Yearbook of Bibliology and Press Studies

Summary

Documents of social life are most often used in surveys on published repertoire of the XViii
century.Based on copies of the press and library inventory efforts could be made to identify the cir-
cle of readership interest constituted on one side by readers’ tastes and on the other side by the con-
scious publishers acts. A special position among the surveyed publications is held by, with printers
proclamation,subscriptions, signifying a specific tendency manifested in the market: the demand for
certain types of writing and at the same time bearing in mind the threat of a financial fiasco that would
be prevented by the advance payment from subscribers.Various belles-lettres, from moralizing tales to
the master piece of classical literature appeared quite often in press-releases as well as in book collec-
tions of the XViii century.it performed different functions: it indicated upright moral standards, broadened knowledge, enraptured connoisseurs and amused a wide spectrum of readers.it served diverse
social and professional groups and definitely constituted an essential part of publication repertoire of
this period.