why were cheap paperback edition of books printed by the end of the 19 th century
Answers
In the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, reading was a privileged skill available to the upper-class elite. Books were very expensive items and most of the population were unable to afford them. One of the more famous and prestige bookshops of the period was 'The Temple of Muses', situated in Finsbury Square, London. Founded by James Lackington in 1778, the architecturally stunning store had a frontage of 140 feet and the premise was so large that it was reported a coach and six would be able to drive around the huge circular counter in the centre of the shop. Lackington later sold the bookshop to Jones and Company where it continued to thrive, selling books at the lowest possible rates whilst maintaining an attractive and prosperous space for individuals to read and browse the latest texts. The Temple of Muses burnt down in 1841.