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Volumes relating to legal history published by the Selden Society

A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text publication society may publish translations, calendars and indexes.

Members of the society (private individuals or institutions) pay an annual subscription, in return for which they either automatically receive a copy of each volume as it is published, or (as in the case of, for example, the Royal Historical Society) are eligible to purchase volumes at favourable members' rates. Some societies attempt to keep to a regular cycle of publishing (generally one volume per year, as in the case of the London Record Society and the Canterbury and York Society; the Royal Historical Society, exceptionally, aims for two volumes per year). Others, however, publish on an irregular and occasional basis, as the completion of editorial work allows. Volumes are usually also made available for sale to non-members, but the price is invariably higher than that paid (either as the retail price or through subscriptions) by members, thereby establishing an incentive for interested parties to join. The model originated and is most commonly found in the United Kingdom, but has also been adopted in other countries.

In the 19th century, when many societies were founded, they were sometimes known as book clubs. They have also been termed printing clubs.[1] Those that publish exclusively archival material are often known as record societies or records societies.

Historical development

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The principle of subscription publishing – funding the publication of a volume by securing multiple advance subscriptions from individuals interested in buying the final product – was first established in the 17th century, and routinely adopted during the 18th.[2][3] The idea of extending the model to the membership of a society was initiated by the Roxburghe Club, founded in 1812 as a convivial association of bibliophiles, but which rapidly introduced the principle that each member should sponsor the publication of an edition of a rare work of interest to members, and that other volumes would be published by the Club collectively. In both cases, the volumes were intended for distribution to the entire membership. The Club's first publication, donated by Sir William Bolland and issued in 1814, was the Earl of Surrey's translation of parts of Virgil's Aeneid, originally printed in 1557.

One early Roxburghe Club member (from 1822) was Sir Walter Scott, who was inspired by it to establish the Bannatyne Club to print works of interest for Scottish tradition, literature, and history. Other special-interest societies followed. In contrast to the exclusive Roxburghe Club (which had an elite membership and issued its publications as luxurious limited editions), most had broad membership criteria, and had as their primary objective the dissemination of valuable historical texts as widely as possible.[4] Nevertheless, their activities tended to appeal to the "monied and educated" classes: in 1838, 20% of the Camden Society's members were clergymen, 9% held legal qualifications, and 36% were Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries.[5]

Success being dependent on fund-raising and the attraction of new members, the early societies often suffered from financial and organisational troubles. Controversy followed Frederick James Furnivall, a prime mover in many of the early ventures. In the second half of the 19th century the government-sponsored Rolls Series took over some of the territory of the amateur societies, particularly in respect of the publication of chronicles.[6] The productions of several of the early societies included literary texts, but by the end of the 19th century, the majority of societies were tending to focus instead on the publication of archival records. This continued to be the pattern in the 20th century.

The Durham-based Surtees Society, founded in 1834 and modelled in part on the Scottish Bannatyne and Maitland Clubs,[7] was the first English society to adopt a specifically regional remit, in its case the elucidation of the history of the area constituting the ancient kingdom of Northumbria. Its establishment was deeply rooted in local pride: in an early prospectus, James Raine (its principal founder and first secretary) drew attention to just a few unpublished manuscripts of Durham interest, "which, in these times, few individuals would incur the risk of printing at their own cost; but which nevertheless, afford even singly, how much more collectively, the most valuable materials to those who are anxious to study rightly the History of our forefathers under its different characters".[8] The Chetham Society, founded in 1843, concerned itself in much the same way with the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. From the 1880s onwards, many societies focused on a single county. A particularly energetic advocate was W. P. W. Phillimore, who was active in the foundation of the British Record Society, Scottish Record Society, Thoroton Society, Canterbury and York Society, and Irish Record Society.[9]

Several county archaeological and historical societies undertook text publication as just one among a broader range of activities, and in certain cases – for example, the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society and the Kent Archaeological Society – continue to do so. In other cases, a new society has broken away from its parent archaeological society to become an independent body dedicated solely to text publication: examples include the Surrey Record Society and the Wiltshire Record Society.

