Abstract
Augusti discusses the emergence of Grêmio Literário Portuguese do Pará, a reading room established in 1867 in the city of Belém, the capital of Pará Province (Brazil). Focusing on the history of the institution, it discusses issues concerning its establishment, operation, and consolidation over the course of the nineteenth century. It also demonstrates that the institution acquired a significant part of its books thanks to the transatlantic trade with the Lisbon-based bookseller Antonio Maria Pereira, whose trade shipped books from Lisbon to Belém through British shipping companies and their steamboats. Finally, it demonstrates that the novel was one of the favourite genres of the reading public, which demonstrated a marked preference for French authors, published in ‘popular’ collections and sold at low prices.
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Notes
- 1.
SCHAPOCHNIK, Nelson. Os jardins das delícias: gabinetes literários, bibliotecas e figurações da leitura na corte imperial. PhD thesis, Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo, 1999, p. 21
- 2.
SCHAPOCHNIK, Os jardins das delícias, p. 31
- 3.
Grêmio Literário Português do Pará was a subscription library in terms of how books were accessed, that is, by paying a month fee in order to read them inside the establishment or taking them home. We will, however refer to it as “reading room” assuming this is a generally acknowledged term.
- 4.
BRITO, Eugênio Leitão de. História do Grêmio Literário e Recreativo Português. Belém, 1994, p. 20.
- 5.
BRITO, História do Grêmio Literário, p. 20.
- 6.
Ibidem, pp. 20–1.
- 7.
Almanach administrativo, mercantil e industrial para o ano bissexto de 1868. Belém, [1867?], p. 185.
- 8.
Ibidem, p. 187.
- 9.
“A pedidos” (upon request). Gremio Litterario Portuguez do Pará. Diário de Belém. Belém, 17 August 1869, p. 2.
- 10.
“A pedidos” (upon request). Diário de Belém. Belém, 17 August 1869, p. 2.
- 11.
According to the statutes of the library, Associate Members were required to be Portuguese citizens. To be admitted, they had to pay a fee of 20,000 réis at the time of admission, plus 1,000 réis every three months to use the library. Only they were entitled to apply for positions in the institution and to vote. An affiliate could be of any nationality and were required to pay an annual fee in the amount of 14,000 réis to use the library. Subscribers could also be of any nationality and paid 4,500 réis every three months. Estatuto do Gremio Litterario Portuguez do Pará. Para, 1867, pp. 6–7. “Noticias Diversas” (diverse news), in: Diário de Belém. Belém, 8 August 1869, p. 2.
- 12.
Noticias Diversas, in: Diário de Belém. Belém, 10 January 1871, p. 1. The calculations relating to the increased number of members of the institution at the time were only approximate, since the board of directors itself recognised it was an incomplete ‘map’ as “some names appeared there improperly”. The receipt book was implausible, for it contained the names of people who had never paid the required affiliation duties. This difficulty stemmed from the fact that the role of receiving payment and clearing the debts of the institution was the responsibility of the Librarian and not of the Second Secretary, in accordance with the statutes. Consequently, it was established that the partners whose monthly payments were due should be notified and if the situation remained unchanged they would be punished with exclusion from the board of associates, a measure which was actually taken from time to time.
- 13.
Unfortunately, the documents preserved by the institution, such as the minutes of meetings and monthly balance sheets (pertaining to a number of years of the library’s operation), do not reveal the total number of members, affiliated or subscribers, for the first half of 1869, making it impossible to assess the pace at which the works were read over that period. A similar difficulty is presented in the subsequent year, 1870, because even though the preserved data give the total number of volumes borrowed during that year and the total number of partners, there is no quantitative information on affiliated members or subscribers.
- 14.
“A Pedidos”, in: Diário de Belém, 10 January 1871, p. 1.
- 15.
Manuscripts of balance sheets for these years are in the custody of Grêmio. We had no access to the other years.
- 16.
