The fifty-third volume of Studies continues its tradition of presenting a wide range of articles by international scholars on bibliography, textual criticism, and other aspects of the study of books.

The volume opens with unpublished lectures by one of the twentieth century’s most distinguished bibliographers, R. B. McKerrow, followed by another of G. Thomas Tanselle’s foundational essays on the description of books, this one on the bibliographical concept of format. Other articles trace the invention of the Hinman Collator, explore the nature of bibliographical reasoning, including the use of statistics, propose attributions to Samuel Richardson, and investigate puzzles in particular works from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century.

The articles and their authors are:

"The Relationship of English Printed Books to Authors’ Manuscripts during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (The 1928 Sandars Lectures)," R. B. McKerrow, edited by Carlo M. Bajetta, Catholic University of Milan and University of Genoa; "The Concept of Format," G. Thomas Tanselle, Guggenheim Foundation; "The Calculus of Calculus: W. W. Greg and the Mathematics of Everyman Editions," Joseph A. Dane, University of Southern California, and Rosemary A. Roberts, Bowdoin College; "‘The Eternal Verities Verified’: Charlton Hinman and the Roots of Mechanical Collation," Steven Escar Smith, Texas A&M University; "The Application of Thought to Textual Criticism in All Modes—with Apologies to A. E. Housman," Ralph Hanna, Keble College, Oxford; "Evidence for the Stemma of the Piers Plowman B Manuscripts," Robert Adams, Sam Houston State University; "Samuel Richardson’s ‘Elegant Disquisitions’: Anonymous Writing in the True Briton and Other Journals?" John A. Dussinger, University of Illinois; "Fielding, Richardson, and William Strahan: A Bibliographical Puzzle," Keith Maslen, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; "Interrelating the Cancellantia and Partial Gatherings in the First Edition of Edward Young’s The Centaur Not Fabulous," James E. May, Pennsylvania State University, DuBois; "Byron, Medwin, and the False Fiend: Remembering ‘Remember Thee,’" Andrew M. Stauffer, Boston University.