The First Hundred Years of Printing in British North America: Printers and Collectors.

Surveys the history of American printing from 1640 (the publication of the Bay Psalm Book) to 1742 (the first American cookbook) and examines early collectors of printed materials. The technology of printing changed little during these years, but assembling a comprehensive list of printers is difficult since knowledge about journeymen is skimpy. Early output consisted chiefly of the printing of public laws, and not until the 1720's did real growth occur in the printing trade. This both fed and stimulated a public appetite for the printed word.