Margins of Scarcity ebook

The printed page has always depended on a physical economy. When paper became scarce, printers changed formats, publishers postponed projects, and readers encountered thinner issues, higher prices, or fewer books. This book traces the practical consequences of shortages across the age of print, showing how material constraints influenced editorial choices, public information, and literary circulation. It pays attention to the mills and trade routes behind the page while keeping the central question in view: what happens to a reading culture when its most basic surface becomes uncertain?