An introduction to bibliographical politics -- The reformation of the press : patent, copyright, piracy -- Monopolies commercial and doctrinal -- Ingenuity and the mercantile muse -- Monopolizing culture : two case studies -- Personality and print : the genetics of intellectual property -- Milton's talent : the emergence of authorial copyright -- Authentic reproductions
Summary
The Author's Due offers an institutional and cultural history of books, the book trade, and the bibliographic ego. Joseph Loewenstein traces the emergence of possessive authorship from the establishment of a printing industry in England to the passage of the 1710 Statute of Anne, which provided the legal underpinnings for modern copyright. Along the way he demonstrates that the culture of books, including the idea of the author, is intimately tied to the practical trade of publishing those books. As Loewenstein shows, copyright is a form of monopoly that developed alongside a range of related p
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-336) and index