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Business of Enlightenment : A Publishing History of the Encyclopédie, 1775-1800 by Robert Darnton (1987, Trade Paperback)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherHarvard University Press
ISBN-100674087860
ISBN-139780674087866
eBay Product ID (ePID)818093
Product Key Features
Number of Pages363 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication NameBusiness of Enlightenment : a Publishing History of the Encyclopédie, 1775-1800
SubjectModern / 18th Century, Publishing, Lexicography, Europe / France
Publication Year1987
TypeTextbook
Subject AreaLanguage Arts & Disciplines, History
AuthorRobert Darnton
FormatTrade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height1.4 in
Item Weight33.4 Oz
Item Length9.2 in
Item Width7 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN78-023826
TitleLeadingThe
Dewey Edition19
ReviewsThe story [Darnton] has to tell is a fascinating one, teased from a complex and obscure documentation with great finesse, told with elegance, wit, and a novelist's eye for detail, analyzed for its historical implications with clarity and insight., Darnton's book succeeds brilliantly in illuminating the nature of late eighteenth-century encyclopedism and its use of science, in tracing the history of the most important book of the century, in revealing the lives of printers, masters, publishers, and even, to some extent, readers. This is an extraordinary achievement and Darnton has produced a book that posesses all the qualities of a classic. The Encyclopédie deserves nothing less, and it has indeed found a historian worthy of its reputation., Publishing history, as told by Professor Darnton, turns out to be much meatier and livelier than might be expected... [This book is] a major achievement of American scholarship and in the first rank of those which have been transforming our view of French history during the last twenty years.
IllustratedYes
Dewey Decimal070.5
Table Of ContentI. Introduction: The Biography of a Book II. The Genesis of a Speculation in Publishing The Neuchtel Reprint Plan From the Reprint to theRevised Edition Joseph Duplain and His QuartoEncyclopÉdie Publishing, Politics, and Panckoucke From the Revised Edition to the Quarto The Paris Conference of 1777 The Basis of a Bonne Affaire III. Juggling Editions The "Second Edition" The Origins of the "ThirdEdition" Imbroglios The NeuchtelImprint Opening Gambits of the Final Negotiations Duel by Lettre Ostensible The Last Turn of theScrew The Contract IV. Piracy and Trade War Pirate Raids The Octavo Publishers and TheirEncyclopediÉ The Origins of the Quarto-Octavo War The Final Failure of Diplomacy Open War Pourparlers for Peace A DrÔle de Paix V. Bookmaking Strains on the Production System Procuring Paper Copy Recruiting Workers Setting Wages Pacing Work and Managing Labor Printing: Technologyand the Human Element VI. Diffusion Managerial Problems and Polemics Marketing Booksellers Prices and Consumers The Sales Pattern Subscribers, A Case Study Diffusion inFrance Diffusion Outside France Reading VII. Settling Accounts The Hidden Schism of 1778 A Preliminary RÈglement de Comples The Feud Between Duplain and the STN Marketing Maneuvers The Perrin Affair The Anatomy of a Swindle The Final Confrontation inLyons DÉnouement Epilogue VIII. The Ultimate EncyciopÉdie The Origins of the EneyclopÉdie mÉthodique The ClimacticMoment in Enlightenment Publishing The LiÉgeoisSettlement Panckoucke 's Conception of the SupremeEncyclopÉdie Panckoucke as an Editor TheAuthors of the MÉthodique Two Generations of Encyclopedists From Voltairianism to Professionalism Launching the Biggest Book of the Century IX. Encyclopedism, Capitalism, and Revolution Panckoucke 's Folly From Encyclopedism to Jacobinism An Enlightenment Publisher in a Cultural Revolution The Last of the Encyclopedists X. Conclusion The Production and Diffusion of Enlightenment Enlightenment Publishing and the Spirit of Capitalism TheEncyclopÉdie and the State The Cultural Revolution Appendices A. Contracts of the EnyclopÉdie Publishers, 1776-1780 B. Subscriptions to the Quarto EncyclopÉdie C. Incidence of Subscriptions in Major French Cities D. Contributors to the EncyclopÉdic MÉthodique Bibliographical Note Index
