher’s work as a printer-publisher remains underexplored. This chapter demonstrates her role in printing and publishing John Cunningham’s Poems, Chiefly Pastoral (1766 and 1772) and her own Ladies’ Own Memorandum-Book (1764–1778), unique in being the only women’s pocket book produced by a woman in this period. Drawing upon manuscript archives of correspondence in the British Library, Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, and the National Library of Scotland, this chapter provides a rare insight into the professional practice of a female printer and publisher within a family business.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPrint Culture, Agency, and Regionality in the Hand Press Period
EditorsKaley Kramer, Adam James Smith, Rachel Stenner
Place of PublicationCham, Switzerland
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Pages93-116
Number of pages24
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9783030880552
ISBN (Print)9783030880545
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Apr 2022

Publication series

NameNew Directions in Book History
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
ISSN (Print)2634-6117
ISSN (Electronic)2634-6125

Keywords

  • Ann Fisher
  • Ann Slack
  • Eighteenth-century printing
  • John Cunningham
  • Pocket book
  • The Ladies’ Own Memorandum-Book
  • Women in the book trade

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