John Playford dominated the commercial music publishing trade of mid-seventeenth-century England, encouraging musical literacy and supplying beginner books for the growing domestic amateur musical class. Playford was clearly aware of the need to attract as many customers as possible in order to succeed in a commercial business; however, very little is known about his customers. This article identifies the contemporary audiences of seventeenth-century English printed music books, building on previous scholarship including Alec Hyatt King’s Some British Collectors of Music c. 1600–1900 (1963), and provides an initial record of provenance marks in surviving copies of the publications. Placing the printed book and its customer within the wider context of music-making and bookselling in seventeenth-century England develops our understanding of the social dimensions of the printed music trade, including dissemination and distribution networks.
culture ' (p.175). As Bickham highlights throughout, an imperial commodity could take on the role of an 'edible artefact' as Britons prepared exotic dishes following 'authentic' recipes to impress guests with a display of wealth and taste: 'cookery, like other arts and sciences, was a learned skill reflecting the degree of sophistication of both the individual and wider society ' (p.183). As Britons displayed and challenged their own civility, morality and status, the preparation and consumption of food 'provided useful points for social and cultural comparisons ' (p.161). At this point, Bickham seems to counter his earlier argument relating to the democracy of food and culture to evidence that different members of society did in fact experience food and empire in very different contexts.The final chapter demonstrates how food not only facilitated political discussions but was also used as a political metaphor. From the purchase and acquisition to the consumption of imperial goods, the whole process was inherently social. This socialisation, Bickham argues, 'fuelled political discourse by providing venues for British men and women to gather and discuss the news of the day ' (p.194). In the late 1780s, public opposition to slavery increased, and abolitionists employed new tactics that 'demonstrated both the extent to which Britons associated imperial goods with the empire as well as the perceived collective power of ordinary consumers' (p.220). Bickham argues that the sugar boycotts were 'partly a product of [this] newfound confidence in the widespread engagement with politics and imperial affairs and Britons' self-awareness as consumers' (p.229). Thus, the decisions consumers made on what foods to eat were politicised and enabled otherwise disenfranchised members of society to take a political stance (p.229-30).Covering the long eighteenth century and topics ranging from shopping habits to cookery books, and from consumer boycotts to visual advertising, this book, as suggested in its title, explores many aspects of the broad topic of 'food and society' in Britain in a highly accessible way. The author's thoughtful conclusion to the book focuses on how food 'shaped and reflected Britons' relationship with their empire and the peoples connected to it' (p.234). Print, advertising, cookery books and museums provided society with an increasing understanding of their connectedness to Britain's imperial rule and trade (p.236). Though arguably necessary for the context of this study, Bickham's coverage of ubiquitous (and hitherto most researched) commodities such as tea, coffee and tobacco provides familiar reading, as does the discussion of Hannah Glasse and Elizabeth Raffald. That said, it all feeds into the book's broader argument of how the 'culture of fact' influenced society's expectations of their encounters with imperial commodities and how, in turn, these commodities impacted this culture. Commodities became 'material objects endowed with meaningful associations with the peoples and places that produced the good...
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