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<!doctype html><html><head><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"/><title>Books - Our World in Data</title><meta name="description" content="Books have been at the center of science and the arts for centuries. Their history and relevance is the focus of this entry."/><link rel="canonical" href="https://ourworldindata.org/books"/><link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" href="/atom.xml"/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon.png"/><meta property="fb:app_id" content="1149943818390250"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://ourworldindata.org/books"/><meta property="og:title" content="Books"/><meta property="og:description" content="Books have been at the center of science and the arts for centuries. Their history and relevance is the focus of this entry."/><meta property="og:image" content="https://ourworldindata.org/app/uploads/2013/03/Screen-Shot-2016-11-17-at-14.53.02-768x489.png"/><meta property="og:site_name" content="Our World in Data"/><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/><meta name="twitter:site" content="@OurWorldInData"/><meta name="twitter:creator" content="@OurWorldInData"/><meta name="twitter:title" content="Books"/><meta name="twitter:description" content="Books have been at the center of science and the arts for centuries. Their history and relevance is the focus of this entry."/><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://ourworldindata.org/app/uploads/2013/03/Screen-Shot-2016-11-17-at-14.53.02-768x489.png"/><link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:300,400,400i,700,700i|Playfair+Display:400,700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/commons.css"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ourworldindata.org/assets/owid.css"/><meta name="citation_title" content="Books"/><meta name="citation_fulltext_html_url" content="https://ourworldindata.org/books"/><meta name="citation_fulltext_world_readable" content=""/><meta name="citation_publication_date" content="2013/03/05"/><meta name="citation_journal_title" content="Our World in Data"/><meta name="citation_journal_abbrev" content="Our World in Data"/><meta name="citation_author" content="Max Roser"/></head><body class=""><header class="site-header"><div class="wrapper 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class="offset-header"><header class="article-header"><div class="article-titles"><h1 class="entry-title">Books</h1></div><div class="authors-byline"><a href="/team">by Max Roser</a></div><div class="tools"><a href="#licence"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fab" data-icon="creative-commons" class="svg-inline--fa fa-creative-commons " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 496 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M245.8 214.9l-33.22 17.28c-9.43-19.58-25.24-19.93-27.46-19.93-22.13 0-33.22 14.61-33.22 43.84 0 23.57 9.21 43.84 33.22 43.84 14.47 0 24.65-7.09 30.57-21.26l30.55 15.5c-6.17 11.51-25.69 38.98-65.1 38.98-22.6 0-73.96-10.32-73.96-77.05 0-58.69 43-77.06 72.63-77.06 30.72-.01 52.7 11.95 65.99 35.86zm143.1 0l-32.78 17.28c-9.5-19.77-25.72-19.93-27.9-19.93-22.14 0-33.22 14.61-33.22 43.84 0 23.55 9.23 43.84 33.22 43.84 14.45 0 24.65-7.09 30.54-21.26l31 15.5c-2.1 3.75-21.39 38.98-65.09 38.98-22.69 0-73.96-9.87-73.96-77.05 0-58.67 42.97-77.06 72.63-77.06 30.71-.01 52.58 11.95 65.56 35.86zM247.6 8.05C104.7 8.05 0 123.1 0 256c0 138.5 113.6 248 247.6 248 129.9 0 248.4-100.9 248.4-248 0-137.9-106.6-248-248.4-248zm.87 450.8c-112.5 0-203.7-93.04-203.7-202.8 0-105.4 85.43-203.3 203.7-203.3 112.5 0 202.8 89.46 202.8 203.3-.01 121.7-99.68 202.8-202.8 202.8z"></path></svg>Reuse our work freely</a><a href="#citation"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="book" class="svg-inline--fa fa-book " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M448 336v-288C448 21.49 426.5 0 400 0H96C42.98 0 0 42.98 0 96v320c0 53.02 42.98 96 96 96h320c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-31.1c0-11.72-6.607-21.52-16-27.1v-81.36C441.8 362.8 448 350.2 448 336zM143.1 128h192C344.8 128 352 135.2 352 144C352 152.8 344.8 160 336 160H143.1C135.2 160 128 152.8 128 144C128 135.2 135.2 128 143.1 128zM143.1 192h192C344.8 192 352 199.2 352 208C352 216.8 344.8 224 336 224H143.1C135.2 224 128 216.8 128 208C128 199.2 135.2 192 143.1 192zM384 448H96c-17.67 0-32-14.33-32-32c0-17.67 14.33-32 32-32h288V448z"></path></svg>Cite this research</a></div></header></div><div class="content-wrapper"><div class="offset-content"><div class="content-and-footnotes"><div class="article-content"><section><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><div class="pcrm">
<h3 id="notice-this-is-only-a-preliminary-collection-of-relevant-material"><span>Notice: </span>This is only a preliminary collection of relevant material<a class="deep-link" href="#notice-this-is-only-a-preliminary-collection-of-relevant-material"></a></h3>
