Introduction

This chapter illustrates the feasibility of analysing large-scale intellectual and cultural patterns through bibliographic data. Our focus is to adopt a statistical lens to examine printing practices and to start thinking about how this correlates with reading habits in early modern Europe. We analyse the cultural impact of book formats, provide a quantitative evaluation of these formats and briefly explore the implications of these shifts on printing and reading practices during the early modern period. Additionally, we consider how 18th-century authors, like David Hume, responded to these general trends. The case studies of printing Shakespeare and the Bible will anchor our analysis. While extensive research has been dedicated to the intellectual and cultural significance of Shakespeare and the Bible, there have been relatively few efforts to statistically evaluate their publication trends, including changes in book formats and overall book size over time.

The late 18th century entailed a change in the reading and writing of books. Rolf Engelsing famously suggested a reading revolution took place in the second half of the century in which the public gradually switched from reading a few key works intensively and repeatedly, such as the Bible, to reading extensive amounts of literature by different authors (Engelsing 1970; 1974, 1–4). The breakthrough of extensive reading and the ensuing exposure to a broader spectrum of ideas is one of the key factors driving modernity. However, assessing these links requires better knowledge of when and where reading habits changed.