Oxford Books. A Bibliography of Printed Works relating to the University and City of Oxford or Printed or Published there, with appendixes, annals and illustrations. Vol. 2 Oxford Literature 1450 - 1640, and 1641 - 1650

Clarendon Press, Oxford, first edition, 1912. Cloth, 8vo,. xvi, 712 pp, plates. 2065 entries. The second volume in Madan's 3- volume bibliography - extremely valuable not only for the detailed bibliographical descriptions but also for Madan's notes on content and significance. The second volume was published on Feb. 14, 1912, covering from 1641 (but in some sense from earlier times) to 1650, and presenting in detail the numerous pamphlets of the Civil War, when Oxford was the head-quarters of the Royalist Court and Army. "..[T]his is a bibliography of books about Oxford as well as of books printed at Oxford, and...in each year there are four divisions : brief annals of the year; books of primary importance or interest, which are fully described; minor pieces, including many not printed at Oxford, more summarily treated ; and a full register of the Oxford Press." Esdaile commented: "not only is the production of the Oxford press for the period chronicled, but all books relating to Oxford up to 1650 are entered and annotated. The Oxford books of the Civil War are here for the first time carefully examined and distinguished by their typographical peculiarities from the London editions with the same imprints; for while the Court was at Oxford, the Oxford presses were busy producing Royalist pamphlets, which Londoners (at least Royalist Londoners) were anxious to read; but to which London publishers were not anxious to put their names. What they did was to reprint them exactly, retaining the Oxford imprints, and to circulate the reprints sub rosa. Very Good.