Editorialising Practices, Competitive Marketability and James Thomson's The Seasons.

The lapse of Andrew Millar's copyright for James Thomson's The Seasons in 1765 resulted in an increasing number of new editions of the poem being published in the late eighteenth century. This article compares the print-cultural make-ups of three editions of The Seasons that were issued in the 1790s. An examination of the print-cultural differences between these publishing ventures reveals distinct editorial practices and marketing strategies. In an attempt to increase the attractiveness of their editions with visual and textual paraphernalia, the producers developed their own 'versions' of The Seasons and, in the process, fashioned new interpretations of Thomson's poem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]