Dominion and Agency : : Copyright and the Structuring of the Canadian Book Trade, 1867-1918 / / Eli MacLaren.

• VerfasserIn: MacLaren, Eli,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2017]; ©2011
• Year of Publication: 2017
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (224 p.)

The 1867 Canadian confederation brought with it expectations of a national literature, which a rising class of local printers hoped to supply. Reforming copyright law in the imperial context proved impossible, and Canada became a prime market for foreign publishers instead. The subsequent development of the agency system of exclusive publisher-importers became a defining feature of Canadian trade publishing for most of the twentieth century.In Dominion and Agency, Eli MacLaren analyses the struggle for copyright reform and the creation of a national literature using previously ignored archival sources such as the Board of Trade Papers at the National Archives of the United Kingdom. A groundbreaking study, Dominion and Agency is an important exploration of the legal and economic structures that were instrumental in the formation of today's Canadian literary culture.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Conceiving the 1875 Act, 1868-72: The Principles of Copyright -- 2. Achieving the 1875 Act, 1872-5: The London Publishers Prevail -- 3. Clarifying the 1875 Act, 1876-7: The Stunting of Belford Brothers -- 4. Living with the 1875 Act: William Briggs, Printer, Binder, and Distributor -- 5. The 1900 Amendment, the Agency System, and the Macmillan Company of Canada -- 6. The North American Copyright Divide: Black Rock and the Magnification of 'Ralph Connor' -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index