As of 2018, five firms in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

rank among the world's biggest

publishers Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

of books in terms of revenue: , Groupe Albin Michel,

Groupe Madrigall Groupe Madrigall is a French publishing holding company. It is the parent company of several publishing houses and distribution companies including: Éditions Gallimard, Flammarion and Casterman. Groupe Madrigall is the third largest French publi ...

(including

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

Hachette Livre Hachette () is a French publisher. Founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif, the company later became L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, Hachette SA and Hachette Livre in France. After acquiring an Australian publisher, Hachette ...

(including

Éditions Grasset The Grasset Editions () is a French publishing house founded in 1907 by (1881–1955). History Founder In 1913, Bernard Grasset publishes the first volume of '' À la recherche du temps perdu'', by Marcel Proust, '' Du côté de chez Swann'' ...

), and Martinière Groupe (including

Éditions du Seuil Éditions du Seuil (), also known as ''Le Seuil'', is a French publishing house established in 1935 by Catholic intellectual Jean Plaquevent (1901–1965), and currently owned by La Martinière Groupe. It owes its name to this goal "The ''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 untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins o ...

makers, 13 illuminators, 8 dealers in manuscripts. In Paris in 1470, Martin Crantz, Michael Freyburger, and

Ulrich Gering Ulrich Gering (active as a printer in Paris from c. 1470 to 1508 – 23 August 1510) came from Beromünster in the diocese of Konstanz, Constance. He was one of three partners to establish the first printing press in France.A. Claudin, '' Fi ...

produced the first printed book in France, ''Epistolae'' (letters), by Gasparinus de Bergamo. In 1476 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

appeared one of the first printed French-language books, ''La Légende Dorée'' (

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...

) by

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine (c. 123013/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the medi ...

. The French royal library began at the Louvre Palace in 1368 during the reign of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

, opened to the public in 1692, and became the Bibliothèque nationale de France in 1792. The

Centre National du Livre The Centre national du livre (CNL) is a French établissement public à caractère administratif. The CNL is placed under the administrative supervision of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication (, ). Its vocation and role is to sup ...

(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 Roger Chartier, (born December 9, 1945 in Lyon), is a French historian and historiographer who is part of the Annales school. He works on the history of books, publishing and reading. He teaches at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Soc ...

Robert Darnton Robert Choate Darnton (born May 10, 1939) is an American cultural historian and academic librarian who specializes in 18th-century France. He was director of the Harvard University Library from 2007 to 2016. Life Darnton was born in New York ...

Elizabeth Eisenstein Elizabeth Lewisohn Eisenstein (October 11, 1923 – January 31, 2016) was an American historian of the French Revolution and early 19th-century France. She is well known for her work on the history of early printing, writing on the transition in ...

, and

Henri-Jean Martin Henri-Jean Martin (16 January 1924 – 13 January 2007) was a leading authority on the history of the book in Europe, and an expert on the history of writing and printing. He was a leader in efforts to promote libraries in France, and the history o ...

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'' started a bestseller list in 1961, and ' started one in 1984.

In popular culture

The Reader (1988 film) ''The Reader'' (french: La Lectrice) is a 1988 French film directed by Michel Deville. The film won that year's Louis Delluc Prize, and was nominated for nine César Awards including César Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Supportin ...

* Hugo (film), 2011, includes brief scene in fictional Paris bookshop

Notes

References

:''This article incorporates information from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has articl ...

.''

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 The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the ...

, Paris, ca. 1910 File:LYON - Quai de la Pêcherie.jpg, Outdoor bookselling in

, 2008 File:A reader on the Pont des Arts, 30 August 2009.jpg, Reader on the

Pont des Arts The Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts is a pedestrian bridge in Paris which crosses the River Seine. It links the Institut de France and the central square (''cour carrée'') of the Palais du Louvre, (which had been termed the "Palais des Ar ...

, Paris, 2009 File:Cour intérieure de la librairie l'Armitière (Rouen, France).jpg, bookshop in Rouen, est. 1963 (photo 2013) File:Public bookcase Bastia.jpg, Public bookcase in

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the 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 population of any commune on the is ...

, 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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Book publishing in France Libraries in France