In 1792, in Rome, the Dutch collector Thomas Hope commissioned the first exclusively illustrated edition of the Divine Comedy to the English artist John Flaxman. The first publication, limited and ...for private circulation, was distributed by the engraver Tommaso Piroli’s workshop in July 1793, and Hope, holder of the rights, forbade the printing of further copies. However, in 1802, Piroli repurposed the engravings from Flaxman’s illustrations for a new edition which was distributed throughout Europe, immensly successful as evidenced by the editions of the Comedy in the first 19th century in which they were included. The collaboration between Flaxman and Piroli, their relationship with Hope and the history of this illustrated Comedia, born from a rigorous neoclassical theory on the relationship between poetry and art, establish themselves as a living testimony of Dante’s reception between the 18th and 19th centuries through a study of the dynamics in book market.
Book publishing companies navigate the interplay between localization and globalization seamlessly, yet the cadence at which global dynamics infiltrate local markets unfolds at different rhythms. ...Using publicly available data about the performance of Romanian book publishers, this paper explores the local market and its dynamics from 2018 to 2021. The results indicate "an inactivity trend" among enterprises: more than 40% of companies could not generate a net profit, and more than 50% had no employees. The prevalence of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) over big companies is an intrinsic characteristic of the Romanian market. Although compared to bigger companies, SMEs manage to translate sales into profitability, over 70% of small and medium-sized companies have a turnover below 60,000 Euros. The paper concludes by highlighting growth opportunities, such as tapping into the Romanian diaspora and exploring the correlation between book sales, university locations, and the role of academic institutions in shaping reading habits.
This essay addresses the Secreti diversi et miracolosi, one of the many ‘books of secrets’ (collections of medical and craft recipes) which crowded the sixteenth‐century Venetian book market. First ...published in 1563 and spuriously ascribed to the physician Gabriele Falloppia, this book was already subject to significant structural changes in its second edition (1565). The editors of the first and second editions, Giovanni Antonio Di Maria and Borgaruccio Borgarucci, discussed their respective choices concerning the arrangement of the collection in their prefatory letters. This essay examines the prefatory and organizational paratexts of both editions, which reveal a tension between the readability of the book and the reliability of its contents. It argues that the different paratextual strategies pursued by Di Maria and Borgarucci had a profound impact on the contours of ‘Falloppia’’s literary identity, the functions envisioned for the collection, and the epistemological value of the recipes therein. The editorial history of the Secreti diversi also prompts broader considerations on the popularity of books of secrets, showing how this was not only a matter of content but also, and often more importantly, how that content was presented to the readers.
A grand narrative of Dutch literary authors’ opportunities to economically profit from their writing is yet to be written. The general assumption, however, is that these opportunities developed ...teleologically from a dominant system of patronage during medieval and early modern times, in which financial gains were marginal and in which author’s independence of their supporters was constrained, to a system in which the commercial book market was dominant and where authors could be more self-supporting and thus more independent of supporters. This article argues that there is no such teleology. On the contrary: on the basis of an exploration of both practice and discourse of literary authors’ profits from the Middle Ages to the present, we conclude that in every period, it was possible for authors to profit from their writing through either patronage, market or governmental support, and often through a combination of these sources. Moreover, in every period varying types of independence of literary authors was valued highly. Our analysis of the discourse on profits shows that the continuous tendency to disguise financial advancement could be related to the importance of authorial independence throughout the ages.
The article is devoted to the influence of “industrial literature” (Sainte-Beuve’s term) and Anglomania on Franco-Russian cultural relations of the Romantic era. In particular, the author considers ...the reader’s reception of the short story collection “Lady Betty’s Salon,” published in France under the name of Desbordes-Valmore (March 1836). The translation of the collection into Russian, signed with the cryptonym N.D., was published in the printing house of A.F. Smirdin in the same year. The article reveals the economic and cultural prerequisites of the publication, as well as the peculiarities of the French edition, which is a transposition of popular stories by English authors of keepsakes of 1810–1830. Numerous facts improve the popularity of Desbordes-Valmore’s works in aristocratic salons of Moscow and St. Petersburg (Rostopchina, Dargomyzhsky, Glinka, Annenkov). The author of the article suggests that Pushkin may have influenced Smirdin’s decision to publish the work. The analysis of an anonymous critical book review, signed with the initial R.M. and published in the newspaper “Northern Bee” (November 1836), reveals the similarity of the judgments expressed in the critical note with Pushkin’s views on the state of French literature contemporary to him, as well as his profound knowledge of the material. The book has become a bibliographic rarity in France, but has survived in Russian translation, although it is the only case of translation of Desbordes-Valmore’s prose into Russian in the 19th century.
