Etching with aquatint and hand-coloring engraved by William Wallis after Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (1828). The interior of the Temple of the Muses bookshop was considered so large that a "mail-coach and four" horses could drive around its circular counter.
The accompanying text to this famous image of the interior of the book shop claimed the store stocked one million volumes--possibly an exaggeration. A sign above the door claimed that "Two Hundred Thousand Volumes upon an Average are constantly on Sale." The founder of the Temple of the Muses, James Lackington, revolutionized the book trade by eliminating credit for customers, and thereby enabling himself to reduce prices.