Revenue derived from the presentation held at Teatro Providência was registered in the institution cashbook, according to the manuscript dated 4 April 1871. Pereys de Lajournade was a French illusionist who also performed in Chile, where he inaugurated the Teatro Alcázar Lírico. See MATURANA, Carmen Luz. “La Comedia de Magia y los efectos visuales de la era pre-cinematográfica en el siglo XIX en Chile”, in: Aisthesis 45 (2009). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-71812009000100006 (accessed on 14 February 2015).
- 17.
In the minutes of the meeting held by the board of directors of the reading room on 6 February 1895, the balance sheet was presented bearing income and expenses figures. The document shows there was a positive balance for January 1895: Rs. 4: 793,860 (four contos, seven hundred ninety three thousand réis, eight hundred and sixty), being Rs. 4: 500,000 (four contos and five hundred thousand réis) destined for the ‘reserve fund’ and 293,860 (two hundred ninety three thousand réis) assigned to the ‘available budget’. In short, at the end of the century the institution was able to save a significant portion of the income deriving from the payment of affiliation duties and subscriptions.
- 18.
Minutes with the records of the board of directors’ effective investiture, 24 February 1892. Despite the claim, which seems feasible, that this change in the opening hours meant an increase of 30 minutes compared to that in force by the time of the foundation of Grêmio.
- 19.
The available documents do not reveal when the first library assistant was hired. The first record of this issue can be found in the Minutes of the board of directors in 1893. It reads that the president of the institution stated that “the library assistant had asked him for a salary raise in face of the high cost of living.” Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 8 May 1893. On 10 February 1897, the admission of a new library assistant was back on the meeting agenda, and on 9 April the same year, the topic of the salary raise was discussed again. Up to the end of the century there are several other records of minutes containing discussions on hiring and paying a library assistant.
- 20.
Minutes of the meeting, board of directors from Grêmio Literário Português, 23 April 1895.
- 21.
At the time, this amount allowed someone to purchase two properties on Travessa da Glória in Belém, both with two bedrooms, kitchen, and porch. And there would still be a surplus of one conto de réis. The price paid for such a property was 2,500,000 (two contos and five hundred thousand réis) per unit. “Editaes”, in: Diário de Notícias, 23 May 1895, p. 2.
- 22.
Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 29 June 1895. Evidence points to a decision to conserve the coffers of the institution in the case of the donation of 60 shares of Banco do Pará in favour of the eldest son of Pinheiro Chagas, despite the fact that on 6 February 1895, the balance sheets showed that the capital of Rs. 60,251,818 in 1893 had been increased to Rs. 64,146,908 by the beginning of 1895, thus revealing a “positive balance of Rs. 3,895,090, notwithstanding the high cost, at Rs. 10,790,560, of the general expenses”, Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 6 February 1895.
- 23.
Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 28 August 1899.
- 24.
This amount corresponded to the payment of approximately 12 days of accommodation, including meals, at Hotel Orençano, situated on Estrada de Nazaré in Belém. The daily rate was 2,000,000 réis. Diário de Notícias, 21 February 1897, p. 2.
- 25.
Minutes of the meeting of the board of director, 11 September 1899. Many records emphasise the Grêmio’s interest in inviting renowned writers to become correspondent members of the institution. This was the case for Olavo Bilac, as it reads in the minutes of the meeting held on 12 April 1896, the date that Olavo Bilac’s letter in response, accepting the invitation, was read. Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 18 September 1896.
- 26.
According to Viala, patronage is inscribed within a logic of mutual recognition established between the artist and the patron. The sponsorship relationship, once established, validates the power and wealth of the patron who, in turn, to satisfy the artist, publicly recognises his talent. In this sense, says Viala, it is “an exchange of comments on each one’s glories”. VIALA, Alain. “Les ambivalences du clientélisme et du mecenat”, in: Naissaince de l’écrivain: sociology de la littérature à lâge classique. Paris, 1985, p. 55.
- 27.
Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 16 June 1867.
- 28.
Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 19 September 1898.
