Before Copyright

The French Book-Privilege System 1498–1526

Elizabeth Armstrong, Terry Belanger, David McKitterick

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English

Cambridge University Press
13 August 2002

Social & cultural history; Publishing industry; Printing, packaging & reprographic industry

Series: Cambridge Studies in Publishing and Printing History

When printing first began, a new book automatically fell into the public domain upon publication. Only a special law or privilegium enacted by a competent authority could protect it from being reprinted without the consent of the author or publisher. Such privileges for books are attested before 1480, but in Germany and Italy their efficacy was limited to a relatively small area by the political fragmentation of the country. During the 1480s and 1490s France became one of Europe's main centres of book production and, as competition intensified, privileges were sought there from 1498. Although privileges were to last as long as the Ancien Régime, the period to 1526 is the least-known stage of their development and the most important. Most privilege-holders printed the full text of their grant, and many others a summary.

By: Elizabeth Armstrong
Series edited by: Terry Belanger, David McKitterick
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 228mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 532g
ISBN: 9780521893152
ISBN 10: 0521893151
Series: Cambridge Studies in Publishing and Printing History
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 13 August 2002
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; note on transcription; Note on proper names; Sigla and abbreviations; 1. Origins and development of book-privileges in Europe; 2. Privilege-granting authorities in France; 3. Seeking and granting privileges: forms, conditions and procedures; 4. Grounds for seeking and granting privileges; 5. Grant of privilege and permission to print; 6. Dating and duration of privileges; 7. Display and advertisement of privileges; 8. The range of interests reflected in privileged books: analysis by subject; 9. Ownership, enforcement and efficacy of privileges; Conclusion; Select bibliography; Index of publishers, printers and booksellers; General index.

Reviews for Before Copyright: The French Book-Privilege System 1498–1526

The Little Man is Maxie Pichelsteiner, offshoot of the village of Pichelstein, in Bohemia, a community of very small people. When he was quite young his parents, performers in a travelling circus, were swept into space from the top of the Eiffel Tower, whereupon Maxie was adopted by their colleague, Professor Hokus Von Pokus. At the age of ten or twelve, he only measured two inches precisely, but he was determined to become an artiste. He practiced his tricks on Winsome Waldemar Blockhead, a display dummy, until he was proficient enough to be the Professor's Invisible Right-Hand Man. While Hokus engaged a skeptic in conversation, Maxie lifted the victim's watch and wallet, untied his shoelaces, and removed his suspenders. The audience howled and the act was a tremendous success; Maxie woke up the next day and found himself famous. The people of Pichelstein wrote to express their pride; Hollywood cabled lavish offers; King Bileam of Breganza sent a mansion scaled to Maxie's size. And then the Little Man disappeared. How Maxie found himself makes a fitting conclusion to a wild and witty fantasy. It blends elements of satire and pathos to become a commentary on the human condition in the Chaplin manner. (Kirkus Reviews)