Adam Smyth on The Book-Makers: A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives
2026-05-08 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago)
Sponsored by the Caxton Club.
May Midday Program

From the aptly named Wynkyn de Worde to creators of Zines, Adam Smyth unspools the story of books by illuminating the lives of eighteen fascinating characters. Entertaining, enlightening, engaging, and alliterative, his book puts a fresh perspective on some familiar names while introducing others you may not be familiar with.
Did Benjamin Franklin eat paper in order to increase the amount of fiber in his diet? Did William Wildgoose lead a campaign to outlaw quill pens out of deference to his namesake? While those intriguing questions aren’t actually addressed in Smyth’s terrific book, he does use the broadest range of historical sources to revive and describe the sounds, the smells, and the atmosphere of the development of printing to reveal new perspectives on even the most well-trodden ground.
Smyth is a professor of English literature and the history of the book at Oxford’s Balliol College. He may seem familiar to regular midday program viewers, because other speakers have quoted him in their talks and because he is much in demand as a lecturer and learned guest in programs available online.
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