In 1777 a series of royal decrees heralded the restructuring of the French booktrade. An important innovation was the creation of a public domain for certain kinds of books whose privil ge (or 'copyright') had expired. In order not to relinquish control over a vast category of books, the government decided to implement a new kind of printing and publishing permit - the 'permission simple'.
As historian and bibliologist, the author examines...