Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: June 28, 2021 at 11:08:50 AM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-LatAm]: Zeltsman on Godoi, 'Francisco de Paula > Brito: A Black Publisher in Imperial Brazil' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Rodrigo Camargo de Godoi. Francisco de Paula Brito: A Black > Publisher in Imperial Brazil. Translated by H. Sabrina Gledhill. > Nashville Vanderbilt University Press, 2020. 398 pp. $39.95 > (paper), ISBN 978-0-8265-0016-8; $99.95 (cloth), ISBN > 978-0-8265-0017-5. > > Reviewed by Corinna Zeltsman (Georgia Southern University) > Published on H-LatAm (June, 2021) > Commissioned by Casey M. Lurtz > > When the literary luminary Machado de Assis described Francisco de > Paula Brito (1809-61) as Brazil's "first publisher worthy of the > name" in an 1865 essay, he secured a place for Paula Brito in the > canon of Brazilian literary history. In a new English translation of > his richly detailed 2016 biography, Rodrigo Camargo de Godoi > interrogates Machado de Assis's statement. Based on impressive > research in archival and published sources, the biography > reconstructs Paula Brito's career in twenty chapters organized into > four parts that proceed chronologically. The book's original title, > _Um editor no império_, gives pride of place to the subject's > professional identity, signaling the work's focus on the history of > publishing. Each of the book's chapters, however, uses Paula Brito's > trajectory to illuminate the history of political culture, business, > the social world of literary production, and race in > nineteenth-century Brazil. Far from a passive conduit who facilitated > printed texts, Godoi argues, Paula Brito acted as "a kind of catalyst > in the cultural and literary scene of the capital of Imperial Brazil" > (p. 3). > > The book offers a major contribution to the scholarship on book > history, bringing the case of Brazil, often dismissed as a latecomer > to the world of print, into conversation with a broader > historiography. This historiography identifies the first half of the > nineteenth century as the period when publishers first emerged as > specialized cultural entrepreneurs who controlled literary markets, > distinct from printers. While this process has been well studied in > major publishing centers like New York, London, and Paris, Godoi > argues for including imperial Rio de Janeiro in the story. By doing > so, he sheds light on the international hierarchies that shaped > publishing. Brazilian publishers like Paula Brito had to compete with > French publishers, whose books flooded Brazilian markets and undercut > local production. At the same time, Godoi emphasizes the need to > understand Rio de Janeiro's unique political economy of print. In a > context defined by the omnipresence of slavery, the Brazilian > publishing trades "profited not only from slavery but also from the > alliances established with the slave-owning elite" (p. 6). > > One of the work's strengths is the multidimensionality of its > biographical approach: we see publishing immersed in its social, > political, economic, and legal contexts. Unable to secure a coveted > job as a civil servant, a young Paula Brito capitalized on his > literacy, printing skills, and personal connections to establish his > own publishing/bookselling business. His experiences growing up among > Rio de Janeiro's community of literate _pardo _ (free people of > African descent) artisans and the flurry of printing that accompanied > Brazilian independence likely shaped his decision to enter the trade. > As a printer, he participated in the tumultuous political scene of > the 1830s, taking commissions from a variety of factions. In charting > Paula Brito's origins and early career, Godoi establishes several > major themes that reappear throughout the book: the diversification > required to sustain a publishing business in imperial Brazil, the > importance of political patronage to printers' bottom lines, the > challenges of navigating warring factions and tetchy government > officials, and the tactics printers employed to defend themselves in > the public sphere. Paula Brito renamed his business as the Tipografia > Imparcial de Brito as a defensive mechanism, for example, even as he > gradually shifted toward alliances with conservatives over the 1840s. > > Another strength is the way the book shows how the business of > publishing and slavery were closely intertwined in imperial Brazil. > Access to enslaved labor helped Paula Brito sustain his press and > raise his social standing. An enslaved woman labored in his > household. Enslaved men may have worked in his printing shop, and > Paula Brito oversaw a number of effectively enslaved Africans who had > been confiscated by the government after it officially prohibited the > transatlantic slave trade. He also attempted to capture investment > capital from merchants and the slave-owning elite to finance what > proved to be a disastrous expansion of his publishing business in the > 1850s. Book historical studies often highlight the under-recognized > labor of production. This work, however, urges us to also consider > the micro-level contexts of domestic exploitation and the macro-level > forces of racial capitalism that facilitated the publishing business. > Through the complex figure of Paula Brito, furthermore, the author > reveals how publishing both opened up avenues for social ascent and > reinscribed power hierarchies resulting from slavery. > > The book also illuminates Rio de Janeiro's cultural, literary, and > political scene through Paula Brito's multifaceted activities. A poet > himself, the publisher became a booster of national literature, > cultivating young talent like celebrated _pardo _novelist Antonio > Gonçalves Teixeira e Sousa as one aspect of his business model. He > was also an organizer of literary social life, having founded the > Petalogical Society, an informal club dedicated to studying _petas > _(fabrications, like lies and jokes), where renowned writers rubbed > elbows with politicians and professionals. Paula Brito participated > in politics as both a newspaper publisher and a member of the > exclusive group of "active citizens" with voting rights. As a citizen > of African descent, he also navigated what Godoi describes as the > "instrumentalization of race in political discourse" (p. 129). > Liberal opponents attempted to discredit Paula Brito by accusing him > of abusing people of color (both enslaved and free), while supporters > took to the press after an exclusive social club rejected him on > racial grounds. One episode explored in the book provides insight > into how Paula Brito navigated the politics of race: he contested > racial labels, arguing that notable free men of color deserved > recognition for their actions with statements like, "It is Not Color > that Makes a Hero but His Deeds!" (p. 132). > > I appreciated the book's detailed reconstruction of Brazil's > publishing trades and social historical approach to biography. As > someone not familiar with prior scholarship on Paula Brito, however, > I found myself wanting to learn more about one underexplored facet of > his identity: his role as an author. How, I wonder, did Paula Brito's > access to writing and the press shape his ability to define a public > persona on his own terms? Given that print world actors like Paula > Brito juggled multiple identities, exploring his writing activities > in greater depth may also have shed additional light on his role as a > publisher. My other criticism is that while Godoi successfully > engages the historiography on European publishing, the book might > have benefited from also conversing with literature about print > culture produced by individuals and communities of African descent in > the Americas (or around the Atlantic World) during the nineteenth > century. > > This study opens questions about publishing history that deserve > attention from the field of book history. Indeed, Brazil's publishing > history might productively be used to rethink narratives about > nineteenth-century publishing more broadly. As Godoi convincingly > shows, you cannot understand Brazilian publishing without considering > its relationship to France. Should future scholars also reconsider > French publishing history in light of Brazil? > > _Francisco De Paula Brito: A Black Publisher in Imperial Brazil_ > should be read by historians and literary scholars of Brazil and > nineteenth-century Latin America, especially those interested in > political culture, business history, and the history of publishing, > bookselling, and the press. While written for an audience with some > knowledge of Brazilian history, the book's deep dive into Rio de > Janeiro's worlds of print will also interest specialists of book > history and the press who study diverse global contexts. I am > delighted that Vanderbilt University Press, a noted publisher of > several excellent recent studies on Latin American print culture, > supported the translation of this work, which should stimulate > discussion among English-language readers. > > Citation: Corinna Zeltsman. Review of Godoi, Rodrigo Camargo de, > _Francisco de Paula Brito: A Black Publisher in Imperial Brazil_. > H-LatAm, H-Net Reviews. June, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=56359 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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