Login

Publications  •  Project Statistics

Glossary  •  Schools  •  Disciplines
People Search: 
   
Title/Abstract Search: 

Dissertation Information for William Anthony Pettas

NAME:
- William Anthony Pettas

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Berkeley (USA) (1972)

ADVISORS:
- Robert D. Harlan

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- [Indecipherable1]
- Frederic J. Mosher

MPACT Status: Complete - Except Indecipherables

Title: The Giunti of Florence merchant publishers of the sixteenth century

Abstract: Filppo Gunti and his brother Lucantonio came from a family which had been involved in the Florentine textile trade in the 15th century. As younger sons in a large family, it was not their fate to enter their father's business when they were of age. The success of the new printing industry in Venice attracted the shrewd, aggressive Lucantonio about 1477, and in 1489 he began to publish religious and liturgical books. The need for additional capital and distribution outlets for his books prompted Lucantonio to enter into a partnership with his brother Filippo, who had opened a stationery store in Florence in 1489. Their entrance into bookselling marked the beginning of two publishing firms which lasted until the 17th century.

The importance of the Giunti firms rests not only on their large output and great prosperity, but mainly on the unique manner in which they extended their network of distribution by establishing branch firms which were all managed by members of the family. Their trade network soon covered a wide area: Venice, Florence, Rome, Lyons, and Salamanca, where separate but co-operating firms were developed. The Florentine firm was the focus of this study. Throughout its history, however, it was more or less a satellite of the venetian firm on which it relied for the distribution of its output of humanistic books and as a source of liturgical and professional books for distribution in Florence.

Much of the information for this study has come from original archival documents, most of which are unpublished. They give us a valuable insight into the economic aspects of early publishing. it was also necessary to compile a list of the books and laws published by the Giunti of Florence since their output has never been fully listed for the period covered here- 1497-1570. The publishing activity of the Florentine firm varied in relationship to political and economic conditions of northern Italy and Florence, as well as the vicissitudes of the venetian firm. The documents show clearly that the Giunti of Venice became far more wealthy than their Florentine counterparts, which was due mainly to Florence's poor geographical situation for book distribution.

Nor were the Giunti fortunes in Florence helped by the return of the Medici to power in the 1530's. Later, competition from the ducal press created new handicaps for the firm. During the last half of the 16th century the growing foreign output of humanist books further decreased the Giunti's marker in the field, and production shifted to more parochial interests. The imposition of the Index in 1559 added a new dimension to their difficulties, and the firm, already in decline, ceased publishing early in the 17th century.

MPACT Scores for William Anthony Pettas

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-05-29 13:21:09

Advisors and Advisees Graph