book · Industrias Culturais (Universidade de Coimbra) · 2013
Privilege and Property
Deazley, Ronan, Kretschmer, Martin, Bently, Lionel, Alexander, Isabella, Bently, Lionel, Borghi, Maurizio, Bracha, Oren, Deazley, Ronan, Feather, John, Gompel, Stef van, Kawohl, Friedemann, Kostylo, Joanna, Kretschmer, Martin, Mann, Alastair J., Peifer, Karl-Nikolaus, Pfister, Laurent, Rideau, Frédéric, Rose, Mark, Scott, Katie, St Clair, William
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Abstract
Daniel Chodowiecki’s allegorical copper plate of 1781 shows unauthorized reprinters and original publishers, respectively as highwaymen and their victims while the Goddess of Justice is asleep. The full title reads: ‘Works of Darkness. A Contribution to the History of the Book Trade in Germany. Presented Allegorically for the Benefit of and as a Warning to All Honest Booksellers.’ The identities of most of the characters have been identified: the bandit chief is the Austrian publisher Johann Thomas von Trattner (1717-1798) who made a fortune by reprinting books from other Germanspeaking territories. His victims are the publishers Friedrich Nicolai (in the centre), and Philipp Erasmus Reich (fleeing into the background). The small bat-like monster hovering overhead (a position normally reserved for angels in religious paintings!) is modelled on Gerhard van Swieten (1700-1772), an influential adviser and doctor of Maria Theresa of Austria who eased censorship regulations but encouraged the reprinting of foreign books in Austria. Nicolai’s right arm extends the bat monster’s line of gaze and points to the head of the Goddess Justitia, sleeping as if drugged by the poppy blossoms above her head. Apart from a scriptural-theological aspect (equating reprints with ‘works of darkness’) and a more juridical one (comparing reprinting to robbery), the title, by describing the etching as a ‘warning to all honest booksellers’, also evokes moral principles in civil society. The ‘honest’ bookseller is one who does not deal in reprints. Ironically, Christian Friedrich Himburg, the Berlin publisher of the copper print was himself to be branded a pirate for a 1777 two-volume Goethe edition which in turn was soon reprinted by two other publishers: in 1778 by Schmieder in Karlsruhe and by Fleischhauer in Reutlingen. Lionel Bently and Martin Kretschmer are joint project directors of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded digital archive: Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), www.copyrighthistory.org
Cite this paper
Deazley, R., Kretschmer, M., Bently, L., Alexander, I., Bently, L., Borghi, M., Bracha, O., Deazley, R., Feather, J., Gompel, S. V., Kawohl, F., Kostylo, J., Kretschmer, M., Mann, A. J., Peifer, K.-N., Pfister, L., Rideau, F., Rose, M., Scott, K., & St Clair, W. (2013). Privilege and Property. Industrias Culturais (Universidade de Coimbra).
Deazley, Ronan, et al. “Privilege and Property.” Industrias Culturais (Universidade de Coimbra), 2013.
Deazley, Ronan, Martin Kretschmer, Lionel Bently, Isabella Alexander, Lionel Bently, Maurizio Borghi, Oren Bracha, et al. 2013. “Privilege and Property.” Industrias Culturais (Universidade de Coimbra).
Deazley, R. et al. (2013) ‘Privilege and Property’, Industrias Culturais (Universidade de Coimbra).
@book{deazley2013privilege,
title = {{Privilege and Property}},
author = {Deazley, Ronan and Kretschmer, Martin and Bently, Lionel and Alexander, Isabella and Bently, Lionel and Borghi, Maurizio and Bracha, Oren and Deazley, Ronan and Feather, John and Gompel, Stef van and Kawohl, Friedemann and Kostylo, Joanna and Kretschmer, Martin and Mann, Alastair J. and Peifer, Karl-Nikolaus and Pfister, Laurent and Rideau, Frédéric and Rose, Mark and Scott, Katie and St Clair, William},
publisher = {Industrias Culturais (Universidade de Coimbra)},
year = {2013}
}Made from the index record. Check names, capitalisation and page numbers against the paper. Need another style? AI for Research has over 10,000.