<p>The data and research currently presented here is a preliminary collection or relevant material. We will further develop our work on this topic in the future (to cover it in the same detail as for example our entry on <a href="/world-population-growth" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Population Growth)</a>.</p>
<p>If you have expertise in this area and would like to contribute, <a href="/jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">apply here</a> to join us as a researcher.</p>
</div><p>In this entry we study the history of books over the last centuries.</p><p>Several recent research papers and books have made it possible to follow the rise of book production. The crucial event was the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg around 1440. But we will also study the history of manuscripts that preceded printed books. Particularly interesting is the transition from manuscripts to books – book production became more efficient, prices decreased and the consumption of books increased.</p><p>A major driver for the increased production of books is the revolution of literacy, which we study in detail in <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/literacy">our literacy entry</a>.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="block-wrapper" data-reactroot=""><div data-variation="full-width" data-default-open="false" class="wp-block-owid-additional-information"><h3 data-track-note="additional-information-toggle"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="angle-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-angle-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 256 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M64 448c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L178.8 256L41.38 118.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C80.38 444.9 72.19 448 64 448z"></path></svg>All our interactive charts on Books</h3><div style="height:0;overflow:hidden" aria-hidden="true" class="rah-static rah-static--height-zero"><div style="transition:opacity 250ms ease 0ms;-webkit-transition:opacity 250ms ease 0ms;opacity:0"><div class="content">
<div><div class="related-charts"><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><ul><li class="active"><a href="/grapher/new-books-per-million"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/exports/new-books-per-million.svg" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="true" data-no-img-formatting="true" width="850" height="600"><span>Number of new book-titles published per 1 million inhabitants</span></a></li><li class=""><a href="/grapher/number-of-published-titles"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/exports/number-of-published-titles.svg" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="true" data-no-img-formatting="true" width="850" height="600"><span>Number of published titles</span></a></li><li class=""><a href="/grapher/share-guardian-media-coverage"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/exports/share-guardian-media-coverage.svg" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="true" data-no-img-formatting="true" width="850" height="600"><span>Relative coverage of causes of death in The Guardian newspaper</span></a></li><li class=""><a href="/grapher/death-coverage-in-nyt"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/exports/death-coverage-in-nyt.svg" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="true" data-no-img-formatting="true" width="850" height="600"><span>Relative coverage of causes of death in the New York Times (NYT)</span></a></li><li class=""><a href="/grapher/relative-share-of-google-searches-for-causes-of-death"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/exports/relative-share-of-google-searches-for-causes-of-death.svg" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="true" data-no-img-formatting="true" width="850" height="600"><span>Relative share of Google searches for causes of death</span></a></li></ul></div><div class="wp-block-column" id="all-charts-preview"><figure data-grapher-src="/grapher/new-books-per-million"></figure></div></div></div></div>
</div></div></div></div></div><h3 id="production-of-manuscripts-and-books-from-500-to-1800">Production of manuscripts and books from 500 to 1800<a class="deep-link" href="#production-of-manuscripts-and-books-from-500-to-1800"></a></h3><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>The increased production of manuscripts and books was estimated by Buringh and Van Zanden (2009).<a id="ref-1" class="ref" href="#note-1"><sup>1</sup></a></p><p>The unit of analysis for the estimates of manuscripts is the number of individual manuscripts. The unit of analysis for the estimates of printed books is (new) ‘title’ or ‘edition’. The authors corrected the numbers to account for the underrepresentation of estimates for different geographical regions and different times. The authors consider their estimates to be conservative and note that the “figures should be interpreted as low estimates”.