page_title: Dedication (publishing)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Dedication (publishing) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Dedication page from the score of Claudio Monteverdi's 1609 opera L'Orfeo; Published in Venice in 1609 by Ricciardo Amadino
context_page_description: A dedication is the expression of friendly connection or thanks by the author towards another person. The dedication has its own place on the dedication page and is part of the front matter.
context_section_description: Evidence of dedications is provided back into Classical antiquity. Besides the wish to express their gratitude towards a certain person, the authors often had also other reasons to dedicate their work to a particular person. Well into the 18th century, it was not usual for publishers to remunerate the authors; authors tended to be paid or remunerated as one element of a patron-client relationship, in which the author-client paid tribute, in the dedication, to his or her patron.  A typical writer dedicated "their book to a high standing personality -- to Fürsts or bishops -- or to a city and tried to gain some money through this practice".
  In many cases the petitioner was lucky and received a gift from the patron. In some cases, the writer groveled before the patron and a formal dedication "contained often a very elaborate and submissive affection". In some cases not only the authors tried to get some money, but also the printers tried through dedications to cover a part of their costs.
caption: The dedication of Orfeo by Monteverdi, 1609
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