On books and dedications: D. John and the Casa Literária do Arco do Cego (1799-1801)

Authors

  • Claudio DeNipoti Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa
  • Magnus Roberto de Mello Pereira Universidade Federal do Paraná

Abstract

This article tries to understand the importance given to writing and its media during the Portuguese Ancien Régime (particularly the 18th century) and to grasp the ways in which writing changed social interactions, ways of thinking and power relationships. Th e specific approach of this study lies in the choice of source documents: the dedications found on the first pages of the books published at the Arco do Cego print shop. The analysis of these texts allows us to perceive quite a lot about the Portuguese political culture in the 18th century, opening up possibilities to understand the apparently contradictory relationship between the construction of the modern state and the client networks based on gift and favor.

Key words: book history, reading history, dedications, Arco do Cego, D. Rodrigo de Souza Coutinho.

Author Biographies

Claudio DeNipoti, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa

Magnus Roberto de Mello Pereira, Universidade Federal do Paraná

Published

2013-08-12