The French booktrade and the ‘permission simple’ of 1777
copyright and public domain with an edition of the permit registers
Author: Robert L. Dawson
Volume: 301
Series: SVEC
Publication Date: 1992
Pages: 744
ISBN: 978-0-7294-0441-9
Price: £65
About
In 1777 a series of royal decrees heralded the restructuring of the French booktrade. An important innovation was the creation of a public domain
for certain kinds of books whose privilège (or ‘copyright’) had expired. In order not to relinquish control over a vast category of books, the government decided to implement a new kind of printing and publishing permit – the ‘permission simple’.
As historian and bibliologist, the author examines the many issues involved in the implementation of the permit, explaining the circumstances that led to the creation of a public domain, the economic policies of the government with respect to the ‘permission simple’, and what exactly the procedures entailed. Other issues concerning the permit are also covered: edition runs; a number of illicit activities; the relationship of free trade, the physiocrats and Turgot to booktrade policies; the significance of Diderot’s Lettre sur le commerce de la librairie.
The study is largely based on hitherto unpublished sources and on books printed by virtue of the permit. Included in the volume is an edition of the ‘permission simple’ ledgers. This is the first time that the registers of an entire category of French books printed by virtue of a given authorisation have been published. They contain references to nearly two thousand editions – many today lost – of a wide variety of works. The
entries are invaluable for the information they provide about the output of many important provincial printers and booksellers. Together the two registers provide a unique picture of French book production during the
dozen years or so preceding the Revolution.
Acknowledgements
Terminology
Abbreviations
List of illustrations
Prologue
1. The ‘permission simple’ yesterday and today
2. A royal decree and its consequences
A. The decree
B. Prelude
C. Controversy
D. The fee
E. The administration and the permit
3. Inside the registers
A. The model
B. Paris and the permit
C. War against the Paris trade: the newly-formed public domain
4. The bibliographical evidence of the registers
A. New works and old
B. The deposit
C. Anomalies
D. Cazin
E. Further problems
5. Fraud
A. Edition runs and related issues
B. Piracies
C. Other problems relating to fraud
6. Conclusion
Appendix 1: Select bibliography of eighteenth-century books
Appendix 2: Hitherto unpublished excerpts from Hardy’s journal, Mes loisirs
Appendix 3: The ‘Tableau des ouvrages jugés communs’
The ‘permission simple’ data
Bibliography of source material
Index
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