</p><p>Titles are either books (which have by definition more than 49 pages) or pamphlets (less than 50 pages). The authors define a title as ‘a printed publication which forms a separate whole, whether issued in one or several volumes. Different language versions of the same title published in a particular country should be considered as individual titles’; this includes first editions and reeditions. The authors give the following example: ‘The first printing of Gutenberg’s Bible is one title, and new editions of the Bible will again be counted, but a reprint of exactly the same manuscript would not be included.’</p><p>Buringh and Van Zanden note that the aggregation of the data to country levels obscures inequalities within countries – ‘if we could isolate data on, for example, northern Italy or the north of France (including Paris), these regions rank much higher in output per capita’.</p><p>The growth of the book sector in Western Europe over the 1300 years studied by the authors is enormous. The most decisive development for the increased book production was the invention of the printing press. Buringh and Van Zanden note: “in the year 1550 alone, for example, some 3 million books were produced in Western Europe, more than the total number of manuscripts produced during the fourteenth century as a whole”.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-side-by-side">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/manuscript-production-century?country=BEL~Central+Europe~British+Isles~AUT~FRA~CHE~NLD~ITA~Iberia~DEU~Bohemia" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/manuscript-production-century?country=BEL~Central+Europe~British+Isles~AUT~FRA~CHE~NLD~ITA~Iberia~DEU~Bohemia" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/manuscript-production-century-a54078adc79de2f60dd09af36c89f16b_v10_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Manuscript production century a54078adc79de2f60dd09af36c89f16b v10 850x600"></div>
<div class="interactionNotice">
<span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="hand-pointer" class="svg-inline--fa fa-hand-pointer fa-w-14" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 617">
<path fill="currentColor" d="M448,344.59v96a40.36,40.36,0,0,1-1.06,9.16l-32,136A40,40,0,0,1,376,616.59H168a40,40,0,0,1-32.35-16.47l-128-176a40,40,0,0,1,64.7-47.06L104,420.58v-276a40,40,0,0,1,80,0v200h8v-40a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v40h8v-24a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v24h8a40,40,0,1,1,80,0Zm-256,80h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
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<span class="label">Click to open interactive version</span>
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<figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/production-printed-books-half-century?country=ESP~DEU~ITA~BEL~NLD~FRA~IRL~Great+Britain~CHE~SWE~RUS~POL~Other+countries" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/production-printed-books-half-century?country=ESP~DEU~ITA~BEL~NLD~FRA~IRL~Great+Britain~CHE~SWE~RUS~POL~Other+countries" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/production-printed-books-half-century-f42258295f443b03bca130f0c0fe677b_v6_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Production printed books half century f42258295f443b03bca130f0c0fe677b v6 850x600"></div>
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<span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="hand-pointer" class="svg-inline--fa fa-hand-pointer fa-w-14" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 617">
<path fill="currentColor" d="M448,344.59v96a40.36,40.36,0,0,1-1.06,9.16l-32,136A40,40,0,0,1,376,616.59H168a40,40,0,0,1-32.35-16.47l-128-176a40,40,0,0,1,64.7-47.06L104,420.58v-276a40,40,0,0,1,80,0v200h8v-40a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v40h8v-24a40,40,0,1,1,80,0v24h8a40,40,0,1,1,80,0Zm-256,80h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Zm88,0h-8v96h8Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
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</div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="books-printed-per-edition">Books printed per edition<a class="deep-link" href="#books-printed-per-edition"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>The rise of the actual number of books is even greater as Dittmar (2012) shows; the number of books printed per edition rose 1450-1600 as depicted in this figure.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><h6>Number of books printed per edition, 1450-1600 – Dittmar (2012)<a id="ref-2" class="ref" href="#note-2"><sup>2</sup></a></h6><div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" width="564" height="374" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/03/number-of-books-printed-per-edition-1450-1600-png.png" alt="Number-of-Books-printed-per-Edition-1450-1600.png" class="wp-image-572" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/03/number-of-books-printed-per-edition-1450-1600-png.png 564w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/03/number-of-books-printed-per-edition-1450-1600-png-300x198.