- 29.
Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 13 October 1899.
- 30.
Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 7 August 1890.
- 31.
The first statutes of the institution were approved on 27 October 1867.The new statute, approved during the board of directors’ meeting on 26 June 1900, was published on the Union Official Diary, on 21 June 1900, p. 136, and inserted into the Minutes of the board of directors on 16 August 1900.
- 32.
BRITO, História do Grêmio Literário, pp. 51–3.
- 33.
The Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors’ session on 29 August 1898 contains a sad note for the death of Antonio Maria Pereira. However, the minutes of 5 June 1899, refers to the reading of a letter about the partnership with Antonio Maria Pereira. In such letter, a confirmation of the commercial transactions related to the first semester of 1899 is requested. We presume, therefore, that in spite of the death of the bookseller, the commercial intercourse went on with his descendants.
- 34.
This amount represented 680$850 réis fortes, according to the correspondence referred to above. Out of this total, 96$880 for the first book invoice was discounted. The amount referred to the purchase of 137 volumes and added another $1,800 to cope with freight and shipping expenses and 960 réis for insurance, so that total amount spent in this first invoice was 101$070 réis. Excluding the amounts paid for shipping and insurance, we come to an average of 707 réis per volume. For a better idea of the prices of the volumes we set two examples with the novels As noites de Lamego by Camilo Castelo Branco, which cost 660 réis and Romance de uma senhora by Alexandre Dumas, printed and bound in two volumes at the cost of 1$400 réis.
- 35.
PEREIRA, Antonio Maria. Crônica de uma dinastia livreira. Lisbon, 1998, p. 15.
- 36.
Ibidem, p. 17.
- 37.
Ibidem, p. 20.
- 38.
Ibidem, pp. 25–30.
- 39.
CASTILHO, Antonio Feliciano de. Crítica Literária: carta ao editor Pereira. In: PAIS, Carlos Castilho. António Feliciano de Castilho, o tradutor e a teoria da tradução. São Paulo: Editora Quarteto, 2000, p. 155.
- 40.
CARDOSO, Francisco Antonio. [Letter] 28 August 1868. Lisbon [to] LEITE, Antonio José da Silva. Belém, p. 1. Explains having found a correspondent bookseller in Lisbon.
- 41.
PEREIRA, Antonio Maria. [Letter] 20 October 1868. Lisbon [to] LEITE, Antonio José da Silva. Belém, p. 3. Informs of the shipment of works on the vessel Jerôme.
- 42.
Until 1822, the ships of the Colony consisted of vessels from Portugal and other foreign countries, which sailed through the ports of the Brazilian coast. After the independence of Brazil and the creation of Ministério da Marinha the ships of the Portuguese military force were apprehended and became the first Brazilian naval fleet. In 8 October 1833, the Decree No. 60 authorised the Brazilian government to contract foreign and domestic shipping companies interested in navigating Brazilian rivers and bays. However, this decree was revoked and replaced by Decree No. 2647, which established coastal navigation, a privilege of national vessels in 19th September 1860. The monopoly and subsidisation of national companies lasted for over six years and was extinguished by Decree No. 6631 of 27 March 1866, when foreign ships were again authorised to perform coastal navigation. In this respect See: GOULART SON, Alcides. Opening of the Brazilian coastal shipping in the nineteenth century. In: XIII Regional Economics Meeting. South ANPEC 2010. 11–13 August 2010, pp. 2–3. Available at: http://www.ppge.ufrgs.br/anpecsul2010/artigos/31.pdf (accessed on 1 February 2015).
- 43.
AVISOS MARITIMOS [transl. MARITIME NOTICES]. Diário de Belém. Belém, 24 August 1868, p. 2.
- 44.
The ship origin can be found in the announcement column “Ancoradouro” [transl. Anchorage] published on Diário de Belém, 2 May 1880, p. 1.
- 45.
