Pamflethandel

This dissertation examines the production, distribution, and consumption of books and pamphlets in the Dutch Republic around 1700. The first part focuses on the broader context of the book market in the Dutch Republic. Chapter 1 describes a quantitative analysis of the Short Title Catalogue, Netherlands (STCN) and thus provides a picture of the development of books produced in the Netherlands between 1450 and 1800. Chapter 2 examines print runs and printing costs of pamphlets around 1700. In the second part , the information obtained in part I is linked to two case studies: the production, distribution and consumption of the pamphlet Beurze-stryd (Chapter 3) and the rediscovered memorials of pamphleteer and freethinker Ericus Walten (1662-1697) (Chapter 4), with a focus on his views of society and views on authorship. The findings show that the trade in pamphlets was an important part of the flourishing early modern Dutch book trade.
                Pamphlets distinguished themselves from books by their topical content. They could be produced quickly and their content left its mark on the religious, cultural and political climate. Extensive research has been conducted on the influence of pamphlets in the Dutch Republic, but much less into their material aspects. How did pamphlets come about, how many were actually printed during the seventeenth century, and what share did they have in the entire book production? How many pamphlets were published without an author’s name or publisher’s address, and is it true that anonymity was related to subversive content? Knowledge of bibliographic and paratextual elements of early modern books and pamphlets enables us to understand how the trade functioned and provides more insight into the working methods of pamphleteers.
                In the quantitative analysis of the STCN in Chapter 1, I examined the material aspects of books in the period 1450-1800: typographical features, design of pamphlets, censorship, and the use of anonymity by printers, publishers, and booksellers. The STCN provides a better insight into the world of the pamphlet at the end of the seventeenth century and demonstrates the possibility of using bibliographic metadata to conduct large-scale quantitative analyses and to display relationships, affinities, patterns, and trends in production and distribution that were not previously visible with traditional research methods. The outcome does suffer from survivorship bias because it is impossible for the STCN to provide a complete record of title production. In addition, what was produced was not automatically read.
                In Chapter 1, I argue that Dutch book production increased enormously: from just over 400 editions in the 1570s to almost 10,000 editions in the 1680s. This period was followed by a period of stabilization until the production increased again in the late eighteenth century. In terms of typography, by the 1630s Blackletter was no longer the most widely used printing letter, although the switch to Roman type was genre and location specific. During the eighteenth century the number of theological titles declined. More Dutch-language books were printed, while the percentage of French- and Latin-language books shows a clear decline in the mid-eighteenth century. More pamphlets were printed in crisis years, the most in 1672. In the Rampjaar (Disaster Year), as many as 68 percent of the titles were printed without the name of a printer or bookseller-publisher (although in many cases people knew who was behind the production). Between 1650 and 1749, half of the pamphlets were printed anonymously, and in the total book stock (including pamphlets) 24 percent was printed anonymously. The predominant perception was that more books were printed in the Dutch Republic than in all other countries combined. This turns out to be a premature assumption, but that many books, and especially pamphlets, were printed in the Dutch Republic is beyond dispute.
                Measured by sheets of paper, Dutch book production hit rock bottom in the 1670s. War caused paper shortages, but due to pamphlets that sold quickly and the establishment of paper mills, the book trade quickly stabilized. Bookseller-publishers preferred fast selling items, or ‘fast sellers’: pamphlets and other printed matter of limited size formed the backbone of the book trade. These forms of print were a welcome change from bulkier projects, which usually came into being with borrowed money. At least 45 percent of titles printed in the Dutch Republic consisted of no more than two quires. The printing of smaller items had made the Dutch book market big.
                At the meso level, Chapter 2 focuses on the circulation and printing costs of pamphlets around 1700. Based on Craig Harline’s research, it is assumed that the average print run of a pamphlet was usually around 1,000 copies. Using a price list from the Rotterdam printer Pieter II van Waesberge, I argue that pamphlets likely had a print run of 500 copies; the size of one ream of paper. The cost of paper did not decrease as the print run increased. It was economically safer to print 500 copies first and possibly print 500 later on – even with new typesetting – than to print 1,000 copies at once. The final print run turned out to depend on several factors: location, period, genre, intended audience and available finances. Printers and publishers estimated the print run based on their experience. The rule of thumb is that, with two typesetters and two men at a press, a pamphlet (or other printed matter in quarto format) could be printed in the number of days equal to the number of quires that the pamphlet consisted of, plus one or two added extra days.
                Chapter 3 concentrates on a single pamphlet: Beurze-stryd from 1692. It was written by Govard Bidloo, Ericus Walten’s old writing companion. Together with Romeyn de Hooghe, they had defended the Stadholder William III against the Amsterdam regents in 1690. Distribution of Beurze-stryd was banned, but the extensive archival records of the trial allow a detailed analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of a pamphlet, the realization of the ban, and the names of those involved, including prominent figures such as Huibert Rosenboom, president of the Hoge Raad (Supreme Court). Indirectly, Beurze-stryd caused Walten to end his life in the Gevangenpoort (the Prisoner’s Gate in The Hague) 1697, as will be addressed in Chapter 4. The trial around Beurze-stryd eventually prevented Walten’s release from prison, even when William III tried to get involved. The Hof van Holland ((High) Court of Holland) was still so displeased over William’s attempts in 1692 to keep Bidloo out of prison, that in 1694 Walten became a victim of that earlier power struggle. Eventually resulting in the pamphleteer committing suicide when a verdict in his case failed to pass.
                Chapter 4 discusses the two rediscovered note books of pamphleteer, freethinker, and supporter of the radical Enlightenment Ericus Walten. These handwritten books provide a unique glimpse into the life of a pamphleteer in the late seventeenth century. The books show that, although Walten had stopped writing pamphlets in 1692, he had not been idle in the meantime. He initiated a new book, in which he wanted to look back on his life as an author and freethinker. He also kept his radical ideas, as evidenced by his disapproval of preachers and views his on the devil’s existence. In addition the memorials describe that he was actively involved in alchemy, was a much sought-after physician and earned extra money as a legal advisor. Arnold Geulincx and his follower Cornelis Bontekoe were particularly influential on Walten’s thinking: from his initial cocceian sympathies he quickly radicalized and became the fiercest defender of Balthasar Bekker. Walten’s opponents accused him of being a hack. His sharp pen and the dangerous combination of his fierce attacks on the church and interference in political affairs led to his eventual arrest and death in custody.


– pp. 601-604