Licensing Loyalty: Printers, Patrons, and the State in Early Modern France

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 The Early History of Printers in Provincial France, 1470–1660 10 2 The Vicissitudes of a Royal Decree: Enforcing the October 1667 Order in Council Regulating Printers in the Provinces 37 3 The Royal Council Takes Control: The 1701 Inquiry and the Bureau de la Librairie 68 4 The Purges: The Enforcement of Printer Quotas in the Provinces After 1704 97 5 Arguments Offered by Printers in Petitions for Licenses, 1667–1789 125 6 Patronage and Bureaucracy Intersect: Five Case Studies in the Reign of Louis XVI 147 7 Behind the Rhetoric: The Social Position and Politics of Provincial Printers, 1750–1789 179 Conclusion 211 Appendix A: Printers’ Wealth in the Eighteenth Century 217 Appendix B: Some Licensed Provincial Printers Involved in the Clandestine Book Trade, 1750–89, by Town 227 Notes 233 Bibliography 275 Index 293 ...