Elie Luzac (1721-1796)

The emancipating citizen of the second half of the eighteenth century could not get enough of (political) debates; ready as he was to give his opinion about a variety of subjects. This was the Age of the Enlightenment, after all, and progress was its core business.
The book trade flourished as a result, as Elie Luzac (1721-1796) clearly demonstrates. But it was also the era in which the Dutch book
trade's dominant role in Europe came to an end. The subject of Elie Luzac (1721-1796). Bookseller of the Enlightenment is the trade in ideas and ideals. Elie Luzac corresponded with scholars from all over the learned world. The Dutch headstrong bookseller/publisher of Leiden did what no man dared to undertake: he published La Mettrie's L'homme machine, which was banned immediately into the remotest corners of Europe. Luzac would frequently publish works that went up in flames. Banned books, as well as acrimonious rows among scholars, were anyhow lucrative business.
Luzac was also active in Germany. He even opened a bookshop in Göttingen, though not for long. Conflicts with his authors and with the University of Göttingen forced him to return to the Netherlands.
The books Luzac subsequently published mainly focused on the current national debate, in which he avidly participated. His outspoken support for the House of Orange made him a much hated man.

Rietje van Vliet (1954), Ph.D. in History, Leiden University, is an independent researcher. She investigates various aspects of the book trade history of the Early Modern Age. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious Menno Hertzberger Prize for her study on Elie Luzac.