The "cabinet De Lecture" in France, 1800-1850

Abstract

The cabinet de was a major source of reading materials at a time when books, periodicals, and newspapers were too expensive for most readers to buy. It was the product of a particular set of historical, economic, and literary circumstances, and during the Bourbon Restoration was the object of intense government scrutiny. The cabinets de lecture expanded rapidly in number and influence during the first four decades of the nineteenth century and began to decline around 1850. Causes for this decline were lower prices of reading materials, advances in papermaking and printing, more effective means of distribution of reading materials, and chaning literary taste.