 |  | ||||||
| |
|
||||||
    Core documents by: Date Place Core documents for: Italy Germany France Britain United States All documents for: Italy Germany France Britain United States Original language: English French German Italian Latin Browse documents by: Person ... by name ... by occupation ... by life dates Place Institution Legislation Case law Browse commentaries by: Person ... by name ... by occupation ... by life dates Place Institution Legislation Case law Browse database by: Key words Editors' login:  | | Chodowiecki's Allegory "Works of Darkness", Berlin (1775) Source: Antiquariat Voerster in Stuttgart Citation: Chodowiecki's Allegory "Works of Darkness" (1781), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org Record Images Record-ID: d_1775 Full title Works of Darkness. A Contribution to the History of the Book Trade in Germany. Presented Allegorically for the Benefit of and as a Warning to All Honest Booksellers. Full title original language Werke der Finsternis. Der Beitrag zur Geschichte des Buchhandels in Deutschland. Allegorisch vorgestellt zum besten auch zur Warnung aller ehrliebenden Buchhändler. zu finden bei C. F. Himburg in Berlin Abstract This document is associated with the core document d_1781. The allegory showing unauthorised reprinters and original publishers respectively as highwaymen and their victims reflects a great public interest in the reprinting debate of the late eighteenth-century. The copper plate is a work by Daniel Chodowiecki, one of the most famous graphic artists and book illustrators of the time. As the Goddess of Justice is shown asleep and oblivious of what is happening, the etching brands book piracy as a travesty of all that she stands for. However, the biblical allusion of the title "let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." (Romans 13, 12, King James Edition) adds a somewhat moralising dimension by putting book piracy alongside the other 'sins' named in the cited passage: "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying." The features of most of the faces shown have been identified: the bandit chief is the Austrian publisher Johann Thomas von Trattner (1717-1798) (cf. d_1775), who made a fortune by reprinting books from other German-speaking territories. His victims are the publishers Friedrich Nicolai - in the centre ' (cf. d_1797a) and - fleeing into the background - Philipp Erasmus Reich (d_1773b). The small bat-like monster flying overhead (a position normally reserved for angels in religious paintings!) is modelled on Gerhard van Swieten (1700-1772), an influential adviser and doctor of Maria Theresa of Austria, who eased censorship regulations but encouraged the reprinting of foreign books in Austria. Nicolai's right arm extends the bat monster's line of gaze and points to the head of the Goddess Justitia, sleeping as if drugged by the poppy blossoms above her head. The copper plate's title identifies it as a "contribution to the history of the book trade in Germany". The 'historical' element is provided by the reference to van Swieten, who had died a decade before the etching's publication but was still regarded as the principal figure responsible for the extensive flourishing of the reprinting business in Austria. Apart from a scriptural-theological aspect (equating reprints with "works of darkness") and a more juridical one of comparing reprinting to a robbery, the title, by describing the etching as a "warning to all honest booksellers", also brings in the aspect of moral principles in civil society. The "honest" bookseller ('ehrliebend' literally means 'honour-loving') is one who does not deal in reprints. Ironically, Christian Friedrich Himburg, the Berlin publisher of the copper print was himself to be branded a pirate for a 1777 two-volume Goethe edition, which in its turn was soon reprinted by two other publishers: in 1778 by Schmieder in Karlsruhe and by Fleischhauer in Reutlingen. Bibliography Estermann, Monika, "Wercke der Finsternis: Zu einem Blatt Daniel Chodowieckis", Buchhandelsgeschichte, 103 (1997): 103-108 Opitz, Detlev, "Vom Schreiben" 6 (= Marbacher Magazin 88) (Marbach: Deutsche Schillergesellschaft, 1999), 266- Related documents in this database Author Daniel Chodowiecki Publisher C. F. Himburg Location Berlin Year 1781 Language German Source Antiquariat Voerster in Stuttgart Physical description N/A Illustrations tables N/A Persons referred to Chodowiecki, Daniel (1726-1801) Himburg, Christian Friedrich (1733-1801) Nicolai, Friedrich (1733-1811) Reich, Philipp Erasmus (1717-1787) Swieten, Gerhard van (1700-1772) Trattner, Johann Thomas von (1717-1798) Persons referred to in commentary Fleischhauer, Johann Georg (1737-1815) Goethe, Johann Wolfgang (1749-1832) Maria Theresia of Austria (1717-1780) Nicolai, Friedrich (1733-1811) Reich, Philipp Erasmus (1717-1787) Schmieder, Christian Gottlieb (1750-1827) Swieten, Gerhard van (1700-1772) Trattner, Johann Thomas von (1717-1798) Places referred to Berlin Places referred to in commentary Berlin Karlsruhe Reutlingen Legislation referred to N/A Legislation referred to in commentary N/A Cases referred to N/A Cases referred to in commentary N/A Institutions referred to N/A Institutions referred to in commentary N/A Key words book trade censorship moral obligations piracy property analogies reprints Responsible editor Friedemann Kawohl Copyright status Original document is out of copyright. In so far as these scans are protected by copyright, they are made available on the same terms as translations and commentaries (see home page). | |||||
 | |||||||
| Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, 10 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DZ, UK | |||||||
