Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 86, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 April 1920 — Early Booksellers. [ARTICLE]

Early Booksellers.

The first bookseller’s catalogue in the English language, sofar as is known, is one bearing a date of 323 years ago. It was issued by Andrew Haunsoll of Lothbury, England, and contains an elaborate dedication to Queen Elizabeth. The first booksellers in England were migratory peddlers, who carried their small stock on their backs, and thus may more properly be called pioneer book agents. In the course of time some of the more prosperous hawkers of literature set up small stalls or booths and thus became known as “stationers.” This Is the origin of the word stationer, now generally applied to dealers in “stationery,” which has come to mean writing materials, paper, pens, ink and similar articles. Booksellers in England were for centuries treated as near-crlmlnals and subjected to many restrictions, which were not wholly removed until 1758. The booksellers of both England and America now have powerful associations, the former dating from 1829.