SynopsisDarnton explores some fascinating territory in the genre of histoire du livre and tracks the diffusion of Enlightenment ideas. He is concerned with the form of the thought of the great philosophes as it materialized into books and with the way books were made and distributed in the business of publishing., "A major achievement of American scholarship and in the first rank of those which have been transforming our view of French history during the last twenty years." -- New York Review of Books A great book about an even greater book is a rare event in publishing. Robert Darnton's history of the Encyclopédie is such an occasion. The author explores some fascinating territory in the French genre of histoire du livre , and at the same time he tracks the diffusion of Enlightenment ideas. He is concerned with the form of the thought of the great philosophes as it materialized into books and with the way books were made and distributed in the business of publishing. This is cultural history on a broad scale, a history of the process of civilization. In tracing the publishing story of Diderot's Encyclopédie , Darnton uses new sources--the papers of eighteenth-century publishers--that allow him to respond firmly to a set of problems long vexing historians. He shows how the material basis of literature and the technology of its production affected the substance and diffusion of ideas. He fully explores the workings of the literary market place, including the roles of publishers, book dealers, traveling salesmen, and other intermediaries in cultural communication. How publishing functioned as a business, and how it fit into the political as well as the economic systems of prerevolutionary Europe are set forth. The making of books touched on this vast range of activities because books were products of artisanal labor, objects of economic exchange, vehicles of ideas, and elements in political and religious conflict. The ways ideas traveled in early modern Europe, the level of penetration of Enlightenment ideas in the society of the Old Regime, and the connections between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution are brilliantly treated by Darnton. In doing so he unearths a double paradox. It was the upper orders in society rather than the industrial bourgeoisie or the lower classes that first shook off archaic beliefs and took up Enlightenment ideas. And the state, which initially had suppressed those ideas, ultimately came to favor them. Yet at this high point in the diffusion and legitimation of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution erupted, destroying the social and political order in which the Enlightenment had flourished. Never again will the contours of the Enlightenment be drawn without reference to this work. Darnton has written an indispensable book for historians of modern Europe., A great book about even greater book, The Business of Enlightenment explores some fascinating territory in the new French genre of histoire du livre. This tale of entrepreneurial greed and intrigue, with its colorful cast of characters, examines the means of cultural communication in eighteenth century Europe. In tracing the publishing history of Diderot's Encyclopedie, Robert Darnton investigates the workings of the literary marketplace and demonstrates how ideas are diffused through society., A great book about an even greater book is a rare event in publishing. Robert Darnton's history of the Encyclop die is such an occasion. The author explores some fascinating territory in the French genre of histoire du livre , and at the same time he tracks the diffusion of Enlightenment ideas. He is concerned with the form of the thought of the great philosophes as it materialized into books and with the way books were made and distributed in the business of publishing. This is cultural history on a broad scale, a history of the process of civilization. In tracing the publishing story of Diderot's Encyclop die , Darnton uses new sources--the papers of eighteenth-century publishers--that allow him to respond firmly to a set of problems long vexing historians. He shows how the material basis of literature and the technology of its production affected the substance and diffusion of ideas. He fully explores the workings of the literary market place, including the roles of publishers, book dealers, traveling salesmen, and other intermediaries in cultural communication. How publishing functioned as a business, and how it fit into the political as well as the economic systems of prerevolutionary Europe are set forth. The making of books touched on this vast range of activities because books were products of artisanal labor, objects of economic exchange, vehicles of ideas, and elements in political and religious conflict. The ways ideas traveled in early modern Europe, the level of penetration of Enlightenment ideas in the society of the Old Regime, and the connections between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution are brilliantly treated by Darnton. In doing so he unearths a double paradox. It was the upper orders in society rather than the industrial bourgeoisie or the lower classes that first shook off archaic beliefs and took up Enlightenment ideas. And the state, which initially had suppressed those ideas, ultimately came to favor them. Yet at this high point in the diffusion and legitimation of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution erupted, destroying the social and political order in which the Enlightenment had flourished. Never again will the contours of the Enlightenment be drawn without reference to this work. Darnton has written an indispensable book for historians of modern Europe.
