In this volume a range of distinguished contributors provide an original analysis of the book in Scotland during a period that has been until now greatly under-researched and little understood.The issues covered by this volume include the professionalisation of publishing, its scale, technological developments, the role of the state, including the library service, the institutional structure of the book in Scotland, industrial relations, union activity and organisation, women and the Scottish book, and the economics of publishing. Separate chapters cover Scottish publishing and literary culture, publishing genres, the art of print culture, distribution, and authors and readers. The volume also includes an innovative use of illustrative case studies.