Some Account of the Oxford University Press, 1468–1921

Abstract

THIS is a charming monograph describing the work of a great institution. The book is a masterpiece of typography, and is embellished by a number of reproductions of old woodcuts and recent photographs. Special chapters are devoted to its most important publications—the Oxford English Dictionary and the Dictionary of National Biography. The vast operations of the Press may be judged by the fact that its warehouses at Oxford are estimated to contain 31/2 million copies of about 4500 distinct works. From these vaults was drawn into the upper air, in 1907, the last copy of Wilkins's “Coptic New Testament,” published in 1716, the paper scarcely discoloured and the impression still black and brilliant. During the War, the Press carried out much confidential work for the Naval Intelligence Department, and supplied during three years 41/2 million copies of the New Testament for use in the field. The relations of the Press to its servants have always been amicable, and the case of the late Mr. J. C. Pembrey, one of the proofreaders, is probably unique: in 1847 he read Wilson's “Sanskrit Grammar,” and in 1916 the “Vedic Grammar” of Prof. Macdonell.