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 564px) 100vw, 564px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/03/number-of-books-printed-per-edition-1450-1600-png.png"></figure></div></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="the-publication-of-unique-book-titles-over-the-long-run">The publication of unique book titles over the long-run<a class="deep-link" href="#the-publication-of-unique-book-titles-over-the-long-run"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>This visualization presents a long-run perspective up until the 21st century.</p><p>To make comparisons between countries more meaningful it expresses the number of books in relation to the size of the country’s population. Shown is the number of new book-titles per million inhabitants.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/book-titles-per-capita" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/book-titles-per-capita" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/book-titles-per-capita_v3_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Book titles per capita v3 850x600"></div>
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<path fill="currentColor" opacity="0.6" d="M239.76,234.78A27.5,27.5,0,0,1,217,192a87.76,87.76,0,1,0-145.9,0A27.5,27.5,0,1,1,25.37,222.6,142.17,142.17,0,0,1,1.24,143.17C1.24,64.45,65.28.41,144,.41s142.76,64,142.76,142.76a142.17,142.17,0,0,1-24.13,79.43A27.47,27.47,0,0,1,239.76,234.78Z" transform="translate(0 -0.41)"></path>
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</figure></div></div><h3 id="prices-of-books-productivity-in-book-production">Prices of books: productivity in book production<a class="deep-link" href="#prices-of-books-productivity-in-book-production"></a></h3><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>The increased demand of books was driven by a huge decrease in the price of books. The smaller price was possible by the increased efficiency in the production of books since the invention of the printing press around 1440. </p><p>Clark (2008) measures the subsequent productivity increase as the ratio between the wage of building craftsmen and the price of a book and finds a 20-fold increase in productivity in the first 200 years after the invention, as shown in this graph.</p><p>Productivity is measured as the ratio between the wage of building craftsmen and the price of a book of standard characteristics. Clark notes that “with both hand production and the printing press the main cost in book production was labor (paper and parchment production costs were mainly labor costs).”</p><p>Clark (2008) notes that copyists before the time of the printing press were able to copy 3,000 words of plain text per day. This implies that the production of one copy of the Bible meant 136 days of work. Eisenstein<a id="ref-3" class="ref" href="#note-3"><sup>3</sup></a> is able to compare the price of paying a scribe to duplicating a translation of Plato’s Dialogues with the price for duplicating the same work by the Ripoli printing press in Florence in 1483. For three florins the Ripoli Press produced 1,025 copies whereas the scribe would produce one copy for one florin. This implies that the cost per book decreased 341 times with the introduction of the printing press.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><h6>Productivity in book production in England, 1470s–1860s – Clark (2008)<a id="ref-4" class="ref" href="#note-4"><sup>4</sup></a></h6><div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" width="462" height="281" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/1_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___roduction_in_england__1470s___1860s_-_clark-png.png" alt="1_Users_maxroser_Documents_Progress_LyX_Books_P___roduction_in_England__1470s___1860s_-_Clark.png" class="wp-image-9" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/1_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___roduction_in_england__1470s___1860s_-_clark-png.png 462w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/1_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___roduction_in_england__1470s___1860s_-_clark-png-300x182.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/1_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___roduction_in_england__1470s___1860s_-_clark-png.png"></figure></div></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="book-prices-in-the-netherlands">Book prices in the Netherlands<a class="deep-link" href="#book-prices-in-the-netherlands"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>A long run perspective of the real price of books in the Netherlands between 1460 and 1800 is depicted in this figure.