This volume investigates the operational mechanics, regulatory environment, and commercial activities of the London book trade between 1671 and 1685. D. F. McKenzie and Maureen Bell, both established scholars in bibliography and book history, synthesize a vast array of primary source documents to reconstruct the professional landscape of seventeenth-century printing and distribution. The work provides a structured chronological framework that allows researchers to trace the evolution of the trade through legal records, trade bills, and contemporary correspondence.

Scholars and historians frequently cite this work as a foundational reference for understanding the seventeenth-century English book trade. The text is noted for its high degree of academic density and its utility as a primary research tool for bibliographers and social historians.