| Summary: | The Roxburghe Club has an unbroken publishing history from 1814 to the present day. Since the Club’s edition of Havelok the Dane appeared in 1828, the Roxburghe has gained a reputation as a producer of valuable editions of manuscripts and reprinted early books. The founding period of the Club, however, has been viewed with less approval, often seen as a frivolous, unscholarly period of wasted years when little of value was produced by a membership composed of dilettante aristocrats. Examination of contemporary sources presents an alternative narrative of the formative years of the Club showing that the early members of the Roxburghe, rather than being frivolous bibliomaniacs, were in fact educated men with serious literary purpose and ability. The origin of the inaccuracies about the Club’s history is shown to be traceable to one malicious source and an accurate alternative biography of the Club is presented in correction of this version. The books produced by the members during this period were important texts that contributed to the emerging field of English Literature. By examining the political and religious affiliations of the members, it is demonstrated that the social and political makeup of the early group was far more complex than previously acknowledged; a change of perspective that in turn has implications for the texts that were presented to the Club. The early Roxburghe represented a significant potential forum for the exchange of important ideas about early authors and texts.
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