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><h6>Estimates of the real price of Dutch books, 1460-1800 (1460/74 = 100) – van Zanden (2009)<a id="ref-5" class="ref" href="#note-5"><sup>5</sup></a></h6><div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" width="882" height="592" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/2_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___f_dutch_books__1460___1800___1460_74__100_-png.png" alt="2_Users_maxroser_Documents_Progress_LyX_Books_P___f_Dutch_books__1460___1800___1460_74__100_.png" class="wp-image-10" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/2_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___f_dutch_books__1460___1800___1460_74__100_-png.png 882w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/2_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___f_dutch_books__1460___1800___1460_74__100_-png-300x201.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 882px) 100vw, 882px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/2_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___f_dutch_books__1460___1800___1460_74__100_-png.png"></figure></div></div></div><h3 id="increasing-variation-of-genres">Increasing variation of genres<a class="deep-link" href="#increasing-variation-of-genres"></a></h3><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>Another fundamental change in the book market after the invention of the book press was a very strong increase in the variety of printed books available to the readers. Dittmar (2012) measures the subject content by employing techniques from machine learning to identify the topics of books in his sample of English books between the late 1400s and 1700. He can thereby identify a specified number of topics in his sample and track the changes in variety over time. He depicts the increased consumer choice by calculating the Herfindahl index of topic concentration – this is reprinted in Panel A of the figure. </p><p>Panel B shows how the number of effective variety of consumer choices grew sharply after 1500. The increasing variety represents the end of the dominating role of theological texts – Dittmar (2012) notes that ‘almost all books were on religious topics in the late 1400s’.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><h6>Topic concentration and effective consumer variety of books, before 1700 – Dittmar (2012)<a id="ref-6" class="ref" href="#note-6"><sup>6</sup></a></h6><div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" width="589" height="360" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/03/topic-concentration-and-effective-consumer-variety-of-books-png.png" alt="Topic-concentration-and-effective-consumer-Variety-of-Books.png" class="wp-image-569" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/03/topic-concentration-and-effective-consumer-variety-of-books-png.png 589w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/03/topic-concentration-and-effective-consumer-variety-of-books-png-300x183.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 589px) 100vw, 589px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/03/topic-concentration-and-effective-consumer-variety-of-books-png.png"></figure></div></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="london-s-book-market-in-1700">London’s book market in 1700<a class="deep-link" href="#london-s-book-market-in-1700"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>The pie chart gives an overview of the variety of book topics in London’s book market in 1700. Looking at the variety of books at that time – the end of Dittmar’s sample – makes one realize how dominant theological texts were before. The data source for this figure is the English Short Title Catalog or ESTC which is also one of the two sources of Dittmar.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><h6>London’s book market, 1700 – Wikipedia<a id="ref-7" class="ref" href="#note-7"><sup>7</sup></a></h6><div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" width="582" height="599" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/4_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___ion__london_s_book_market_1700_-_wikipedia-png.png" alt="4_Users_maxroser_Documents_Progress_LyX_Books_P___ion__London_s_book_market_1700_-_Wikipedia.png" class="wp-image-12" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/4_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___ion__london_s_book_market_1700_-_wikipedia-png.png 582w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/4_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___ion__london_s_book_market_1700_-_wikipedia-png-291x300.png 291w" sizes="(max-width: 582px) 100vw, 582px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/4_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p___ion__london_s_book_market_1700_-_wikipedia-png.png"></figure></div></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><h4 id="the-rise-of-fiction-literature">The rise of fiction literature<a class="deep-link" href="#the-rise-of-fiction-literature"></a></h4></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>A subsequent change in the variety of topics was the rise of fiction literature. This marked change between the 17th and the 18th century is depicted here.