Description

A rare Greek map of the world from Νεωτατοσ γεωργραφικοσ ατλασ προσ χρησιν των γυμνασιον, ελλ. Σχωλειων και παρθεναγωγειων συνταχθείσ ενι τη βασει των νεωτατων ευρωπ: εκδοσεων και έκδοθείσ ύπό ανεστη κωνσταντινιδου (The Latest Geographical Atlas for Use in High Schools and Girls Schools, compiled on the basis of the Latest European Publications and issued by Anestis Konstantinidis).

Anestis Konstantinidis: The Father of the Popular, Illustrated Press in Greece

Anestis Konstantinidis (1846 – 1901) was a commercial publisher who is credited as having introduced popular, illustrated printing to Greece, with his work hailed as “a milestone in the history of the book in Greece”.  Born in Cyprus, Konstantinidis was the son of the headmaster of the first private school in Greece, at Athens.  He read philology at the University of Athens and was expected to succeed his father.  However, he abruptly took a different course, moving to Germany where he trained as a master printer.  The influence of the great Berlin firms and the Weimar and Gotha schools of cartographic publishing remained a strong signature upon his work throughout his career. Upon his return to Athens, Konstantinidis earned a living as a translator of popular foreign books, and soon established his own small bookshop, called ‘Korais’, where he published popular novels at prices so affordable that they could be purchased by the average Athenians.  Up to this point, publishing in Greece was either elitist (expensive finely bound volumes) or ‘boutiquey’, producing limit runs of intellectual works still beyond the financial reach of the general public.  Konstantinidis struck a chord, as his ‘democratization’ of literature proved immensely popular.   The proceeds from his penny novels allowed Konstantinidis to acquire the sizeable, established printing house of Andreas Koromilas, which he soon rebranded in his own name.  He rapidly and dramatically expanded the company’s repertoire to publish numerous titles by all the important contemporary figures in Greek literature and science.  He developed his series of affordable novels into ‘People’s Library’, a creating genre which utterly revolutionized reading habits and literacy across Greece.  Moreover, Konstantinidis was directly responsible for introducing many of the great international names of poetry and prose to the Greek people.   Many consider Konstantinidis’ greatest academic achievement to be his translation and augmentation of the legendary Liddell-Scott Greek-English Lexicon.  The first volume was published in 1901, while the second, and final, volume was issued in 1906, five years after his death. Konstantinidis invested heavily in the most modern printing presses and technology, employing master printers who could produce high quality graphics, some glossy and gilt, conforming to the best German standards.  In this regard, his contemporaries remarked that he could be obsessive, even placing production quality ahead of commercial considerations.  The vast profits he garnered from his popular prints allowed him the luxury to lose money on some of these projects. The atlas is one of Konstantinidis’s most lavish productions and is by far and away his finest cartographic work.  The quality and style of the printing and design very much followed the manner of the great German cartographers, such as Heinrich Kiepert and August Petermann, that he so admired.  While made for use in high schools, its large format and fine graphics would have made in an expensive production, costing funds that would have been hard to recoup on the Greek market.  Thus, the work is perfect example of Konstantinidis’s ‘grand projects’, made out of a passionate dedication to the printer’s art, as opposed to a mere commercial endeavour.  The son of a high-school principal, here Konstantinidis sought to bring the very highest level of geographical education, as practiced in France of Germany, to Greek youth, who had hitherto not generally enjoyed access to fine cartographic materials.  Konstantinidis showed a great concern for the welfare of his fellow citizens and was heavily involved in community and philanthropic initiatives; he was eventually elected to the Athens city council.  Sadly, Konstantinidis’s workaholic lifestyle caught up with him, and he died in Athens on June 11, 1901, aged 55. Konstantinidis had a legacy that far outlived him.  Many printers sought to emulate his style and popular touch, allowing average Greeks to access an ever-larger corpus of literature, both foreign and domestic.