Narrative

5. Price: 1d.

Although also sold for one penny, The History of King Pippin is different in that the covers are blue, and the type and woodcuts are of higher quality. Coloured covers became more common after about 1810, when publishers attempted to distinguish new chapbooks (i.e., new versions or adaptations of new works) from old-style chapbooks such as Jack, the Giant Killer. For example, a one-penny chapbook adaptation of a Scott novel might be similar to Jack, the Giant Killer, but another sold for sixpence or one shilling would be longer (i.e., 32-52 pages), printed on better paper, and include decorative borders, coloured covers, and high quality illustrations. Such differentiation in format, content and price enabled increased fragmentation of the print market, which helped to identify and create new readerships.