The French book
Subtitle: religion, absolutism, and readership, 1585-1715
By: Henri-Jean Martin ; translated by Paul Saenger and Nadine Saenger.
Series: Johns Hopkins symposia in comparative history
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Baltimore, Md; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 117
Subjects: Book industries and trade -- France -- History -- 16th century.; Book industries and trade -- France -- History -- 17th century.; Book industries and trade -- France -- History -- 18th century.; Censorship -- France -- History -- 17th century.; French literature -- 17th century -- Political aspects.; Books and reading -- France -- History -- 17th century.; Illustration of books -- France -- 17th century.
Description: Martin begins with a sweeping look at the revolutionary role played by the new technology of printing in Renaissance and Reformation Europe. Shifting the focus to France, he then examines the political implications of publishing in the reign of Francis I, and includes such topics as the founding of royal and university libraries, the role of church-state relations, Richelieu's cultural program, and censorship.

In revealing case studies of Rouen and Grenoble, Martin pinpoints precisely which books were sold and to which social groups, and he explains why the initially successful printers of Rouen were eventually forced out of business by the Parisian courts.

Martin also casts a discerning eye on early graphic design - from the first illustrated "coffee table" books purchased by the newly rich to the invention of the paragraph to facilitate reading. And he shows how attempts by the French government to suppress and control publication were eventually thwarted by free market forces from Amsterdam and Neufchatel.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.

Translated from the French.