Unlike most university presses, Cambridge University Press (CUP) is financially independent of its parent university and in fact, even supports it. A rare case given that scholarly publishing usually means subsidized publishing. CUP’s long history and early branching out into profitable areas – from bibles to schoolbooks, academic journals and others – can surely be credited for this development.
A Brief History of Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press was founded in 1584 as the publishing arm of the University of Cambridge. Though the sought-after "Letters Patent" was granted to the University already in 1534, the first book wasn’t printed until the Press’s first printer was employed 50 years later – previously, London’s Stationers’ Company had been guarding their printing monopoly carefully.
By the 1850s, Cambridge University Press employed almost 300 people and increased its academic and educational operations, especially a list of schoolbooks known as the “Pitt Press Series” and academic journals from 1893 onward, an important part of the Press’s current publishing list, numbering over 240 titles.
An Early Dispute and Current CUP Governance
The London Stationers objected when CUP printed the first Cambridge Bible in 1591, an octavo edition of the popular Geneva Bible that should later make it to America with the Pilgrim Fathers. The dispute was not settled for more than a hundred years until scholar Richard Bentley received the right to set up a “new-style press” in 1696. No doubt spurred by this incident, a year later, senior scholars formed “the Curators” to handle the university press’s affairs.
That council was renamed “the Syndics” in 1733 and until the present day, Cambridge University Press is governed by the Press Syndicate, comprised of 18 senior members of the University of Cambridge. Apart from overseeing the Press's business, it must also give its formal approval to all titles and CUP imprints anywhere in the world.
The History of Cambridge University Press in the Americas
Compared to other university presses and publishers in the UK, Cambridge University Press waited until after World War II with starting an office on the other side of the Atlantic: Only in 1949 was a small branch office established in New York City. But this marketing and sales office grew rapidly and soon started acquiring books independently.
Today, Cambridge University Press is one of the largest academic publishers in the Americas and publishes extensively in the humanities and social sciences but also in the areas of science, medicine and English as a Second Language. The latter is the driving force of the Press’s Brazil operations; the Brazil Branch was established in 1998 with a head office in Sao Paulo and another office in Rio de Janeiro.
Famous Cambridge University Press titles are the Cambridge Modern History, first published in 1912, and the Complete Works of Shakespeare, a project started in 1921 and not completed until 1966. This dedication to publish and print “all manner of books” has served the Press well in its long history.
A good source for more detailed information is the Cambridge University Press website. Readers interested in the press may want to read more about university press publishing in general, for example
- the University Press Publishing Model
- University Press Publishing Quick Facts
- Oxford University Press Profile
Simone Preuss - Simone is a freelance writer, editor and translator who decided to go solo after a successful career in publishing. That was more than ...
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