Research and Resources
Chapbooks are an exciting resource for historians, literary scholars, and book enthusiasts alike, providing an excellent source of material for studying early modern Scottish history and culture. For those interested in learning more about Scottish printing and the chapbook trade, we have collected some examples of research on the chapbooks here.
Alec Follett's "140 Years of Introductions: A Cautiously Optimistic Historiography of the Scottish Chapbook" reviews the development of the scholarship and study of Scottish printing and popular literature over the last century and a half. This is an excellent resource not only for better understanding the development of the discipline, but also as a map to other sources for those who are interested in reading more on this subject.
Sierra Dye's "Consumers and Producers: Chapbooks and Women in Scottish Society" focuses on the impact and involvement of women as consumers of chapbooks and popular literature. This article provides an excellent example of how this material can be used as a lens for exploring many themes in Scottish history, including gender, family, economic history, and cultural transmission.
Additional Resources and Links
Guelph is not alone in its commitment to the preservation and circulation of chapbook material. Many other universities and libraries are involved in projects to highlight their own collections of chapbooks, broadsides, and early printing material. If you are interested in visiting other sites and collections on Scottish chapbooks, please visit some of the links below for more information.
National Library of Scotland Chapbook Collection
University of South Carolina Scottish Chapbook Project
University of Glasgow Scottish Chapbooks Search
McGill Library's Chapbook Collection
The Bibliographic Society Chapbooks Working Group
