Text publication society


A text publication society is a learned society which publishes scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text publication society may publish translations, calendars and indexes.
Members of the society pay an annual subscription, in return for which they either automatically receive a copy of each volume as it is published, or are eligible to purchase volumes at favourable members' rates. Some societies attempt to keep to a regular cycle of publishing. Others, however, publish on an irregular and occasional basis, as the completion of editorial work allows. Volumes are usually also made available for sale to non-members, but the price is invariably higher than that paid by members, thereby establishing an incentive for interested parties to join. The model originated and is most commonly found in the United Kingdom, but has also been adopted in other countries.
In the 19th century, when many societies were founded, they were sometimes known as book clubs. They have also been termed printing clubs. Those that publish exclusively archival material are often known as record societies or records societies.

Historical development

The principle of subscription publishing – funding the publication of a volume by securing multiple advance subscriptions from individuals interested in buying the final product – was first established in the 17th century, and routinely adopted during the 18th. The idea of extending the model to the membership of a society was initiated by the Roxburghe Club, founded in 1812 as a convivial association of bibliophiles, but which rapidly introduced the principle that each member should sponsor the publication of an edition of a rare work of interest to members, and that other volumes would be published by the Club collectively. In both cases, the volumes were intended for distribution to the entire membership. The Club's first publication, donated by William Bolland and issued in 1814, was the Earl of Surrey's translation of parts of Virgil's Aeneid, originally printed in 1557.
One early Roxburghe Club member was Sir Walter Scott, who was inspired by it to establish the Bannatyne Club to print works of interest for Scottish tradition, literature, and history. Other special-interest societies followed. In contrast to the exclusive Roxburghe Club, most had broad membership criteria, and had as their primary objective the dissemination of valuable historical texts as widely as possible. Nevertheless, their activities tended to appeal to the "monied and educated" classes: in 1838, 20% of the Camden Society's members were clergymen, 9% held legal qualifications, and 36% were Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries.
Success being dependent on fund-raising and the attraction of new members, the early societies often suffered from financial and organisational troubles. Controversy followed Frederick James Furnivall, a prime mover in many of the early ventures. In the second half of the 19th century the government-sponsored Rolls Series took over some of the territory of the amateur societies, particularly in respect of the publication of chronicles. The productions of several of the early societies included literary texts, but by the end of the 19th century, the majority of societies were tending to focus instead on the publication of archival records. This continued to be the pattern in the 20th century.
The Durham-based Surtees Society, founded in 1834 and modelled in part on the Scottish Bannatyne and Maitland Clubs, was the first English society to adopt a specifically regional remit, in its case the elucidation of the history of the area constituting the ancient kingdom of Northumbria. Its establishment was deeply rooted in local pride: in an early prospectus, James Raine drew attention to just a few unpublished manuscripts of Durham interest, "which, in these times, few individuals would incur the risk of printing at their own cost; but which nevertheless, afford even singly, how much more collectively, the most valuable materials to those who are anxious to study rightly the History of our forefathers under its different characters". The Chetham Society, founded in 1843, concerned itself in much the same way with the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. From the 1880s onwards, many societies focused on a single county. A particularly energetic advocate was W. P. W. Phillimore, who was active in the foundation of the British Record Society, Scottish Record Society, Thoroton Society, Canterbury and York Society, and Irish Record Society.
Several county archaeological and historical societies undertook text publication as just one among a broader range of activities, and in certain cases – for example, the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society and the Kent Archaeological Society – continue to do so. In other cases, a new society has broken away from its parent archaeological society to become an independent body dedicated solely to text publication: examples include the Surrey Record Society and the Wiltshire Record Society.
In the 21st century, partly as a result of the growing quantity of historical research materials now available online, many societies have experienced a significant decline in membership numbers, and consequent difficulties in maintaining their traditional business model. Societies have responded to the challenge in various ways, including by selectively uploading some of their publications to the World Wide Web, while continuing to publish other materials in print.

List of societies

United Kingdom and Ireland

Active

Began publication 1800–1849
  • Roxburghe Club : publishes editions of rare early printed and unpublished manuscript works, often in facsimile.
  • Surtees Society : publishes mainly archival material relating to the counties of Durham and Northumberland.
  • Camden Society : published editions of texts of value for British history, including unpublished manuscripts and rare early printed books. In 1897 it merged with the Royal Historical Society, which continues to publish material in what is now known as the Camden Series.
  • Irish Archaeological Society : published texts relating to the history of Ireland.
  • Chetham Society : publishes editions of texts relating to the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
  • Ray Society : publishes works of natural history, mainly British.
  • Hakluyt Society : publishes editions and translations of primary records of voyages, travels and other geographical material relating to all parts of the globe.
    Began publication 1850–1899
  • Early English Text Society : publishes editions of early English-language texts, especially those previously unpublished.
  • Harleian Society : publishes editions of the heraldic visitations of England and Wales, and other manuscript sources relating to genealogy and heraldry.
  • Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society : publishes editions of records relating to the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland.
  • Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire : publishes editions of records relating to the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
  • Staffordshire Record Society : publishes editions of records relating to Staffordshire.
  • London Topographical Society : publishes editions of source material, and also modern scholarly research, relating to the history and topography of London.
  • Scottish Text Society : publishes scholarly editions of significant Scottish literary texts, especially Middle Scots works of the 16th to 18th centuries.
  • Pali Text Society : publishes editions and translations of Buddhist scriptures in the Pāli language, and other related texts.
File:Pipe roll 1174 record type.jpg|thumb|260px|right|Extract from the Pipe roll for 21 Henry II, as published by the Pipe Roll Society in 1897 using record type
  • Pipe Roll Society : publishes editions of the medieval English Pipe rolls, and other related archival texts.
  • Oxford Historical Society : publishes editions of records relating to the history of the city of Oxford and the historic county of Oxfordshire.
  • Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society : published editions and translations of texts relating to the history of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Absorbed in 1896 by the Palestine Exploration Fund, which continues to publish texts on an occasional basis.
  • Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society : publishes editions of records relating to the history of Yorkshire.
  • Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland : among other activities, publishes editions of records relating to the history of French Protestant migration.
  • Somerset Record Society : publishes editions of records relating to the history of the county of Somerset.
  • Scottish History Society : publishes editions of texts relating to the civil, religious, and social history of Scotland.
  • Selden Society : publishes significant records relating to the history of English law.
  • British Record Society : publishes indexes to British public records, especially name indexes to probate records; and also texts of Hearth Tax returns from the 1660s and 1670s.
  • Thoresby Society : a general historical society concerned with the city of Leeds and its district, which among other activities publishes editions of historical documents.
  • Henry Bradshaw Society : publishes editions of rare liturgical texts.
  • Navy Records Society : publishes editions of historical records relating to the Royal Navy.
  • Worcestershire Historical Society : publishes editions of records relating to the history of Worcestershire.
  • Scottish Record Society : publishes calendars and indexes to public records and private muniments and manuscripts relating to Scotland and Scottish affairs.
  • Lancashire Parish Register Society : publishes editions of the parish registers of Lancashire.
  • Irish Texts Society : publishes editions and translations of texts in the Irish language.