Johns 1998

Johns, Adrian. The Nature of the Book. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Piracy and Usurpation: Natural Philosophy in the Restoration

Athenian Society -- "it existed only in print, but appeared more real than the real thing" (457)

can "avoid the troubles presented by print" by "vest[ing] faith in manuscript circulation" (458)

"One had to publish in order to avoid unauthorized revelation, yet publishing immediately entailed submission to the Stationers' culture." (459)

"claims of piracy were seldom just claims of piracy. There was always some accompanying allegation of textual corruption, misrepresentation or illicit appropriation." (460)

"the very doubt generated by charges of unauthorized publication created an opportunity for increased influence" (460)

in experimental natural philosophy, though charges of piracy were charges of transgression; often took the form of accusations of plagiarism (460)

most common term: no tpiracy or plagiary but "usurpation" (461)

"The prevalence of piracy and usurpation meant that whether printed professions could be trusted must always be contestable." (462)

natural philosophers created new genres of writing: the experimental paper, the philosophical journal, the book review, the editor, the experimental author (464) -- "much more than merely rhetorical concepts. They need to be appreciated in terms of practical responses to problems permeating the very character and use of printed reports" (465)

"The royal Society, like Isaac Newton's Trinitarians, could be seen as an authoritative center for natural knowledge because it mastered the use of the press." (465) -- RS had to work to create vision of neutral, ordered print culture (466)

Royal Society: gentility, witnessing, experiments, collectivity, openness, willingness to communicate

• "Unlike that of previously dominant institutions (such as the Stationers' court), the conduct of the virtuosi in dealing with written materials would be guaranteed by recognized conventiosn of civility, openly observed." (476)

modeled its work on the Stationers' Company; "embodied tis propriety in a book called a 'register', in which a matter of fact, experimental technique, theory, or paper could be 'entered' to record the name of its discoverer and the moment of its first discovery" (476)

patronage; presentation copies (482)

"perusal": "one or more selected fellows would 'peruse' the book, abstract or translate it, and report back to a subsequent meeting" (483); not everyone read all books, but trusted the judgment of the perusers

registration; after perusal, the Society might formally record its contribution in its register; observations, theories, books could be registered

Henry Oldenburg, acting as publisher; Philosophical Transactions (497-9)

Robert Boyle; work and notes routinely stolen; scrupulousness in keeping records for "virtual witnessing" made him susceptible to piracy (506)