In 15 July 1869 an announcement published on Diário de Belém informs that “on the 20th of this month, the English steamship Augustine is expected from Liverpool through Lisbon (…) after the usual delay, it will return to that port stopping over in Maranhão, Ceará and Lisbon”. AVISOS MARITIMOS. Diário de Belém. Belém, 15 July 1869, p. 2.
- 46.
In 4 May 1870, an announcement published on Diário de Belém informs that the steamships “‘Augustine and Jerome’ will depart in mid June from this port to Liverpool, stopping in Lisbon and Le Havre only if needed. In July and August, the steamships Ambrose and Augustine will leave this port to Liverpool navigating through the ports of Ceará and Maranhão in Brazil and stopping at Havre Port in France.” AVISOS MARITIMOS. Diário de Belém. Belém, 4 May 1870, p. 3.
- 47.
AVISOS MARITIMOS. Diário de Belém, 6 May 1870, p. 3.
- 48.
Refer to Diário de Belém on the following dates: 4 May 1870; 5 May 1870; 21 February 1880; 7 February 1885. The announcements reappear in constant basis until the end of the century. It is not our purpose, in this paper, to detail them thoroughly, though. Sometimes, the Maranhense steamship of British origin would travel to New York. See announcement published on “Movimento do Porto” [transl. Harbour Movement]. Diário de Belém. Belém, 1 February 1885, p. 1.
- 49.
Paul Walle says that France did not send vessels to Pará. The author regrets the fact that, since 1866, when the Amazon river [translated from the original: grand fleuve] and its major tributaries were open to international navigation, France did not give a chance to the coastal populations from the North region of Brazil to see the French flag fluttering on the mast of its the ships, as did England, the USA, Germany, Italy and Portugal. See WALLE, Paul. Au pays de l’or noir: Pará, Amazonas and Mato Grosso. Paris, 1909, p. 76. On the French sea lines operating transatlantic commercial routes. Also see LE HIR, Jean Louis. Des paquebots transatlantiques: Brest, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Marseille, Paris, Nantes, and Bourdeaux. Paris, 1857.
- 50.
Translated from the original: “En quarente annés, la Booth Line, dont le meillheur vapeur, en 1866, était un navire de 1.100 tones, l’Augustine, marchante à 8 à 9 mille à l’heure, a vu sa flotte décupler et s’enrichir de solides steamers de 6.500 tonneaux (…). WALLE, Au pays de l’or noir, p. 78. The German companies Sudamerikanische and Hamburg Amerika Linie also navigated in Pará and Amazon. They operated, in the region, with five vessels capable to transport from 4,000 to 4,500 tons. They traveled twice a month covering the route: Hambourg-Pará and Manaus with stopovers in Anvers or Bologne-sur-Mer, Vigo, Porto, Lisbon, and Island of Madeira on their way from Hamburg. On their way back they had stopovers in the Island of Madeira, Lisbon, Porto, Vigo, and Le Havre.
- 51.
There are references in the journals of Pará about departures of Norwegian and Swedish boats from the port of Belém, but there is no information about the route to be travelled, See MOVIMENTO DO PORTO. Diário de Belém, 6 January 1885, p. 1.
- 52.
PEREIRA, Antonio Maria. [Letter] 20 October 1868. Lisbon [to] LEITE, Antonio José da Silva. Belém. One page about the genres of works sent to Grêmio Literário Português do Pará.
- 53.
PEREIRA, Antonio Maria. [Letter] 20 October 1868. Lisbon [to] LEITE, Antonio José da Silva. Belém. One page about the genres of works sent to Grêmio Literário Português do Pará.
- 54.
MOTTA, Joaquim P. [Letter] 9 June 1869. Belém [to] Antonio Maria Pereira. Lisbon. One page. Demands explanation about the delay in sending books overseas.
- 55.
PEREIRA, Antonio Maria. [Letter] 5 August 1871. Lisbon [to] MOREIRA, Francisco M. de Souza. Two page(s).
- 56.
