A dedication or book dedication is the expression of friendly connection or thanks by the author towards another person. The dedication has its own place on the ''dedication page'' and is part of the

front matter Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components and elements of a book into a coherent unit. In the words of renowned typographer Jan Tschichold (1902–1974), book design, "though ...

History

Evidence of dedications is provided back into

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

. Besides the wish to express their gratitude towards a certain person, the authors often had also other reasons to dedicate their work to a particular person. Well into the 18th century, it was not usual for

publisher 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 ...

s to remunerate the authors; authors tended to be paid or remunerated as one element of a patron-client relationship, in which the author-client paid tribute, in the dedication, to his or her patron. A typical writer dedicated "their book to a high standing personality -- to Fürsts or

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

s -- or to a city and tried to gain some money through this practice".Citation after Helmut Hiller, Stephan Füssel: ''Wörterbuch des Buches''. 6. Auflage. Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main, 2002. , p. 82. In many cases the petitioner was lucky and received a gift from the patron. In some cases, the writer groveled before the patron and a formal dedication "contained often a very elaborate and submissive affection". In some cases not only the authors tried to get some money, but also the printers tried through dedications to cover a part of their costs.

Themes

A book dedication can provide a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of the author. For example,

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

(1788–1824) engaged in a famous feud with

Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...

, who was then England's

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

. Byron wrote a mocking 17-verse dedication to his epic poem ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

'' in which he savagely pilloried Southey as a dull, reactionary "warbler" who had abandoned his political principles for favor and financial reward. Book dedications can reflect the tastes and mores of society. Whereas many Elizabethan dedications were erudite and witty, some modern authors have abandoned literary pretense, sometimes using profanity to shock or amuse their audiences. Book dedications have also been used to make political statements, such as the condemnation of war and inequality. Author

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

dedicated '' Beloved'', her 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a fugitive slave who killed her own daughter, to "Sixty Million and more."

Today

In newer books, the dedication is located on a "dedication page" on its own, usually on the recto page after the main title page inside the

. It can occupy one or multiple lines depending on its importance. It can also be "in a longer version as a dedication letter or dedication preface at the book's beginning". Today, book dedications tend to be short, often thanking partners, family, friends or muses, in the form of a personal note. They are basically a means to express gratitude. Sometimes a book is dedicated to the memory of a loved one, or to a cause.

Handwritten dedication

The dedication is not to be confounded with the handwritten dedication of a single copy: the

presentation copy A presentation copy is a copy of a book that has been dedicated, illustrated, or signed (without request) by the author, or a book that was a gift from the author. An inscribed copy, by contrast, is one signed by the author at the book owner's re ...

Notes

* Jost Hochuli: ''Buchgestaltung in der Schweiz''. 2. Auflage. Pro Helvetia, Schweizer Kulturstiftung. Zürich 1998. (''German'') * ''Reclams Sachlexikon des Buches.'' Hrsg. von U. Rautenberg. Reclam Verlag, Stuttgart 2003. (''German'') * Diana Stört: ''Form- und Funktionswandel der Widmung. Zur historischen Entwicklung und Typologisierung eines Paratextes''. In: ''"Aus meiner Hand dies Buch." Zum Phänomen der Widmung''. Hrsg. von Volker Kaukoreit, Marcel Atze und Michael Hansel. Wien: Turia + Kant 2007 (= Sichtungen. Archiv, Bibliothek, Literaturwissenschaft 8./9. Jg., 2005/2006), S. 79-112. (''German'') * Emily Green: Dedicating Music, 1785-1850. University of Rochester Press, 2019.

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