Printing and the Mind of Man; A Descriptive Catalogue illustrating the Impact of Print on the Evolution of Western Civilization during Five Centuries

Munchen: Karl Pressler, 1983. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Slipcased. Near Fine/Near Fine. [12.5x8.875in]; [3], ix-xxv [second edition additions], v-xxiv [first edition preface], 280 pp., index; Red buckram cloth covers with black lettering on bordered paper labels on spine and front, all edges trimmed; Cream Dust Jacket with red and black lettering on front, back and spine; Publisher light gray plain card slipcase; Negligible shelf wear to book or dust jacket, slipcase reinforced with clear tape along all edges and slightly soiled. The "Printing and the Mind of Man" (PMM for short), evolved from a catalogue of books for the July 1963 International (truncated) Printing Machinery and Allied Trades Exhibition (IPEX) which was held in London at Earls and the British Museum. The focus was how printing influenced human knowledge and thought. The catalogue was edited by Carter, Muir and others, and was expanded into a 1967 book, again edited by Carter and Muir. The book became a significant reference work for book collectors, sellers, librarians and scholars and chronologically listed 424 entries from 1455 to 1940. The entries include religious, social, governance, science, natural history, biology and others that have contributed to the expansion of human knowledge.

This second edition, issued 16 years later, has been selectively updated and enlarged with additional bibliographic sources and references for the original entries, corrections to the index and an introduction by Percy Muir, written shortly before his death in 1979. From the dust jacket, "... 550 new bibliographies or bibliographical references [have been incorporated to the 424 entries] .... the original index has been revised and some 330 errors ... corrected." And, "A section of corrigenda to the text ... will in the future prevent a number of misreadings and misunderstandings."

John W. Carter (1905-1975) was a bibliographer and bookseller. He worked for Charles Scribner's Sons, the British government and Sothebys, while pursuing his book selling and writing about books. Percy H. Muir (1894-1979) started his career as a London bookseller and was very influential in the Antiquarian Booksellers Association and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. (Inventory #: 13701)