MOREIRA, Francisco M. de S. [Letter] 30 January 1872. Belém [to] Antonio Maria Pereira. Lisbon, One page. Requests sending books urgently.
- 57.
CARDOSO, Francisco Antonio. [Letter] 28 August 1868. Lisbon [to] LEITE, Antonio José da Silva. Belém, one page. Informs of having found a correspondent bookseller in Lisbon. Probably, bindings were made at his own library, but no documents were found to attest it.
- 58.
A PEDIDOS [transl. UPON REQUEST]. Diário de Belém, Belém, 10 January1871, p. 2.
- 59.
BRITO, História do Grêmio Literário, p. 59.
- 60.
BRITO, História do Grêmio Literário, p. 58.
- 61.
These catalogues appear to have resulted not only from the needs of the institution, but also from the demands of the state governor as expressed in a letter: “a list of the works existing in the library, classified by idioms and literary genres, accompanied by the cash flow of the month”. Minutes of the meeting of the board of director, 3 April 1892.
- 62.
Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 31 December 1892; Minutes of the meeting of the board of directors, 16 January 1893.
- 63.
The first catalogue, in 1893, gave the reference code that indicated the location of the book, the author’s surname, followed by his first name in parentheses, and the title of the work. The 1897 catalogue, published in Pará, follows the same principles and includes the number of available samples of each work. An aspect of the taxonomy of prose fiction samples in the catalogues that interests us in particular is that in the first catalogue the works are classified under the subcategory “Novels, short stories, and novels”, which, in turn, is part of a broader category named “Applications or Art”. Under this same broad category are the subcategories geodesy, agriculture and rural economy, surgery, health, politics, diplomacy, rhetoric and poetry, typography, and others. In the 1897 catalogue, “Tales, novels, and romances” are listed under the subcategory “Sociology”, which also accommodates theatre, poetry, law and jurisprudence, education and teaching, rhetoric and poetics, and so on.
- 64.
The French prose fiction samples were selected on the basis of the significant degree of reception in this and other Portuguese reading rooms: the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, located in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of the empire at that time. On the prominence of French prose fiction samples in Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, see SCHAPOCHNIK, Os jardins das delícias, p. 68.
- 65.
PEREIRA, Antonio Maria, in Lisbon to LEITE, Antonio Jose da Silva, in Belém. Letter dated 30 November 1868. One page about the shipping of works to Grêmio Literário Português do Pará.
- 66.
The use of the term ‘bibliothèque’ deserves greater scholarly attention, for between 1686 and 1789, European booksellers employed it to designate periodicals, such as the “Bibliothèque universelle et historique” (1686–93), the “Bibliothèque choisie” (1703–13), and the “Bibliothèque ancienne et modern”. Though periodic in nature, they were not properly journals, but rather collections of texts, with a similar genre and purpose. This was the case, for example, for the “Bibliothèque Universelle des romans” (1775–89), whose purpose consisted in gathering reviews, summaries, and even full texts of ancient and ‘modern’ tales and novels. CHARTIER, Roger. « Bibliothèques sans murs”, in: L’ordre des livres. Aix-en-Provence, 1992, p. 74.
- 67.
Translated from the original: “une très grave crise de débouchés, en partie due à l’existence aux frontières d’une vigoureuse industrie de la contrefaçon”.
- 68.
MOLLIER, Jean-Yves. “Le livre de poche avant le ‘poche’”, in: MOLLIER, Jean-Yves, and TRUNEL, Lucile (eds). “Du poche aux collections de poche”. Liege, 2010, pp. 45–59.
- 69.
Translated from the original: “grand in-18 anglais dit Jésus”.
- 70.
The format in-18 corresponds to 11.7 cm × 18.3 cm.
- 71.
“The compact printing and the low quality of the medium, led to a cost reduction that immediately impacted the sale prices” (translated from the original: (…) l’impression compact, la médiocrité du support entrâinaient une réduction des coûts qui se répercutait aussitôt sur le prix de vente). SCHUWER, Philippe. “Collection”, in: FOURCHÉ, Pascal, PÉCHOIN, Daniel, and SCHUWER, Philippe (eds). Dictionnaire Encyclopedique du Livre. Paris, 2002, vol. 1, p. 508.
