From the founding of the colonies until the nineteenth century the great majority of books that circulated in the colonies were printed in Britain. Although by the late eighteenth century there were printers in the major American cities as well as in many towns, local presses could not print works cheaply enough or in enough quantity to satisfy the demands of the American reading public. As advertisements in colonial newspapers demonstrate, the urban bookseller was the means through which Americans maintained their cultural identity as Britons, keeping up with the latest fashions and developments in all of the arts. Some of the most important philosophical developments of the Enlightenment had their largest influence in the colonies through advice books and novels—new genres of literature that continue to be staples in American bookstores. John Locke's new educational psychology, organized...