Viatica – Special Issue on Travel Accounts and Collections of Voyages: Publication and Circulation 1700-1850
Deadline: 31 Mar 2015
Website: http://viatica.univ-bpclermont.fr
Call for proposals

Viatica, a peer-reviewed journal published by the Centre de Recherches sur la Littérature des Voyages, is planning a special issue in English in 2016 on the publishing history of maritime travel accounts and collections.

In Britain, between 1700 and 1750 came the time for theory and not practice as fewer maritime voyages of exception were made during this period (Beaglehole, The Exploration of the Pacific, 178). This theorising, mainly in French and English, resulted in the publication of individual accounts but also of collections of voyages which contributed to the exploratory momentum leading up to the historic discoveries of the second half of the 18th century during which ensuing relations as well as collections continued to appear in print.

The influence (political, cultural, social) which these publications exercised is often taken as a constant in recent research on travel narratives. Nevertheless, the nuts and bolts publication history of such printed matter is relatively rare. Alexander Zipper (Thresholds of Interpretation, Forms and Functions of paratexts in English Narrative Literature of the 18th Century, 2010) underlines how wide readership is often postulated without any veritable evidence of its existence being put forward. Thus Edwards (The Story of the Voyage, 1994) presents as substantiation of Hawkesworth’s (An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of his Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere…) publishing attractiveness and success, the adaptation of the collection in 60 inexpensive “episodes”. There is it seems though very little trace, if none, of these “shilling parts” (Edwards may have based his assumption on an advertisement which appeared in a London newspaper but the publication of the parts was apparently never undertaken as the British Library (and others) holds no exemplars and no references to them are to be found). This popularisation then may not have occurred to the accepted degree. The question arises then as to the precise degree of influence of published voyaging literature on determining exploration policy.

Jackson (‘Approaches to the History of Readers and Reading in Eighteenth-Century Britain’, The Historical Journal, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Dec., 2004), pp. 1041-1054) though does point to the impact of wide readership on social, political and cultural policy. His minute study of catalogues, of company accounts, readers’ letters, works towards establishing a reasoned assessment of readership and of readership influence. In order to fully engage with the mechanics of maritime exploration policy, a comprehensive publishing history of travel accounts and collections (circulation, readership, adaptation, translation) may prove particularly useful.

In the exhaustive study of readership in the 18th century (Books and Their Readers in 18th Century England: Volume 2. New Essays, Bloomsbury Academic, 2003), Rivers does not examine travel books or collections in particular. Charon’s investigation (Le livre maritime au Siècle des Lumières, 2005) of the publication and circulation of maritime books is extremely interesting but again travel accounts and collections are only marginally explored. This special issue will then specifically focus on this particular genre throughout the long 18th century. Possible questions might be:

* Who published the accounts in question?
* What was the extent of the readership?
* What was the nature of the readership (many publications were expensive and available only on subscription)?
* Were adaptations for the wider readership undertaken?
* What form did reception take (retaliatory prefaces, articles, pamphlets, letters) and does it shed light on the scope of the readership?

Authors should electronically submit abstracts in English (no longer than 500 words) as attachments by e-mail to Dr Sandhya Patel before March 31st, 2015. Notification of acceptance end of April 2015. Articles in English for anonymous peer review should be submitted before end of August 2015.

Contact details:
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• Dr Sandhya Patel Email: sandhya.patel@univ-bpclermont.fr