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Book trade regulations (1649)
Source: Archives nationales : AD 303 (document conservé aux archives nationales, Paris)
Citation:
Book trade regulations (1649), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
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10
Letters & Regulations that might happen to state otherwise,
on pain of the penalties carried by the said Privilege; on
condition that the said Book is printed on good-quality
paper, using good types, & that it has been accurately
checked, whereby two proof copies of it shall be provided, so
that the quality of the paper & types can be inspected –
one of which proof copies will remain in the possession of
our Chancellor, & the other will have our counter-seal
attached to it, so that it may be consulted [for comparison]
in case the said book comes to be printed differently,
failing which [requirement of deposit] the said Privilege
will be rendered void, always excepting, though, the
Lives of Saints, if they are not newly composed or
translated works; All Roman [Catholic] prayer-books,
revised or non-revised, and likewise Missals, Breviaries,
Diurnals, Psalm-books, Graduals, Antiphonaries & others,
Prayers & Catechisms, which may be printed by all
Booksellers or Printers, on condition that they are produced
using good-quality paper & types, & are accurate; &, further-
more, that they seek approbation for each edition of such
works which they undertake, which approbation shall
consist of a certificate confirming that the edition contains
no major errors which could distort the sense & intention
of the Church; Old ‘Despautaires’,* Dictionaries, Grammars,
& any short books of the lesser genres [livres des basses Classes],
may also be printed by all Booksellers & Printers, provided
that the Rector of the University [of Paris] or
one of the Professors commissioned by him can issue a
certificate confirming that the said books have been
printed well & accurately, failing which approbation for
the former & certificate for the latter – in both cases to
be included inside the said books – we have declared them
to be henceforth subject to confiscation for the benefit
of the poor members of their Guild [Communauté]. As for
Almanacs, they can likewise be printed, on condition that
they contain no prophecies, in conformity with what
we have already decreed, on pain of corporal punishment.
XXVII. To avoid any surprises, & so that all
Booksellers & Printers know for which books a privilege
has been requested, the person who has obtained such
a privilege is obliged to arrange for a Legal Officer to
hand over a copy of it to the Syndic or to one of the
Adjuncts, who are in their turn obliged to have it
entered in the Guild’s register, which register will be made
available to all who should wish to see it, so that
there is no further competition [for printing a particular
book] & to avoid situations where two Booksellers or
Printers find themselves requesting a privilege for the same book.
XXVIII. Just as it is our intention to provide the means for
Booksellers & Printers to live honestly from their trade, it is also
essential to ensure that those who devote themselves to literature
[aux lettres] should have books which are well & accurately
printed, & whose prices are reasonable; For this purpose, we
prohibit all Printers & all Booksellers from selling editions of
classic Authors [les vieux Autheurs] more expensively
_______
*) That is, editions of the famous Latin grammar by Jean Despautère
(d.1520), the Commentarii grammatici, first published by Robert
Etienne in 1537.
No Transcription available.
Source: Archives nationales : AD 303 (document conservé aux archives nationales, Paris)
Citation:
Book trade regulations (1649), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Back | Record | Images | No Commentaries
Translation only | Transcription only | Show all | Bundled images as pdf
Letters & Regulations that might happen to state otherwise,
on pain of the penalties carried by the said Privilege; on
condition that the said Book is printed on good-quality
paper, using good types, & that it has been accurately
checked, whereby two proof copies of it shall be provided, so
that the quality of the paper & types can be inspected –
one of which proof copies will remain in the possession of
our Chancellor, & the other will have our counter-seal
attached to it, so that it may be consulted [for comparison]
in case the said book comes to be printed differently,
failing which [requirement of deposit] the said Privilege
will be rendered void, always excepting, though, the
Lives of Saints, if they are not newly composed or
translated works; All Roman [Catholic] prayer-books,
revised or non-revised, and likewise Missals, Breviaries,
Diurnals, Psalm-books, Graduals, Antiphonaries & others,
Prayers & Catechisms, which may be printed by all
Booksellers or Printers, on condition that they are produced
using good-quality paper & types, & are accurate; &, further-
more, that they seek approbation for each edition of such
works which they undertake, which approbation shall
consist of a certificate confirming that the edition contains
no major errors which could distort the sense & intention
of the Church; Old ‘Despautaires’,* Dictionaries, Grammars,
& any short books of the lesser genres [livres des basses Classes],
may also be printed by all Booksellers & Printers, provided
that the Rector of the University [of Paris] or
one of the Professors commissioned by him can issue a
certificate confirming that the said books have been
printed well & accurately, failing which approbation for
the former & certificate for the latter – in both cases to
be included inside the said books – we have declared them
to be henceforth subject to confiscation for the benefit
of the poor members of their Guild [Communauté]. As for
Almanacs, they can likewise be printed, on condition that
they contain no prophecies, in conformity with what
we have already decreed, on pain of corporal punishment.
XXVII. To avoid any surprises, & so that all
Booksellers & Printers know for which books a privilege
has been requested, the person who has obtained such
a privilege is obliged to arrange for a Legal Officer to
hand over a copy of it to the Syndic or to one of the
Adjuncts, who are in their turn obliged to have it
entered in the Guild’s register, which register will be made
available to all who should wish to see it, so that
there is no further competition [for printing a particular
book] & to avoid situations where two Booksellers or
Printers find themselves requesting a privilege for the same book.
XXVIII. Just as it is our intention to provide the means for
Booksellers & Printers to live honestly from their trade, it is also
essential to ensure that those who devote themselves to literature
[aux lettres] should have books which are well & accurately
printed, & whose prices are reasonable; For this purpose, we
prohibit all Printers & all Booksellers from selling editions of
classic Authors [les vieux Autheurs] more expensively
_______
*) That is, editions of the famous Latin grammar by Jean Despautère
(d.1520), the Commentarii grammatici, first published by Robert
Etienne in 1537.
No Transcription available.