Overview
Although Fontenay's Books never existed, book shops offering a wide variety of titles were common in the 1800's. In fact, by 1800, the market for books exceeded the number being produced. Printing took a great deal of time, because printers had to set (put together) the type for each page and print it by hand.
Book manufacturing was revolutionized by a number of inventions during the 1800's. One invention was the Linotype, which set type mechanically. Other inventions included steam-powered printing presses and papermaking and bookbinding machines. All these inventions allowed publishers to produce more books at lower cost than ever before. The use of cloth-covered rather than leather-covered bindings also helped keep costs low.