- 72.
Translated from the original: “En proposant l’équivalent de deux volumes in-8º au prix de 3,50 F, Charpentier divisait par quatre le prix moyen du livre”.
- 73.
MOLLIER, “Le livre de poche avant le ‘poche’”, 2010.
- 74.
Translated from the original: “très bon marché”.
- 75.
According to MOLLIER, 2 francs corresponded to 10 Euros in 2010, see “Le livre de poche avant le ‘poche’”, 2010, p. 48.
- 76.
Translated from the original: “bibliotheques de gare”.
- 77.
MOLLIER, “Le livre de poche avant le ‘poche’”, 2010, pp. 47–8.
- 78.
LEVY, as cited in MOLLIER, “Le livre de poche avant le ‘poche’”, p. 48.
- 79.
Translated from the original: “Toute collection littéraire publiée dans l’autres conditions ne peut par conséquent avoir q’un succès éphémère, une popularité de quelques jours; elle ne prendra jamais place, à titre de collection, dans la bibliothèque des gens de goût”. LEVY, as cited in MOLLIER, “Le livre de poche avant le ‘poche’”, p. 48.
- 80.
GILLET, Charles. Le roman à un franc et les journaux littéraires illustrés à cinq centimes la livraison a notre époque. Chalons-sur-Marne and Paris, 1861.
- 81.
Translated from the original: “une vingtaine d’anneés”.
- 82.
Translated from the original: “(…) si, on offrait pour 20 cent. (4 souls) la matière d’un volume, et, de plus, des illustrations, ne trouverait-on pas des consommateurs en plus grands que jamais? Ce projet est mis à exécution; il a du succès (…).” GILLET, Le roman à un franc, p. 8.
- 83.
Translated from the original: “le baptême de la publicité illustré”. GILLET, Le roman à un franc, p. 8.
- 84.
Translated from the original: “impressions Romanesques, plus une demi-douzaine de gravures sur bois”. GILLET, Le roman à un franc, p. 10.
- 85.
This monthly collection was constituted of small format volumes: 700 to 800 pages without illustrations, in booklet form, and printed on lightweight paper with a polychrome cover. The samples from the cabinet were sold at 0.65 francs. See GRANJEAN, Sophie. “Populaire edition”, in: FOURCHÉ, PÉCHOIN, and SCHUWER, Dictionnaire Encyclopedique du Livre. Vol. 3, p. 317.
- 86.
The samples of this collection, which constitute the archive of Grêmio Literário Português do Pará, have no date of issue.
- 87.
On this matter, see LETOUNEAUX, Mathieu, and MOLLIER, Jean-Yves. La librarie Tallandier: histoire d’une grande maison d’édition (1870–2000). Paris, 2011, p. 187.
- 88.
According to Santos, the collection was started in 1850 by Eduardo de Faria. See SANTOS, Maria de Lourdes Lima dos. “As penas de viver da pena: aspectos do mercado nacional do livro no século XIX”, in: Análise Social 21 (1985), pp. 187–227.
- 89.
The Grêmio possesses 40 volumes from this collection, of which 20 display the name J. A. Xavier de Magalhães on the cover sheet and have issue dates between 1865 and 1875. A further 18 samples variously display the names “Tipografia de Salles”, “Tipografia de Salles Colaço”, or simply “S.C.”, and have issue dates between 1864 and 1873. Finally, there are two samples printed at “Empresa Editora de Publicações Ilustradas”, with no issue date.
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Augusti, V. (2017). Collections of French Novels on the Atlantic Route: From Lisbon to Grêmio Literário Português do Pará. In: Abreu, M. (eds) The Transatlantic Circulation of Novels Between Europe and Brazil, 1789-1914. New Directions in Book History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46837-2_11
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