In the 21st century, partly as a result of the growing quantity of historical research materials now available online, many societies have experienced a significant decline in membership numbers, and consequent difficulties in maintaining their traditional business model. Societies have responded to the challenge in various ways, including by selectively uploading some of their publications to the World Wide Web, while continuing to publish other materials in print.[10][11]

List of societies

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United Kingdom and Ireland

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Active

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Began publication 1800–1849
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Title page of Alice Thornton's autobiography, dating from the 17th century and published by the Surtees Society in 1875
  • Roxburghe Club (founded 1812): publishes editions of rare early printed and unpublished manuscript works, often in facsimile.
  • Surtees Society (founded 1834): publishes mainly archival material relating to the counties of Durham and Northumberland.
  • Camden Society (founded 1838): published editions of texts of value for British history, including unpublished manuscripts and rare early printed books. In 1897 it merged with the Royal Historical Society, which continues to publish material in what is now known as the Camden Series.
  • Irish Archaeological Society (founded 1840): published texts relation to the history of Ireland.
  • Chetham Society (founded 1843): publishes editions of texts relating to the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
  • Ray Society (founded 1844): publishes works of natural history, mainly British.
  • Hakluyt Society (founded 1846): publishes editions and translations of primary records of voyages, travels and other geographical material relating to all parts of the globe.
Began publication 1850–1899
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Extract from the Pipe roll for 21 Henry II (1174–5), as published by the Pipe Roll Society in 1897 using record type
Began publication 1900–1949
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Began publication 1950–
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Defunct, or no longer active in text publication

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Began publication 1800–1849
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Began publication 1850–1899
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Began publication 1900–1949
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Began publication 1950–
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Canada

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  • Champlain Society (founded 1905): publishes documents relating to Canadian history.
  • Hudson's Bay Record Society (founded 1938; dissolved 1983): published records of the Hudson's Bay Company
  • Osgoode Society
  • Rupert's Land Record Society

France

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Germany

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Iceland

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Italy

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  • The Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo (Italian Historical Institute for the Middle Ages) continues the work started by Ludwig Antonio Muratori in the early 18th century.

South Africa

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Levine 1986, pp. 16, 40-45, 178-9.
  2. ^ Clapp, S. L. C. (1931). "The Beginnings of subscription publication in the seventeenth century". Modern Philology. 29 (2): 199–224. doi:10.1086/387957. S2CID 162013335.
  3. ^ Williams, F. B. (1948). "Scholarly publication in Shakespeare's day: a leading case". In McManaway, James G.; Dawson, Giles E.; Willoughby, Edwin E. (eds.). Joseph Quincy Adams: memorial studies. Washington, DC: Folger Shakespeare Library. pp. 755–73.
  4. ^ Levine 1986, pp. 14–15.
  5. ^ Levine 1986, pp. 43–4.
  6. ^ Levine 1986, p. 45.
  7. ^ Levine 1986, p. 41.
  8. ^ Thompson, A. Hamilton (1939). The Surtees Society, 1834–1934, including a catalogue of its publications with notes on their sources and contents, and a list of the members of the society from its beginning to the present day. Surtees Society. Vol. 150. Durham. p. 5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Tiller, Kate (2004). "Phillimore [formerly Stiff], William Phillimore Watts (1853–1913)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/57556. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  10. ^ Chandler, John (August 2013). "Long-playing record societies, but how long?". The Local Historian. 43 (3): 227–231.
  11. ^ Chandler, John (2021). "Stuck in a groove? How will record societies survive?". Northamptonshire Past and Present. 74: 29–32.
  12. ^ Gregory 2006.
  13. ^ Shakespeare Society of London, 1841–1853
  14. ^ Chaucer Society
  15. ^ Gregory 2006.
  16. ^ Sandford Terry, Charles (1909). A Catalogue of the Publications of Scottish Historical and Kindred Clubs and Societies, and of the volumes relative to Scottish history, issued by His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1780–1908, with a subject index. Glasgow: J. MacLehose. p. 92.
  17. ^ Research Collections in Microform: New Shakspere Society Publications - Bowling Green State University Archived 2007-06-12 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ John Wyclif (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Bibliography

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Critical studies

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Lists of publications

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  • "National & Regional History". Royal Historical Society. Retrieved 27 December 2020. [links to lists of national, regional and local record society publications: these incorporate and update the material in the Texts and Calendars lists published by Mullins and the Stevensons]
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