Printed catalogues of booksellers as a source for the history of the book trade

Printed advertisements and lists of books for sales were used by publishers and booksellers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries respectively to promote and increase the sale of books in distant markets. This article proposes an overall interpretation of the uses of these catalogues in the trade...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:JLIS.it : Italian journal of library and information science 2018-05, Vol.9 (2)
Main Authors: Christian Coppens, Angela Nuovo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Book advertisements
Book trade
Book market
History of the book
16th-century books
Printed booksellers’ catalogues
Early Modern Book prices
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Summary:Printed advertisements and lists of books for sales were used by publishers and booksellers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries respectively to promote and increase the sale of books in distant markets. This article proposes an overall interpretation of the uses of these catalogues in the trade in books, the purposes they were designed to fulfil, and the reading public(s) they aimed to reach. Specific attention is paid to the book prices which are found in about 30% of the surviving printed catalogues. These represent a reliable testimony to the pricing policies some of the most important publishing firms, and the segments of the market they intended to serve. The catalogues are therefore among the main sources for our understanding of the mechanisms of the early modern book trade and its economic structure.
ISSN:2038-1026