| The dissertation describes the arrival and development of the book trade in the Dutch town of Leiden in the period from 1560 to 1700. The central thesis is that the printers and booksellers of Leiden were able to create new markets for books using the support and protection offered by their guild. The findings challenge the assumption made by neo-classical economists that guilds restricted economic growth and inhibited technological change. They also challenge the Marxist-inspired interpretation of N.W. Posthumus, who suggested that Leiden's success in export-oriented industries came at the expense of the autonomy of its workers. The dissertation instead suggests that the strategies adopted by the Leiden booksellers, including the formation of their guild, allowed them to remain independent merchant-craftsmen while also making significant contributions to the 'miraculous' growth of the Dutch Golden Age economy.; The early modern Netherlands provided an auspicious environment for the development of the book trade, which began with an influx of skilled refugees in the 1580's. Initially, printers were drawn to Leiden because of its large and increasingly cosmopolitan University. By the early seventeenth century, however, changes in the European book markets prompted the University to restrict its patronage to a handful of privileged printers and booksellers. At the same time, printing firms in Amsterdam gained significant cost advantages over their competitors in Leiden. Booksellers in Leiden scrambled to find other means to maintain themselves and they chose to specialize in the creative distribution of books. With the support of the municipal government, they established a guild in 1652 in order to safeguard their most important new marketing tool, the book sale auction and catalogue. Under the aegis of the guild, the book trade flourished in Leiden, which shows that traditional ideas of order, work and honor were not incompatible with success in a market-driven, export-oriented industry. |
