Paper Networks and the Book Industry. The Business Activities of an Eighteenth-century Paper Dealer in Amsterdam

Abstract

This chapter aims to reposition paper as a commodity in the historiography of early modern book production by focusing on the markets for paper. This is done by means of a case study of an eighteenth-century paper dealer active in Amsterdam, the hub of the European paper trade. By examining the material flow of paper in and out of Amsterdam and through the city itself, it becomes clear that paper kept the whole ‘business of books’ running. Paper dealers were crucial figures within book production networks, performing pivotal functions such as providing access to supply chains. They also functioned in some unexpected ways, such as organizing the industry’s recycling processes of waste paper. It is argued here that these paper networks contributed to the formation of interconnected markets and constituted a significant component of the early modern book industry.