Print-capitalism made Luther the first best-selling author by name
Evidence
But when in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his theses to the chapel-door in Wittenberg, they were printed up in German translation, and ‘within 15 days [had been] seen in every part of the country.’ In the two decades 1520–1540 three times as many books were published in German as in the period 1500–1520, an astonishing transformation to which Luther was absolutely central. His works represented no less than one third of all German-language books sold between 1518 and 1525. Between 1522 and 1546, a total of 430 editions (whole or partial) of his Biblical translations appeared. ‘We have here for the first time a truly mass readership and a popular literature within everybody’s reach.’ In effect, Luther became the first best-selling author so known. Or, to put it another way, the first writer who could ‘sell’ his new books on the basis of his name. — Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, 178
Categorization
- CANDY: Luther’s theses spreading Germany-wide within 15 days, and his biblical translations in 430 editions, is a vivid, shareable fact.
Related
- Luther exploited the printing press with short vernacular pamphlets (similarity 0.79)
- Print-capitalism enabled the Reformation to outspeed Rome’s communications (similarity 0.78)