Piracy, Plagiarism, and Shifting Meanings. The Case of the Publication of Hore di ricreatione by Lodovico Guicciardini

Abstract

This paper focuses on the little-known case of editorial piracy committed by the printer and polygraph Francesco Sansovino (1521–1586) to the detriment of Lodovico Guicciardini (1521–1589), nephew of the more famous Francesco, who had settled in Antwerp. As the numerous editions and reprints testify, the Hore di ricreatione enjoyed remarkable success throughout Europe. On the contrary, the initial editorial piracy of which it was the object remained an almost private matter. The study of the proemial parts of the work allows us to clearly observe the differences between the author’s intentions and those of the Venetian printer. If the former was driven by the pursuit of fame and by his cultural background, the latter was driven by the market and the preferences of his readers. Exploring the different meaning they attached to the text highlights the often conflicting dynamics between author and printer in the Renaissance, and also offers a glimpse into the world of sixteenth-century printing from a particular perspective.