The Burgeoning European Print Trade. The Distribution of Prints via the Plantin-Moretus Press of Antwerp (Harvey Miller, 2025) by Karen L. Bowen and Dirk Imhof is an essential, novel study of the distribution networks, pricing standards, and astounding volume of sales that characterized a vital component of the European print trade in the Early Modern Period, as revealed by the exceptional records of the Plantin-Moretus Press of Antwerp.

Not only art historians, but social, cultural, and economic historians all agree that the european print trade was of vital importance in the Early Modern Period, as the conveyer of established icons, as well as the most recent imagery and news. Yet, thus far it is often discussed solely on the basis of tantalizing, isolated case studies. Bowen and Imhof’s ground-breaking publication addresses this significant lacuna by demonstrating in unprecedented detail how booksellers were routinely engaged in the extensive international distribution and sale of hundreds of thousands of prints annually between the mid-sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries.The result is an essential, novel study that clarifies how the print trade worked in practice during a burgeoning period in its evolution.

Karen L. Bowen is an art historian specialized in the study of prints, printmaking, and book illustration in the Early Modern Period.

Dirk Imhof worked at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp as keeper of the rare books and archives until 2022. His research focusses on book history in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Both have published extensively in their fields, exploring the publications and management of the Plantin-Moretus Press in particular.

Jana Byars (New Books Network) interviews both authors on how this book came about, the economics and culture of the early modern book trade in Europe and the unique history of the Plantin-Moretus Press.