The First Page of History: Material Configuration and Functions of the Title Page in German 18th-Century History Books

ABSTRACT

Based on the analysis of 192 title pages from German eighteenth-century history books, the goal of this article was to investigate the elements and historical agents involved in the graphic composition process of these pieces, the functions of this typographic device in the Early Modern editorial market, and what type of connections their material configurations reveal. To this end, the first section defines the parameters of the documentary corpus and presents an analysis of the formal elements of the title pages in terms of an eighteenth-century graphic device. Next, the patterns of the typographic compositions of the documents are analyzed to unveil cultural and, consequently, historical dimensions of the choices made by compositors when setting the title pages in printing shops. The third section focuses on the graphic operations carried out by editors, printers and artists. The aim was to analyze the visual transformations of the title pages from a chronological standpoint as well as their functions. The fourth section examines the material evidence left behind by the agents involved in the production of the title pages, revealing the collective nature of the work carried out in printing shops. Finally, the fifth and last section of this article explores some printed ornaments from a material perspective to establish connections between the agents that left their mark already in the first page of history books.

KEYWORDS:
History of the Book; Early Modern History; 18th-Century German Historiography; Print Culture; Material Culture