How would one go about finding how many copies of a 19th-century book were published? Is looking at the physical records of individual publishers the only way, or are there books/websites which have this information?

by Kerri_Struggles

Might not be an appropriate question for r/askhistorians, but just thought I'd ask. Thanks!

Fat_Dumb_Americans

Perhaps obvious: have you asked a librarian?

sunagainstgold

ProQuest hosts the Nineteenth-Century Short Title Catalogue behind a paywall. I don't have access, so I can't tell you for sure, but I imagine it would at least list a text's editions, which would give you a start towards figuring out numbers of copies. It's possible it could have more? Certainly worth a shot if you have access.