, five firms in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
rank among the world's biggest
publishers of
books
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...
in terms of revenue: ,
Groupe Albin Michel,
Groupe Madrigall (including
Éditions Gallimard),
Hachette Livre (including
Éditions Grasset), and
Martinière Groupe (including
Éditions du Seuil).
History
In 1292 the book-trade of Paris consisted of 24 copyists, 17 bookbinders, 19
parchment
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...
makers, 13
illuminators, 8 dealers in
manuscripts
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...
.
In Paris in 1470, Martin Crantz, Michael Freyburger, and
Ulrich Gering produced the
first printed book in France, ''Epistolae'' (letters), by
Gasparinus de Bergamo. In 1476 in
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
appeared one of the first printed French-language books, ''La Légende Dorée'' (
Golden Legend) by
Jacobus de Voragine.
The French royal library began at the
Louvre Palace in 1368 during the reign of
Charles V, opened to the public in 1692, and became the
Bibliothèque nationale de France in 1792. The
Centre National du Livre (Center for the Book) formed in 1946. The began in 1981.
The history of the book in France has been studied from a variety of cultural, economic, political, and social angles. Influential scholars include
Roger Chartier,
Robert Darnton,
Elizabeth Eisenstein, and
Henri-Jean Martin.
Bookselling
The (book trade union) organized in 1847 in Paris, and the
Syndicat National de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne booksellers association in 1914.
''
L'Express
(, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''RÃ ...
'' started a
bestseller
A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
list in 1961, and ' started one in 1984.
In popular culture
*
The Reader (1988 film)
*
Hugo (film)
''Hugo'' is a 2011 American adventure film, adventure drama film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese, and adapted for the screen by John Logan (writer), John Logan. Based on Brian Selznick's 2007 book ''The Invention of Hugo Cabret'', it te ...
, 2011, includes brief scene in fictional Paris bookshop
See also
*
Collection (publishing)
In the field of Publishing, book publishing, a collection or, more precisely, editorial collection (; ; ; ), is a set of books published by the same publisher, usually written by various authors, each book with its own Title (publishing), title, b ...
*
Copyright law of France
*
Legal deposit: France
*
Media of France
*
French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...
*
French bibliophiles
*
**
Libraries in Paris
*
List of book fairs in France (in French)
*
List of book-burning incidents, some in France
*
French children's books
*
Musée de l'Imprimerie (printing museum), Lyon, est. 1964
Notes
References
Bibliography
in English
*
*
*
*
*
*
** Printing in France before 1501, p. 342+
** 16th Century: France
** 17th Century: France
** 18th Century: France
*
*
*
* ("What did the French read in the eighteenth century?")
*
* + Volumes 3-4 (2011): Books published in France before 1601 in Latin and Languages other than French
*
*
*
in French
* 1811-
* 1971
*
*
*
Images
File:Cercle de la Librairie.JPG, Cercle de la Librairie in Paris, built in 1879 (photo 2010)
File:Eugène Atget, Secondhand Book Dealer, place de la Bastille - Getty Museum.jpg, Bookseller, Place de la Bastille, Paris,
File:LYON - Quai de la Pêcherie.jpg, Outdoor bookselling in Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, 2008
File:A reader on the Pont des Arts, 30 August 2009.jpg, Reader on the Pont des Arts, Paris, 2009
File:Cour intérieure de la librairie l'Armitière (Rouen, France).jpg, bookshop in Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
, est. 1963 (photo 2013)
File:Public bookcase Bastia.jpg, Public bookcase
A public bookcase (also known as a free library or book swap or street library or sidewalk library) is a cabinet which may be freely and anonymously used for the exchange and storage of books without the administrative rigor associated with form ...
in Bastia
Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...
, 2016
External links
* (Bibliography of editions published in France; also browsable b
town
Institut d'histoire du livre(Institute for the History of the Book), Lyon, est. 2001
* . (Includes some info on France)
* (Includes books)
*
* (Bibliography)
{{Authority control
france
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
Book publishing in France
Libraries in France