Hi there,

I am currently enrolled in a 4th year English course at the University of Alberta which focuses on early print traditions. I am working with this tract for an assignment, and I have a few questions which I have been unable to find an answer to elsewhere, so I pose this question to anyone reading this:

- Does anyone know if this was written in response to another tract in specific?

- Who may have written this tract?

- Do you know of any scholarly works which relate to this tract?

I will of course, cite  all information which I find on EEBO interactions in my assignment. I am not a specialist in this field, and as such, I am not necessarily looking for someone to do work on my behalf, but rather, I am looking for some guidance in how to go about interpreting this text.

Thank you for any help that I may receive in advance!

***

Here are some suggestions that will hopefully be helpful both for this and other early modern pamphlets:

- as a starting point go to the English Short Title Catalogue online at estc.bl.uk. This will tell you more bibliographical details about the pamphlet: is the author known or have any scholars attempted to make an attribution? Is the printer or bookseller known? Which copies exist, where are they, and are there variant editions?

- read the text very closely. Does it mention any other texts, or have any other clues about its context or who wrote it? Does it give any clues about who the author is expecting to read it?

- look for other pamphlets published on the same subject. A keyword search on EEBO or ESTC limited by date will help here. Do they make similar points, have a similar style, or cross-reference each other?

- look at the material aspects of the text. What size is it, how many pages, and what does this tell you about who it might have been aimed at? Do the typeface used and the printer's ornaments give you any clues about the printer?

- for references in scholarly literature, Google Scholar and Google Books are a good starting point. Try searching for both the long and short versions of the title, and for the bibliographical references (either the catalogue number for Wing or the Thomason Tracts reference).