In recent years, customer experience and satisfaction have become more critical than ever before. Companies focus on these two elements to retain and acquire customers in a highly competitive ...environment. The relationship between authors and publishers has always been complex, with dynamics deeply rooted in the social and cultural environment. At the same time, the success of their collaboration significantly impacts the local creative and sociocultural landscape. It is essential to understand the factors that determine author satisfaction and ease of collaboration, both generally and industry-specific, to support the growth and development of the book sector. This paper analyzes the collaborative dynamics between authors and publishers using the Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Customer Effort Score (CES) metrics based on a survey of 133 authors from various literary fields and geographic areas in Romania. The research findings provide insight into the key drivers behind authors' satisfaction and ease of collaboration with publishers. Moreover, we suggest practical recommendations from authors to publishers that can improve their collaborative processes, enhancing positive experiences for authors and potentially improving the overall quality of published works. This study's insights shall benefit authors, publishing houses, various organizations operating in the publishing field, policymakers, and regulatory bodies.
Society has always relied on education for the building of progress ever since the dawn of history, and books have always been strong agents of change no matter the shape they came in (papyrus, ...codex, handwritten manuscripts, printed books, digital books, etc.). For this reason, analyzing the interplay between education and books is valuable and necessary if we wish to get a better sense of society at any moment. This paper explores how education and the book industry intersect in today's Romanian society. However, it also proposes a possible solution for strengthening their relationship and opening new horizons for culture and research. More specifically, my analysis focuses on children's literature since children's education is considered an investment into the future of society in modern democratic states. In the case of Romania, it is unfortunate that this type of literature is somewhat neglected compared to other countries, but this should never be a good enough reason for not trying to create more creative contexts to improve the situation. Drawing inspiration from what other countries are doing to develop bridges between education and the children's book market, but at the same time highlighting essential initiatives in Romania that can become reliable engines of change, I strongly advocate for the necessity and possibility of creating a Romanian House of Children's Literature, open to supporting researchers, professionals, and families in their shared mission to ensure quality development of children.
Dead Books Amlinger, Carolin
LiLi, Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik,
03/2024, Letnik:
54, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
Zusammenfassung
Der Beitrag analysiert die paradoxen Dynamiken des Buchmarkts im 20. Jahrhundert, dessen Konzentration auf Beachtungserfolge zugleich zur beschleunigten Depopularisierung von ...literarischen Werken führt. Vergangene Popularität wird als eine strukturelle Nebenfolge unsicherer ästhetischer Märkte interpretiert, auf denen Erfolg kaum planbar ist. Ausgehend von dieser Beobachtung stellt der Beitrag die These auf, dass die beschleunigte Depopularisierung von Werken Praktiken der Repopularisierung nach sich zieht, indem ehemals erfolgreiche Werke auf Nebenmärkten erneut wertbildend positioniert werden. Am Beispiel von Buchgemeinschaften und Modernen Antiquariaten wird untersucht, wie ein Perspektivwechsel eine neue Valorisierung von Werken auf einem zweiten Markt ermöglicht. Dadurch soll gezeigt werden, dass die zeitliche Struktur der Inwertsetzung einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf die Wahrnehmung und den Wert von literarischen Werken ausübt.
Denne artikkelen viser hva slags bøker som var nedtegnet i skiftet etter bokhandler Margaretha Clausdatter Møller i Christiania da hun døde i 1703, hvordan hennes bokhandel var organisert, samt hva ...bøkene ble taksert for. Det argumenteres for at bøkene speiler et publikum som trolig hadde ulike lesekunnskaper rundt 1703, og at Møller kunne tilby lesestoff først og fremst til allmuen, men også et stort antall fagbøker på tysk og latin til den utdannede klasse.
The purpose of the article is to consider the main challenges and problems associated with the formation of the Ukrainian book market in the context of the escalating war with Russia and to analyze ...its functioning as an important factor of national and human security.
The research methodology is based on the method of modelling, which involves a comprehensive study of the book market as a set of interactive and interdependent (market and non-market) components that form an integrated whole; the method of synergetic research, which explains linear and nonlinear options for the formation of the book market, fixes bifurcation points, takes into account their main challenges and threats; the system-communication method, the use of which makes it possible to clarify the specifics and opportunities for the development of publishing and book distribution in Ukraine in a complex system of information and cultural communications at the present stage.
The scientific novelty of the research is as follows: substantiation of the understanding of the Ukrainian book market as an essential factor of national and human security in the context of the main challenges and threats as of 2022, the need to regulate it, create favourable conditions for the growth of the publishing industry and promote the culture of reading in Ukraine.
Conclusions. For a long time, the sphere of publishing and book business did not have proper attention from the state. There was a robust expansion of Russian publishing products into the cultural space of Ukraine. The Russian-Ukrainian war became a powerful catalyst that changed the state of affairs in the book market. It has been emphasized that legislative initiatives and institutional transformations of recent years have contributed to the quality indicators improvement of the Ukrainian publishing industry. Despite the positive statistics, the search for new mechanisms to counteract the Russian cultural expansion, which results in the military occupation, the impossibility of penetration and distribution of Russian-language printed products on the territory of Ukraine, remains urgent.
