Gervasius Redler came to Paris from Alsace in the early 19th century, and set up shop as a piano teacher. Around 1840, he began publishing dance music in the popular styles of the day, particularly quadrilles.

I recently had the great pleasure of assisting a Jane Austen scholar who was looking for book evidence of English circulating libraries during Austen’s lifetime. At first I thought that the assignment would be a piece of cake, since I’d run across a fair amount of 18th and 19th century French subscription library evidence in Read More

Advertising was at the heart of Johann Strauss Senior’s Viennese dance empire. Always on the lookout for gimmicks to whet the public appetite for new dances, his grasp of popular culture was brilliant: dance titles made reference to current political, cultural, and scientific events, visiting dignitaries and performers, themes and arias from the most popular Read More

It was anatomy that gained Robert Burton fame, but heredity that made him endure. The clergyman (1577-1640) rose to prominence with the 1621 publication of The Anatomy of Melancholy. His treatment of the subject, broad in scope but humorously wrought, ensured Burton’s admiration by fellow authors. Anatomy’s influence did not ensure, however, that Burton’s other Read More