A foreigner in the bookshop of the world : printing the works of Sir William Temple in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic
Abstract
Few foreigners had a better standing in the Dutch Golden Age than the Englishman Sir William Temple (1628-1699). At the beginning of an edition of Temple’s Memoirs, the printer Adriaen Moetjens described him as ‘one of the great men of this century’. This reputation was, in part, a result of the pivotal role that Temple had played in the Republic’s foreign affairs. But the Englishman also owed his fame within the United Provinces to print. This article explores how Temple’s writings were published in the Dutch Golden Age. Some printers of his works enjoyed a substantial amount of success in the process, while others ended their careers in bankruptcy. Yet, despite these mixed fortunes, more editions by Temple were published in the United Provinces than in his homeland during the seventeenth century. Temple’s books continued to prove popular in the Dutch Republic, long after his achievements in diplomacy had faded.
Citation
Baxter , J 2023 , ' A foreigner in the bookshop of the world : printing the works of Sir William Temple in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic ' , Jaarboek voor Nederlandse boekgeschiedenis , vol. 30 , pp. 158-190 . https://doi.org/10.5117/JNB2023.008.BAXT
Publication
Jaarboek voor Nederlandse boekgeschiedenis
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1381-0065Type
Journal article
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.