A Colonial Book Market: Peruvian Print Culture in the Age of Enlightenment

In late colonial Peru, Agnes Gehbald's book explores the significance of print culture in the everyday lives of the viceroyalty by examining the variety of printed commodities and their spatiality, revealing how books permeated society and figured in the inventories of diverse individuals.

Format: Hardback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

This comprehensive volume offers a groundbreaking social history of books in late colonial Peru. From the second half of the eighteenth century onwards, workshops in Lima and transoceanic imports flooded the market with an unprecedented abundance of printed publications. By meticulously tracing the diverse range of printed commodities that circulated within the urban sphere, as well as examining the spatial dynamics of the trade and the physical characteristics of the books themselves, Agnes Gehbald delves into the profound significance of print culture in the daily lives of the viceroyalty. Through her analysis, she unveils how books permeated various aspects of late colonial society, becoming integral to the inventories of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including women and men, who had previously been less likely to possess them.

A Colonial Book Market is a meticulously researched and thought-provoking work that sheds light on how people in Peruvian cities accessed reading material and contributed to the global Enlightenment project. It provides a rich and detailed account of the book trade in late colonial Peru, exploring the various actors, networks, and cultural processes that shaped the circulation and consumption of printed texts.

One of the key insights of the book is that the print market in late colonial Peru was not limited to Lima or the coastal regions. Rather, it extended to the interior of the country, where cities like Cuzco, Ayacucho, and Huancavelica emerged as significant centers of book production and consumption. Gehbald demonstrates how these cities not only supplied local markets but also played a crucial role in the broader transoceanic trade of books, connecting Peru to Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

The book also explores the diverse range of printed commodities that circulated in late colonial Peru. These included religious texts, educational materials, literary works, and government publications. Gehbald analyzes how these texts were produced, distributed, and consumed, and how they shaped the intellectual and cultural landscape of the viceroyalty.

In addition to its analysis of the print market, A Colonial Book Market also delves into the social and cultural implications of book consumption in late colonial Peru. Gehbald demonstrates how books became a tool for social mobility, allowing individuals from lower social classes to access education and knowledge that had previously been reserved for the elite. Books also played a role in shaping public opinion, disseminating information, and promoting cultural values and identities.

Overall, A Colonial Book Market is a seminal work in the field of late colonial studies, offering a fresh and insightful perspective on the role of books in shaping society and culture. Its comprehensive approach, rigorous research, and rich analysis make it an essential read for scholars and enthusiasts of history, literature, and cultural studies.

ISBN-13: 9781009360852