The history of Oxford University Press spans five centuries of printing and publishing. Taking the story from 1780 to 1896, this volume covers developments in publishing technology, the output of the University Press, its relationship with the University and city of Oxford, and its growing place in the wider book trade.

This book narrates the extraordinary growth in the study of Arabic in England from the late sixteenth century, when it was almost non-existent, to the end of the seventeenth. By its high point around 1666, England was preeminent among European countries in the study of Arabic. Permanent chairs of Arabic had been established at Oxford and Cambridge, and specialized presses in Oxford and London had produced important Arabic works. In this masterly and original study, Professor Toomer gives the first detailed account of this process, set against the religious and political background in England and in Europe. He shows how trade with the Ottoman Empire and mistrust of Islam influenced the study of Arabic. Finally, he traces the course and causes of the drastic decline in Arabic studies towards the end of the century.