Academic interest in the Greek periodical press is not new; it has long been acknowledged as an important source for knowledge dissemination, cultural mediation, and public debate. But systematic study and indexing has been beset by delays and flawed practices. The indexing of pre-revolutionary journals (including Hermes ο Logιos [Ερμής ο Λόγιος], Melissa [Μέλισσα], Philological Telegraph [Φιλολογικός Τηλέγραφος carried out at the Centre for Neohellenic Research of National Hellenic Research Foundation in the 1970s and the phototypeset reprint of these by the Greek Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA) constituted the first ‘good’ tools, as defined by C. Th. Dimaras, for the study of the early history of the Greek periodical. The pace accelerated in the years that followed; the recognition of the (primarily literary) importance of the periodical press is reflected in various theses and publications on specific literary journals; the digitization of nineteenth-century periodicals by ELIA; the open access databases in the Library and Information Centre of the University of Patras (Cosmopolis, Pleias, Danielis); and the subsequent development of more databases by other institutions (notably: Lecythos at the University of Cyprus and the Portal for the Greek Language). Additionally, the major Thalis/ Chrysallis research project set out to investigate cultural mediations and the formation of the ‘national character’ in the nineteenth-century periodical press, through a systematic indexing of a large corpus of periodicals (2015).
However, there is an ongoing need for scholarly tools and bibliographies. One such tool for periodicals, addressed to a particular readership, was the four-volume Greek Youth Press [Ελληνικός νεανικός τύπος] (1986-1992), which grew out of an earlier research project, Historical Archive of Greek Youth (1830-1945). Another, which focused on the publishing production of the first half of the twentieth century, was the four-volume Periodicals of Literature and the Arts [Περιοδικά Λόγου και Τέχνης] (1996-2007); this was the work of a research group under the supervision of Ch.L. Karaoglou, limited to literary periodicals published in Athens (1901-1940) and Cyprus (1903-1958), and excluding other categories, such as mass culture magazines or scholarly journals. Greek Magazines for the Family (1847-1900) [Τα ελληνικά οικογενειακά περιοδικά (1847-1900)] by Martha Karpozilou (1991; currently out of print: originally her PhD thesis (1986)) made the late author's name (she died in 2023) synonymous with the study of such magazines from the foundation of the Greek state until the end of the nineteenth century. Finally, the four-volume Encyclopedia of the Greek Press (1784-1974) [Εγκυκλοπαίδεια του Ελληνικού Τύπου (1784-1974)], of the Institute of Neohellenic Research/National Hellenic Research Foundation, published in 2008 and edited by the late Loukia Droulia and Gioula Koutsopanagou, is another a major tool; though the main focus of this work is newspapers, with the most important journals listed only selectively.
The two-volume work reviewed here will again link K.'s name with the study of the periodical press, this time spanning the entire nineteenth century, without distinctions and exclusions. It fills a huge bibliographical gap, as it records and presents many journals and magazines (family, encyclopaedic, legal, archaeological, military, nautical, religious, scientific, educational, for women, for children, and for adolescents, etc.) which the author discovered during her many years of research in libraries or private archives. Although we live in a technological and digital age, this project was only made possible by lengthy, meticulous research by a dedicated scholar, qualified to identify, classify, and evaluate the data.
K's magnum opus, posthumously recognized by an award from the Academy, is part of a series produced by the Hellenic Parliament; printed on high quality 300 gr. paper, particularly elegant in its design and pagination, with rich colour illustrations. It is a monumental work of reference and a publishing jewel: the Greek polytonic font used for the titles of the journal entries was designed specifically for this edition, modelled on the font of the famous magazine Estia [Εστία], mirror nineteenth century typographic aesthetics.
The first volume offers an extensive introduction to the periodical press, addressing historical context and methodological issues. The distinction between ephemeris (newspaper) and periodical is discussed; these terms are inconsistently used in the publications themselves. K.'s considered conclusion is that no publication with the subtitle ‘periodical’ is a newspaper, but that many ephemerides are in fact magazines. This distinction is clear from the publication of the first daily newspaper, the Ephemeris by Demetrios Koromilas (1873), and recognizable through comparisons of the two printed media: number of columns, page numbering of sheets, fonts (more elaborate in magazines, vignettes, presence of covers, listing of contents at the end of the volume, etc.). The subsections highlight, concisely and instructively, key aspects of the publication and dissemination of periodicals: material, readership, finances, places of issue (mainly Athens), subscription systems and networks, sponsors and their various prominent but now forgotten contributors, editors, directors, publishers. The accompanying tables of statistical data include an invaluable table of hard-to-find print runs, and another that calculates the age of the editors, 5% of whom belong to the 11-19 age group. The first volume concludes with an extensive bibliography, including Master's and PhD theses, reflecting the growing academic interest in the study of journals; indexes of publishers, printers and places follow.
The second volume borders on the exhaustive. It includes, in alphabetical order, entries for 589 periodicals yielded by research in public, municipal, and university libraries, collections and archives, and bears witness to the rigorous examination of indirect sources and advertisements; most of the issues are accompanied by their covers in four colours. Each entry follows a tried and tested typology of periodical bibliography, which Karpozilou was the first to suggest as most appropriate: title, subtitle, motto, publisher(s), editor(s), place of issue, publishing house, circulation, frequency, format, subscriptions, libraries where issues or volumes are held, digitized forms when available, commentary and bibliography; all those fields make up a grid that permits the reconstruction of the 19th century polyphonic periodical world.
Despite the size of Volume 2 (589 entries in 410 pages), a chronological index (possibly in a smaller font) would have been useful.
This voluminous work is a lasting monument to Martha Karpozilou's extensive study of the periodical press. It represents the lasting contribution of a dedicated scholar and will indeed remain a ‘good tool’ for the study and promotion of the nineteenth-century Greek case within the vast and now established field of Periodical Studies, which has been gaining ground in Europe and USA since the turn of the present century.Footnote 1
