Genres and Works in 17th Century Hungarian Book Publishing (1601–1655)

This monograph by János Heltai undertakes the systematization of books published between 1601-1655 in Hungary or abroad but partly or entirely related to Hungary. Consequently, its source group is the volumes of the retrospective bibliography Old Hungarian Prints. As Heltai explains it in his foreword, he aimed at publishing the data collected by Old Hungarian Prints in a well-readable form with focus on their topic, contents and genre.

The description standard used by Old Hungarian Prints is deservedly regarded unique in Europe by the experts, as apart from precise bibliographic specifications, it also offers genre classification, resume of contents, relations between the items, and literature lists. Researchers find help also in the ten types of indexes added to each volume that indicate possible viewpoints of organization, and depending on the researcher’s approach, can enable different methods of exploration. The basis of Heltai’s present work is the index of Old Hungarian Prints upon which he built a functional and useful system of genres that in his view may include the 90 % of the prints published in that period. As a result of the structural analysis and systematization of the author, we have before us the entire publication structure of the 17^th century that characterizes the basic circumstances of the contemporaneous cultural life, and allows us to draw general conclusions.

Heltai’s descriptive method does not aim at evaluating or elaborating. Its sole purpose is to establish a system that enables researchers to get an overall view of the entire sum of prints published in a certain period. This makes it a useful help for researchers and a source that offers several points of view regarding the overall characterization of a group that can be further analyzed according to the various interests of social sciences.