The
English Experience
Books printed in England before 1640
964
facsimile editions
The most extensive series of facsimile reprints of books
originally published in England between 1475 and 1640.
WANTED WANTED
The Scope of the
Series -
As a source for
scholars, book collectors, and librarians seeking original English texts, the
ENGLISH EXPERIENCE series has no precedent. Beginning with the first books
printed from movable type in 1475 and continuing for two centuries, the series
is an exciting representation of the history, culture, and thinking of the
Renaissance in England.
Each book was chosen
for its significance to present scholarship and because it was generally
unavailable on the market.
The Making of the Series -
Each volume is a true
facsimile of the original, reproduced from full-scale negatives to ensure the
greatest possible clarity.? Images for
negatives were created using low-light, non-destructive camera techniques. Printing
is by photo-offset on specially made paper with a long life expectancy.
Bindings are in hard
covers designed for library use; only a very small number of the books --
generally those counting less than 48 pages -- are sewn in wrappers. Most of
the books are in folio, 4to, 8vo, or 16mo. If any book contained maps,
drawings, charts or other fold-outs or inserts, those are reproduced as close
to the originals as possible.
Covers are red cloth
with a solid-block, blue rectangle on the front and one on the spine containing
gold lettering with the title, author's last name and year of original
publication. Later volumes, toward the end of the series, have the series book
number -- also in gold -- at the base of the spine. All are printed in original
sizes making for books ranging from 4 ins to 20 ins in height.
Those few titles sewn
in wrappers are dark red with black or dark blue print and a single-line
rectangle on the front only (no printing on spine).
A collation of the
original copy used for reproduction is included in each facsimile, as well as
an acknowledgement (quoting the shelf number) to the library whose copy is
reproduced.
The Publication of the Series -
All
books were produced in the Netherlands starting in 1967, in groups of about 70
titles comprising ca. 11,000 pages in each group. Upon completion, 14 groups
with 964 titles were available.
Books were published
using the facilities of Da Capo Press, New York, NY by:
Theartrum Orbis Terrarum B.V.
Keizersgracht 526
or 1017 EK Amsterdam-Netherlands
The titles were
distributed (until the mid-1990s) in the U.S. by:
Walter J. Johnson, Inc
355 Chestnut St
Norwood, NJ 07648
The History of the Series -