Czech Chapbooks (kramářské tisky) – an Attempt at Their Definition and Typology
| Pages | 43–57 |
|---|---|
| DOI | 10.37520/amnpsc.2021.016 |
| Keywords | kramářské tisky – chapbooks – cheap prints – popular prints – early modern literature – literature of the 19th century |
| Type of Article | Peer-reviewed |
| Citation | IVÁNEK, Jakub. Czech Chapbooks (kramářské tisky) – an Attempt at Their Definition and Typology. Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae – Historia litterarum. Prague: National Museum, 2021, 66(3-4), 43–57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37520/amnpsc.2021.016. ISSN 2570-6861 (Print), 2570-687X (Online). Also available from: https://publikace.nm.cz/en/periodicals/acta-musei-nationalis-pragae-historia-litterarum/66-3-4/czech-chapbooks-kramarske-tisky-an-attempt-at-their-definition-and-typology |
The paper focuses on the issue of a relatively wide range of kramářské tisky – the medium of Czech popular literature of the Early Modern period and the 19th century. They mostly contained kramářské písně (Czech equivalent for broadside ballads), which are currently in the spotlight of Czech research interest. Kramářský tisk can also be defined by means of equivalents in other languages. The English term chapbooks, for example, may be helpful in emphasising the commercial focus of this literature (kramářské tisky could be literally translated as ‘chapman prints’). Although the English term cannot be clearly defined either, researchers generally come to an agreement that it is a publication of booklet character, of smaller extent as well as format (usually octavo or smaller, made of no more than three sheets of paper or having up to 99 pages). It was distributed by tradesmen at fairs, by colportage or soliciting. It was cheap (both in terms of production and price) and it brought what the broad spectrum of readers in towns and later in the countryside demanded – popular reading in the true sense of the word. It is complicated to include popular histories (knížky lidového čtení) in the comparison – they fit most of the features above, but they were made by folding and joining more sheets of paper and greatly exceed the imaginary limit of 99 pages. Therefore, this paper also deals with boundary media, which surpass the defined extent but principally are still chapman goods (i.e. small-format books of various lengths distributed at fairs and by soliciting). The text of the study draws attention to the appearance and development of certain types of kramářské tisky of both religious and secular content. For a better illustration, many of these types are mediated by an image.
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