Aileen Fyfe. Steam-Powered Knowledge: William Chambers and the Business of Publishing, 1820–1860. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. 313p. $50 (ISBN 9780226276519).

Abstract

Steam-Powered Knowledge: William Chambers and the Business of Publishing, 1820–1860 is an exploration of the emerging technologies in the mid-nineteenth century that led to a rise in the availability of low-cost books—cheap print, as it was called. New technologies such as the steam-powered printing press and stereotype plates converged with the emergence of railways and steamships. With these new techniques, books could be produced and sold at a significantly lower cost, making them accessible to a wider audience. A virtuous cycle was created; inexpensive books led to a rise in literacy in England that in turn increased the . . .