Fig. 1: In the eighteenth century, American printers printed essentially for local audiences, which limited them to standard fare and to works of local interest. Mathew Carey, however, envisioned a broad audience for his publications. In the 1790s, while also trying to create a distribution network that would make his publications available throughout the country, Carey sought other ways to sell his works, including subscription. Guthrie'sGeography was one of the titles that Carey sold in part-though not exclusively- through subscriptions. These were collected by his agent (also a new development), the legendary Parson Mason Locke Weems. Weems, himself an author, wrote a Life of Washington in which he propagated the myth of Washington and the cherry tree. Carey never made a real profit from the network he set up, due to the costs of making contacts and the losses from lost and damaged materials. However, he did show the feasibility of such networks, especially if transportation methods could be improved.

Fig. 2: Sanderson's Biography is the earliest canvassing book in the collection. Its sample leaves of text are followed by sample illustrations and subscription leaves at the end. The half-broadside advertisement at the book's beginning has been annotated with additional binding information to reflect the other volume in the set. Sanderson's Biography was an extremely popular work in the first half of the nineteenth century, regularly reprinted every few years.

Fig. 3: Unlike most canvassing books, this early example consists exclusively of illustrations to be included in the Works and subscription leaves. While illustrations were generally used as a selling point, later outfits generally included sample text, the title page, and other information about the work, as well. Franklin, presumably, spoke for himself.