© 2004 by Bibliographical Society
The Image of St George and the Dragon: Promoting Books and Book Producers in Pre-Reformation England
The article investigates the use of the image of St George and the Dragon in various promotional materials (including title-pages, bookshop signs, and book covers) in the earliest era of English book production. The image, which had nationalistic, hagiographic, and chivalric connotations, sometimes advertised the content of a book, sometimes an association with a patron or dedicatee. On other occasions it served as a book producer's brand image, valuable enough to be competed for among printers. The interaction between the image and the books it advertised throws light on early book producers' promotional strategies in the evolving print culture of pre-Reformation England.