Bibliology Workshop

ELECTRONIC CATALOGUE: Greek Bibliography of the 19th century

AWARD OF ACADEMY OF ATHENS 2013

As stipulated in Law 4452/2017, since October 2017 the Bibliology Workshop “Philippos Iliou” has been incorporated into the National Library of Greece, following a deed of donation by the Benaki Museum.

This research workshop on the social history of books and by extension the social history of culture was the brainchild of Philippos Iliou, who called it the “Bibliology Workshop” (Bibliologiko Ergastiri), and set it up as a framework for his many and varied bibliological ambitions in 1986. For a number of years it was maintained as an informal agency at the Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA), where efforts mainly focused on constructing a 19th century Greek bibliography and an electronic data base of subscribers to Greek books from 1749 to 1922, as well as on publishing underpinning works.

The move to rename the Bibliology Workshop as “Philippos Iliou Bibliology Workshop” was an obvious response to the challenge posed by the death of the workshop's founder (5 March 2004). Those unfinished plans were then felicitously supported by the Benaki Museum, which included them in its programmes, starting in March 2006. In May 2007 all the material gathered was relocated to Museum premises, and then extended to include a significant portion of the personal library of Philippos Iliou, connected to this material (approximately 7,500 volumes), a gift from his family.  This slowly gave rise to a nucleus of research and education, focusing on the Greek 19th century, and the targets that will be achievable in the near future:

• To continue ongoing publishing efforts in the field of bibliography, in collaboration with ELIA / MIET (National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation). The second and the third volume of the Greek Bibliography of the 19th century (1819-1844), have already been published (2011, 2016).
• To work on the surviving papers of Philippos Iliou , with the intention of sorting and selectively publishing them. Two volumes bringing together newspaper supplements by C. Th. Dimaras, under the title Miscellanea IV. Discourses on the Method, have already been published (2013), a co-edition by the Benaki Museum and MIET.
• To publish, in electronic and print form, and utilise the data base of 930,000 subscribers to Greek books.
• To publish in electronic and print form the bulletins announcing pre-War of Independence imprints. The volume containing the pre-War of Independence imprints.(1734-1821) has already been published (2008).
• To continue updating and expanding the existing electronic collective catalogue of 19th century Greek bibliography.
  
  
  

Greek Bibliography of the 19th century

The retrospective Greek national bibliography of the 19th century is a collective work, as is every ambitious bibliography project, based on the long preparatory work undertaken by distinguished scholars and obscure bibliographers. Its foundations were lain by the three-volume Greek Bibliography 1800-1863, by Dimitrios Ghinis and Valerios Mexas (Athens, Academy of Athens, 1939-1957), in combination with successive series of addenda over the same period, which were introduced by C. Th. Dimaras from the pages of the journal Eranistis (a periodical publication of the Society for the Study of the Greek Enlightenment). The work was later taken up mainly by the Tetradia Ergasias of the Institute for Neohellenic Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation.

The Greek Bibliography of the 19th century, as designed from scratch by Philippos Iliou, and as it began to take shape within the Bibliology Workshop, is based on all this rich harvest of information, but also clearly sought to extend its boundaries and capabilities. One tangible example is the monumental first volume of the Greek Bibliography of the 19th century. Books - Pamphlets 1801-1818 by Philippos Iliou (Athens, Bibliologiko Ergastiri - E.L.I.A., 1997): with extensive internal descriptions of all the documents printed over this period, its index of all announcements and book criticisms published in the contemporary press and the manner in which it incorporates the relevant data, offers its user an overall framework for the study of book production and of how books were perceived, constitutes a multi-purpose tool concerning the social history of Greek culture.

This effort, undertaken despite unfavourable conditions, also resulted in the first overall record of Greek published documents in the years following the reign of King Othon, which constitutes a solid foundation, upon which to extend this effort to include the entire 19th century. The fruit of a long joint progress undertaken by Philippos Iliou and Popi Polemi, the four-volume Greek Bibliography 1864-1900 (Athens, Bibliologiko Ergastiri “Philippos Iliou” - ELIA., 2006), with its concise mention of 32,156 documents and analytical indexing, arrived in order to meet a long-standing demand in historical and literary study, as there had never to date been an overall bibliography of that period.

The current electronic catalogue of the Greek Bibliography of the 19th century constitutes the first overall “card classification repository” in electronic of a work-in-progress: the first codification and concise presentation of entries gathered by the “Philippos Iliou” Bibliology Workshop and which concern books, pamphlets, single-page or two-page leaflets and maps that have undergone bibliography. In other words, these concern all discrete printed materials in the Greek language and addressing a Greek-speaking readership.

For the manner in which both the corpus and the document listings were compiled, the user of the electronic catalogue is referred to the introduction of the Greek Bibliography 1864-1900, where the same principles were utilised.

The electronic catalogue, which allows for multiple search criteria, has been compiled:

• for the period 1801-1844 on the basis of the three volumes of the Greek Bibliography of the 19th century.
• for the period 1845-1863 on the basis of Greek Bibliography 1800-1863 by Dimitrios Ghinis and Valerios Mexas, as well as the systematic series of addenda thereto.
• for the period 1864-1900 based on the Greek Bibliography 1864-1900 by Philippos Iliou and Popi Polemi.
• entries concerning the 15th-18th centuries have also been included here, following the Greek Bibliography (c 1466 - 1800), Alphabetical and chronological order by Thomas Papadopoulos (cf. Papadopoulos A). Entries on these earlier centuries were considered necessary for a fuller documentation and facilitation of the research conducted by the «Philippos Iliou» Bibliology Workshop. They are made available now as a work-in-progress, but they are to be complemented according to the standards of the Greek Bibliography of the 19th Century, as a further contribution towards the completion of the restrospective Greek national bibliography. 
  
  

Each entry is accompanied by an indication of the bibliographic sources, as well as all the Greek and foreign libraries where copies of each document have been located. It should be noted that Web addresses of entries available in digital form are also included. The validity of these addresses has been ascertained by the "Filippos Eliou" Bibliology Workshop, on the date of entry into the system. Any additional changes are the responsibility of the agency that maintains the digital record.

An infrastructure project, a basic documentation tool for historical and philological research, the electronic catalogue of the Greek bibliography of the 19th century was designed to meet ever-increasing and ever more complex requirements. The electronic format is dynamic and simple to constantly correct, add and expand, but does not substitute for the imprint that allows for a better overall picture, and permits deliberation and understanding, a historical understanding of the phenomena. Keeping this catalogue constantly updated is one of the main aims of the “Philippos Iliou” Bibliology Workshop.

Any suggestions made to this end would be highly valued and any proposed collaboration warmly welcomed.

The “Philippos Iliou” Bibliology Workshop retains all legal rights concerning republication or any form of reproduction of the material available on this website.

OPENNING HOURS
Monday - Friday: 10:00 - 14:00 (upon request)
It is closed on the following holidays: March 25th, May 1st, August 15th, October 28th, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, New Year's Day, Easter Day, Easter Monday, Clean Monday, Holy Spirit Day.

ADDRESS & CONTACT
National Library of Greece
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10679 Athens
tel: +30 210 338 2579, +30 210 362 8164
fax: +30 210 362 8164
e-mail: biblerg.nlg@gmail.com