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><h6>Statistic of titles the English Short Title Catalogue categorised as “fiction”, 1600-1799 – Wikipedia<a id="ref-8" class="ref" href="#note-8"><sup>8</sup></a></h6><div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" width="687" height="645" src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/5_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p_____fiction___1600-1799_-_wikipedia__simons_-png.png" alt="5_Users_maxroser_Documents_Progress_LyX_Books_P_____fiction___1600-1799_-_Wikipedia__Simons_.png" class="wp-image-13" srcset="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/5_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p_____fiction___1600-1799_-_wikipedia__simons_-png.png 687w, https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/5_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p_____fiction___1600-1799_-_wikipedia__simons_-png-300x281.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 687px) 100vw, 687px" data-high-res-src="https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2013/01/5_users_maxroser_documents_progress_lyx_books_p_____fiction___1600-1799_-_wikipedia__simons_-png.png"></figure></div></div></div><h3 id="consumption-of-books">Consumption of Books<a class="deep-link" href="#consumption-of-books"></a></h3><div class="wp-block-columns is-style-sticky-right"><div class="wp-block-column"><p>The declining price of books and the increasing literacy led to an increase in the consumption of books, as can be seen in this visualization.</p></div><div class="wp-block-column"><figure data-grapher-src="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-per-capita-consumption-books?country=ITA~NLD~BEL~FRA~DEU~Great+Britain~IRL~CHE~Western+Europe~SWE~ESP~RUS~POL~Other+countries" class="grapherPreview">
<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-per-capita-consumption-books?country=ITA~NLD~BEL~FRA~DEU~Great+Britain~IRL~CHE~Western+Europe~SWE~ESP~RUS~POL~Other+countries" target="_blank">
<div><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/exports/annual-per-capita-consumption-books-afa50d75c8911ade3c36ad8cd6a62265_v6_850x600.svg" width="850" height="600" loading="lazy" data-no-lightbox="" alt="Annual per capita consumption books afa50d75c8911ade3c36ad8cd6a62265 v6 850x600"></div>
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</div><footer class="article-footer"><div class="wp-block-columns"><div class="wp-block-column"><h3 id="endnotes">Endnotes</h3><ol class="endnotes"><li id="note-1"><p>Eltjo Buringh and Jan Luiten Van Zanden (2009) – Charting the “Rise of the West”: Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, a Long-Term Perspective from the Sixth through Eighteenth Centuries. In The Journal of Economic History The Journal of Economic History Vol. 69, No. 2 (Jun., 2009), pp. 409-445. Online <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40263962?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">here</a>.</p></li><li id="note-2"><p>This graph is taken from Dittmar (2012) – “The Welfare Impact of a New Good: The Printed Book” (2012).</p></li><li id="note-3"><p>Eisenstein (1980) – The Printing Press as an Agent of Change (Cambridge University Press, 1980).</p></li><li id="note-4"><p>This Figure is taken from Clark (2008) – A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World (Princeton University Press, 2008). Productivity is indexed to 1 for the 1470s.</p></li><li id="note-5"><p>This data is from van Zanden (2009) – The Long Road to the Industrial Revolution: The European economy in a global perspective, 1000-18001st Ed. (Brill, 2009).</p></li><li id="note-6"><p>This figure is taken from Dittmar (2012).</p></li><li id="note-7"><p>This figure is from <a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:1700_London%27s_Book_Market_according_to_Term_Catalogues.png&filetimestamp=20100112123525">Wikipedia</a>.</p></li><li id="note-8"><p>This figure is taken from <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:1600-1799-estc-fiction.png">Wikipedia</a>.</p></li></ol><h3 id="licence">Reuse our work freely</h3><p>All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Creative Commons BY license</a>. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.</p><p>The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution.</p><p>All of <a href="/how-to-use-our-world-in-data#how-to-embed-interactive-charts-in-your-article">our charts can be embedded</a> in any site.</p><h3 id="citation">Citation</h3><p>Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this entry, please also cite the underlying data sources. This entry can be cited as:</p><pre class="citation">Max Roser (2013) - "Books". <em>Published online at OurWorldInData.org.</em> Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/books' [Online Resource]</pre><p>BibTeX citation</p><pre class="citation">@article{owidbooks,
