Main Directions of Historical Book Studies in Foreign Socio-Humanitarian Knowledge in the 20th Century

This article examines the emergence and development of book history within the Western (primarily European and North American) academic landscape of the 20^th century. The study aims to trace the key stages in the formation of book history as an interdisciplinary field, identifying major scholars and their research directions. The author explores the transition from early bibliographic studies to the establishment of an independent discipline that investigates social, economic, and cultural dimensions of text production, dissemination, and reception. The relevance of this research is driven by the growing interest in interdisciplinary approaches within the social and human sciences, which allow the consideration of the book not only as a text but also as a cultural artifact. Special attention is given to the contributions of key figures such as Lucien Febvre, Henri-Jean Martin, Donald Francis McKenzie, Roger Chartier, and Robert Darnton, whose ideas significantly influenced the development of interdisciplinary methods for analyzing the book as a unique cultural phenomenon. The study also examines fundamental theoretical models that explain the “life cycle” of the book—from its creation and publication to its reception and preservation. A distinct focus is placed on the emergence of book history research centers and scholarly societies, which played a crucial role in the institutionalization of this field in the 1980s and 1990s. The practical significance of this work lies in its potential application to educational programs in book history, cultural studies, and library science, as well as in the refinement of theoretical and methodological approaches for further research in the study of book culture.

1. Bereznyakov DV and Kozlov SV (2023) Rediscovering classic: Robert Darnton’s communications circuit. Nauchnye i tekhnicheskie biblioteki 11: 121-140. (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.33186/1027-3689-2023-11-121-140

2. Cavallo G and Chartier R (eds) (2008) A history of reading in the West from Antiquity to the present day. Moscow: FAIR. (In Russ.).

3. Cavallo G and Chartier R (2008) Introduction. Istoriya chteniya v zapadnom mire ot Antichnosti do nashikh dnei. Moscow, pp. 9-52. (In Russ.).

4. Kozlov SV (2024) Print culture: major approaches in history of the book and media studies. Vestnik SanktPeterburgskogo gosudarstvennogo instituta kul’tury 3: 126-131. (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.30725/2619-0303-2024-3-126-131

5. Kozlov SV and Lizunova IV (2024) On the medialogical understanding of the concept “book culture”. Bibliosfera 1: 65-75. (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.20913/1815-3186-2024-1-65-75

6. Mutyev VA (2023) Book studies and history of the book: modern research approaches: a study guide. Saint Petersburg: SPbGIK. (In Russ.).

7. Ovsyannikova LA (2024) “The coming of the book” by L. Febvre and H.-J. Martin: the French book history school in the 20th early 21st centuries. Kniga. Chtenie. Mediasreda 2 (1): 27-39. (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.20913/BRM-2-1-3

8. Reitblat AI (1991) From Bova to Balmont. Essays on the history of reading in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Moscow: MPI. (In Russ.).

9. Elyashevich DA and Mutyev VA (2021) New book studies: a look into the future. Bibliosfera 1: 43-53. (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.20913/1815-3186-2021-1-43-53

10. Adams TR and Barker N (1993) A new model for the study of the book. A potencie of life: books in society: the Clark lectures, 1986-1987. London, pp. 5-43.

11. Bell DA (2005) The bookless future. The New Republic: [magazine website]. May 2. URL: https://newrepublic.com/article/73462/the-bookless-future (accessed 24.05.2025).

12. Bowers F (1949) Principles of bibliographical description. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press.

13. Chartier R (2007) Henri-Jean Martin ou l’invention d’une discipline. Bibliotheque de I’ecole des chartes 165 (2): 313-328. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/bec.2007.463537

14. Darnton R (1982) What is the history of books? Daedalus 111 (3): 65-83.

15. Darnton R (1986) First steps toward a history of reading. Australian Journal of French Studies 23 (1): 5-30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/ajfs.1986.2

16. Darnton R (2003) The heresies of bibliography. The New York Review of Books 50 (9). URL: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2003/05/29/the-heresies-of-bibliography (accessed 24.05.2025).

17. Darnton R (2007) “What is the history of books?” revisited. Modern Intellectual History 4 (3): 495-508. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1479244307001370

18. Duguid P (1996) Material matters: aspects of the past and futurology of the book. The future of the book. Berkeley, pp. 63-102.

19. Eisenstein Е. The printing press as an agent of change: communications and cultural transformations in early modern Europe: in 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1979.

20. Egger Е (1880) Histoire du livre depuis ses origines jusqu’a nos jours. Paris: J. Hetzel et cie.

21. Febvre L and Martin H-J (1958) L’apparition du livre. Paris: Albin Michel.

22. Febvre L and Martin H-J (1976) The coming of the book: the impact of printing, 1450-1800. London: NLB.

23. Finkelstein D and McCleery A (2005) An introduction to book history. New York, London: Routledge.

24. Greg WW (1914) What is bibliography? Transactions of the Bibliographical Society 12: 39-53.

25. McGann J (1991) The textual condition. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press.

26. McKenzie DF (1969) Printers of the mind: some notes on ibliographical theories and printing-house practices. Studies in Bibliography 22: 1-75.

27. McKenzie DF (1981) Typography and meaning: the case of William Congreve. Hamburg: Ernst Hauswedell.

28. McKenzie DF (1999) Bibliography and the sociology of texts. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

29. McKerrow RB (1927) An introduction to bibliography for literary students. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

30. McLuhan M (1962) The Gutenberg Galaxy: the making of typographic man. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.

31. Ong WJ (1982) Orality and literacy: the technologizing of the word. London, New York: Methuen & Co.

32. Raven J (2018) What is the history of the book? Cambridge: Polity Press.

33. Rose J (1992) Rereading the English common reader: a preface to a history of audiences. Journal of the History of Ideas 53 (1): 47-70.

34. Werdet E (1861) Histoire du livre en France depuis les temps les plus recules jusqu’en 1789. En 4 parties. Paris: E. Dentu. (1983-1986) Histoire de l’edition fran^aise. En 4 vols. Paris: Promodis.