Tauchnitz Edition and Related Paperback Series: English Literature in Your Pocket (2024)

The Tauchnitz Edition and Related Paperback Series: English Literature in Your Pocket unites a broad variety of interests and different perspectives concerning the legacy of the Tauchnitz Edition in particular and English language paperback series in general. It provides an international and interdisciplinary approach to the 'paperback revolution' as part of media culture throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The Bernhard Tauchnitz' Collection of British and American Authors, initiated in 1841, was not only a successful entrepreneurial endeavor but a milestone in the history of print culture as well. The Leipzig-based Tauchnitz publishers, renowned all over the world for their series of affordable pocket books in English, produced more than 5000 volumes within the course of over 100 years. Cultural and literary repercussions of this unique achievement have been far-reaching since the late 19th century. It pioneered a new way of mass-market publishing, innovative copyright arrangements and a close cooperation with many important English-language novelists of the day. Still in present times, the Tauchnitz Edition and its successors are stimulating both academic research in various fields and the enthusiasm of collectors and readers.