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 graphic art of determining the visual and physical characteristics of a book. The design process begins after an author and editor finalize the manuscript, at which point it is passed to the production stage. During productio ...

History

Evidence of dedications is provided back into

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

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

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

s to remunerate the authors; authors tended to be paid or remunerated as one element of a

patron-client relationship Patronage (''clientela'') was the distinctive relationship in ancient Roman society between the ''patronus'' ('patron') and their ''cliens'' ('client'). Apart from the patron-client relationship between individuals, there were also client kingd ...

, 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

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

s or

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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, in addition to the authors, printers also sought monetary gifts, trying 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) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

(1788–1824) engaged in a famous feud with

Robert Southey Robert Southey (; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic poetry, Romantic school, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth an ...

, who was then England's Poet Laureate. 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. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...

'' 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 The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

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 and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...

dedicated '' Beloved'', her 1987

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-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. A book may also be dedicated to the memory of a loved one, or to a cause.

Handwritten dedication

The dedication is not to be confused with the handwritten dedication of a single copy: the presentation copy.

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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