# The Business of Abridgments in 18th-Century Britain & America

In this highly illustrated lecture, Michael F. Suarez examined the surprising prevalence of abridgments in 18th-century Anglo-American publishing. Seeking to understand why the reprint trade is commonly the business of publishing abridgments, Suarez considered how intellectual property, economics, and provincial markets affect the activities of booksellers and the cultures of reading. Having examined 19th- and 20th-century collecting practices and the historiography of book history and bibliography, Suarez explained how the ubiquity of abridgments has largely escaped our notice until now.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2017
- By: Library Of Congress
- Genres: Education, History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021690568/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021690568?play=1)