New References

Sometimes the connection between emblem books and theatra machinarum are more direct than others. Smith, for example, notes the similarities between some of the zoological motifs of Joseph Boillot, who also penned a machine book, and the Theatrum morum (1608) of Aegidius Sadeler.

Verstegen emphasis that readers of early works on perspective would have required considerable tacit skills to actually interpret them (e.g., theatre scene painters).

Note: Brill's forthcoming Philosophies of Technology: Francis Bacon and his Contemporaries looks very good.

Refs

Smith, Paul J. (2005). Congnition in emblematic fable books: Aegidius Sadeler's Theatrum morum (1608) and its reception in France (1659-1743). In Karl A.E. Enenkel and Wolfgang Neuber (Eds.) Cognition and the book (pp. 161-186). Leiden: Brill.


Verstegen, Ian F. (2005). Tacit skills in the perspective treatise of the late Renaissance. In Karl A.E. Enenkel and Wolfgang Neuber (Eds.) Cognition and the book (pp. 187-216). Leiden: Brill.

More

Some other references of note include:

Walters, Gwyn (1982). Early sales catalogues: problems and perspectives. In Robin Myers (Ed.) Sale and distribution of books from 1700 (pp. 106-125).

This study provides some insight into the limitations and advantages of using catalogues for research purposes. The entire process of using auctions is articulated in the papers contained in:

Myers, Robin and Giles Mandelbrote (Eds.)(2001) Under the hammer : book auctions since the seventeenth century. London: British Library.

I also came across a very good resource on the book trade in London. I think it fullfils a particularly important role on the distribution parts of Darnton's network that are left empty by the studies of the Plantin press:

Raven, James (2007). The business of books: booksellers and the English book trade, 1450-1850. New Haven: Yale University Press.

I particularly like this quote from Raven: "Determining any 'average' price for a book is necessarily elusive." (p. 50)

This reference is important for illustrating the relative dearth of illustrated books until the 19th century:

Michael Twyman, "The Emergence of the Graphic Book in the 19th Century." In A Millennium of the Book: Production, Design & Illustration in Manuscript & Print, 900-1900, edited by Robin Myers and Michael Harris, pp. 135-180.