author = {Max Roser},
title = {Books},
journal = {Our World in Data},
year = {2013},
note = {https://ourworldindata.org/books}
}</pre></div><div class="wp-block-column"></div></div></footer></div></div></div></article></main><div id="wpadminbar" style="display:none"><div class="quicklinks" id="wp-toolbar" role="navigation" aria-label="Toolbar"><ul id="wp-admin-bar-root-default" class="ab-top-menu"><li id="wp-admin-bar-site-name" class="menupop"><a class="ab-item" aria-haspopup="true" href="https://owid.cloud/wp/wp-admin">Wordpress</a></li> <li id="wp-admin-bar-edit"><a class="ab-item" href="https://owid.cloud/wp/wp-admin/post.php?post=573&action=edit">Edit Page</a></li></ul></div></div><section class="donate-footer"><div class="wrapper"><div class="owid-row flex-align-center"><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-3 owid-padding-bottom--sm-3"><p>Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone.</p><p>Help us do this work by making a donation.</p></div><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><a href="/donate" class="owid-button donate-button" data-track-note="donate-footer"><span class="label">Donate now</span><span class="icon"><svg aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" data-prefix="fas" data-icon="angle-right" class="svg-inline--fa fa-angle-right " role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 256 512"><path fill="currentColor" d="M64 448c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L178.8 256L41.38 118.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C80.38 444.9 72.19 448 64 448z"></path></svg></span></a></div></div></div></section><footer class="site-footer"><div class="wrapper"><div class="owid-row"><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><ul><li><a href="/about" data-track-note="footer-navigation">About</a></li><li><a href="/about#contact" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Contact</a></li><li><a href="/feedback" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Feedback</a></li><li><a href="/jobs" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Jobs</a></li><li><a href="/funding" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Funding</a></li><li><a href="/about/how-to-use-our-world-in-data" data-track-note="footer-navigation">How to use</a></li><li><a href="/donate" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Donate</a></li><li><a href="/privacy-policy" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Privacy policy</a></li></ul></div><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><ul><li><a href="/blog" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Latest work</a></li><li><a href="/charts" data-track-note="footer-navigation">All charts</a></li></ul><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/OurWorldInData" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/OurWorldinData" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Facebook</a></li><li><a href="https://instagram.com/ourworldindata_official" data-track-note="footer-navigation">Instagram</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/owid" data-track-note="footer-navigation">GitHub</a></li><li><a href="/feed" data-track-note="footer-navigation">RSS Feed</a></li></ul></div><div class="owid-col owid-col--lg-1"><div class="logos"><a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/global-development" class="partner-logo" data-track-note="footer-navigation"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/oms-logo.svg" alt="Oxford Martin School logo" loading="lazy"/></a><a href="/owid-at-ycombinator" class="partner-logo" data-track-note="footer-navigation"><img src="https://ourworldindata.org/yc-logo.png" alt="Y Combinator logo" loading="lazy"/></a></div></div><div class="owid-col flex-2"><div class="legal"><p>Licenses: All visualizations, data, and articles produced by Our World in Data are open access under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Creative Commons BY license</a>. 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runTableOfContents({"headings":[{"text":"Notice: This is only a preliminary collection of relevant material","slug":"notice-this-is-only-a-preliminary-collection-of-relevant-material","isSubheading":true},{"text":"Production of manuscripts and books from 500 to 1800","slug":"production-of-manuscripts-and-books-from-500-to-1800","isSubheading":true},{"text":"Prices of books: productivity in book production","slug":"prices-of-books-productivity-in-book-production","isSubheading":true},{"text":"Increasing variation of genres","slug":"increasing-variation-of-genres","isSubheading":true},{"text":"Consumption of Books","slug":"consumption-of-books","isSubheading":true}],"pageTitle":"Books"})
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