chapbook

Small pamphlet of 16 or 24 pages, illustrated by woodcuts and sold by chapmen, or itinerant pedlars, during the 18th century. Their subjects included medieval romance, popular folk heroes, and synoptic versions of literary classics such as The Pilgrim's Progress and Robinson Crusoe.

Chapbooks circulated in their thousands, maintaining links with the traditional oral culture of the Middle Ages. They persisted until the early 19th century.