The Book in the Renaissance
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The dawn of print was a major turning point in the early modern world. It rescued ancient learning from obscurity, transformed knowledge of the natural and physical world, and brought the thrill of book ownership to the masses. But, as Andrew Pettegree reveals in this work of great historical merit, the story of the post-Gutenberg world was rather more complicated than we have often come to believe.The Book in the Renaissance reconstructs the first 150 years of the world of print, exploring the complex web of religious, economic, and cultural concerns surrounding the printed word. From its very beginnings, the printed book had to straddle financial and religious imperatives, as well as the very different requirements and constraints of the many countries who embraced it, and, as Pettegree argues, the process was far from a runaway success. More than ideas, the success or failure of books depended upon patrons and markets, precarious strategies and the thwarting of piracy, and the ebb and flow of popular demand. Owing to his state-of-the-art and highly detailed research, Pettegree crafts an authoritative, lucid, and truly pioneering work of cultural history about a major development in the evolution of European society.The New York Times - Robert PinskyIn an understated, judicious manner, [Pettegree] offers a radically new understanding of printing in the years of its birth and youth…Pettegree writes well and amasses information superbly.
List of IllustrationsPreludePart I Beginnings1 The Book Before Print 32 The Invention of Printing 213 Renaissance Encounters: The Crisis of Print 43Part II Consolidation4 The Creation of a European Book Market 655 Book Town Wittenberg 916 Luther's Legacy 1077 First with the News 1308 Polite Recreations 1519 At School 177Part III Conflict10 The Literature of Conflict 20311 The Search for Order 22612 Market Forces 249Part IV New Worlds13 Science and Exploration 27314 Healing 29715 Building a Library 31916 Word and the Street 333A Note on Sources: Mapping the Geography of Print 353Appendix: A Summary of printed outputs throughout Europe, 1450-1600 357Acknowledgements 358Abbreviations 360Notes 362Bibliography 391Index 408
