The business of ideas : the Franco-Dutch book trade and the Republic of Letters (1700-1720)

Abstract

The following research has been undertaken in order to explore libraire culture, which surrounded and supported the Republic of Letters, via the personal correspondence of a group who operated out of the Netherlands during the first two decades of the eighteenth-century. In contrast to much of the research previously dedicated to the Republic of Letters and savant culture during this period, this work will concentrate on what could be termed ‘secondary figures’ who were connected to the Republic of Letters in the Netherlands. It will demonstrate the importance and influence which these individuals had on the functioning of the Republic of Letters, and the wider savant world. The research is presented from three perspectives with each concentrating on a specific figure. The first section, which focuses on Prosper Marchand, shows how it was possible for a young Parisian artisan to transform himself into a mainstay of the Dutch Republic of Letters by carefully managing his relationships and making the most of opportunities which were presented by the increasingly international nature of Europe. The following section focuses on the learned journal and its authors via the correspondence of Albert-Henri de Sallengre of the Journal Litéraire and explores the reception of a new francophone Dutch journal within France. The final section explores the life of the libraire and the new opportunities which had begun to present themselves for Dutch publishers at the dawn of the eighteenth-century. Based on the correspondence of the Gaspar Fritsch this section describes the development of the eighteenth-century Franco-Dutch book trade and discusses the opportunities and problems which this new market presented. In contrast to preceding research, this thesis utilises the detailed accounts of the period and its culture which are found in the letters of figures who have now been largely forgotten; and by using Prosper Marchand as a bridging figure between the libraires and the Republic of Letters it demonstrates the interconnectedness of these two spheres.