Angebote auf entfernten Märkten

Nürnberger Sortimentskataloge im Buchhandel mit Prag und Wien, 1700–1750

Abstract

In the decades after 1680, barter trade led to the creation of major publishing companies in commercial hubs such as Leipzig, Nuremberg or Augsburg. Due to the increasing competition in those cities, many booksellers invested in long-distance trading. Especially book traders from Nuremberg managed to build long-term business relationships in the Austrian and Bohemian territories. Their catalogues illustrate the logistic challenges of long-distance trade. Major booksellers compiled special editions for their different markets: Nuremberg booksellers advertised their entire stock in catalogues containing up to 10,000 entries. This contribution asks questions about the categories of such catalogues: which labelling practises did booksellers use to advertise their products, and which conclusions may be drawn from this about their selection of books? Inventories and catalogues are key sources for analysing the history of the early modern book trade. In my paper, I do not intend to use inventories to reconstruct books as individual objects, for example as components of a private library. Instead, I will evaluate catalogues from the book trade in order to draw conclusions on the practices of major booksellers around 1700.