Origins of Mass Communications Research Project
11 November 2001

Background

• Restoration Print Culture (User: passive and password: obedience)
  • Configuration file, with bibliography
• Catalog
  • English Short Title Catalog (ESTC) --
    • telnet
    • web-based
• Microfilm resources
  • Early English books, 1641-1700 -- online samples
  • Women advising women, MicroServ / YRL PN5124.W6 W66
• Books
  • Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. (1983). The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press
  • Houston, R.A. (1988). Literacy in Early Modern Europe. Culture & Education
    1500-1800. New York: Longman.
  • Feather, John (1988). A History of British Publishing. London: Routledge.
• Libraries
  • Clark Library.

First task: basic categories

1. Melvyl --> ESTC
   English Short Title Catalog, 1473-1800
   
2. Search request: FI DATE 1683 AND NOT DATE -1682 OR 1684-
   Search result: 1,830 records in the ESTC database
3. Develop categories for the first 50 texts, based on:
   • length (how many sheets or pages)
   • genre (song/poetry, drama, fiction, non-fiction)
   • function (entertainment, history, politics, news, education, legal edict)
   • author (poet, novelist, propagandist, publisher, King)
   • constituency (actual/intended audience)
   • Completed task (xls)
4. Make a database with the categories

Second task: 20-year checks

1. Melvyl --> ESTC
   English Short Title Catalog, 1473-1800
   
2. Search request: FI DATE 1473
   
3. D long
4. Count each category
5. constituency (everyone, Catholics, Protestants, Whigs, Tories)

Third task: page length distributions

1. D long, d marc, d marc tag 300