Some Account of the Oxford University Press, 1468-1921Oxford University Press
History
Some Account of the Oxford University Press, 1468-1921
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press; Printing -- England -- Oxford -- History
Between these two classes lies a great mass of miscellaneous books, too
general in character to admit of description here. They are in many
languages, ancient and modern, of the East and of the West; of all
fields of knowledge, divine, human, and natural; and of all stages of
history from the Stone Age to the Great War. It follows necessarily that
Clarendon Press books appeal to widely different publics and call for the
application of various instruments of distribution and publicity. All,
however, benefit by the widely diffused appreciation of the standards
of scholarship and of literary form which the Press has set itself to
uphold. The public expects much of any Oxford book, and the satisfaction
of that expectation is often onerous; but the necessary effort is
justified by the results—‘the Oxford book is half sold already’.
III
THE PRESS ABROAD
§ 1. _The Press in India_
The activities of the Press in India are of relatively recent date.
Until 1912, when a branch was opened in Bombay, Oxford books had been
accessible only to those who were determined to procure them. The
existence of a distributing centre made it possible to reach more
directly the educational and the general public. But it early became
apparent to the Manager—Mr. E. V. Rieu of Balliol College—that the
educational needs of India could only to a small extent be met by direct
importation; that it was necessary to adapt existing books to the special
requirements of the country, and to create new books similar in kind.
In the course of a few years many such books were produced, at first
chiefly in England, but later to an increasing degree in India itself. By
1918 at least a dozen native presses were engaged in printing and binding
for the Branch. These books range from ‘simplified classics’ to editions
of Shakespeare’s plays, from school geographies to handbooks for students
of medicine and law. At the same time the sale of more advanced Oxford
books was largely increased. A brief description is given elsewhere of
the books produced at Oxford upon the history and art of India as well as
upon its classical literature and its religions. Books like Mr. Vincent
Smith’s _Early History of India_ and his _Fine Art in India_ command a
wide sale among the educated natives of India.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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