The estimation of editions on the basis of retrieved copies: printed programmes of Jesuite theatre plays in the Provincia Flandro-Belgica (before 1773), with a note on the "bookhistorical law"

Abstract

This contribution deals with the question how to estimate the number of ever existed editions of printed texts on the basis of retrieved copies. This issue will be explained by means of a concrete case: the prined theatre programs of the Jesuits in the Provincia Flandro-Belgica before the suppression of the order in 1773. In general terms, this article offers a mathematical method to estimate the total production of multi-copy artefacts on the basis of retrieved copies. First, we will discuss the phenomenon of Jesuit drama and its significance within the innovative pedagogical system developed by the fathers shortly after the founding of the order. Then the value of the theatre programmes as a key source for the study of Jesuit drama in Europe and abroad will be explained. This will be followed by a description of the corpus of programmes from the Provincia Flandro-Belgica and its characteristics. After a brief evaluation of the classical way to estimate the production of theatre plays at the secondary Jesuit schools,we willintroduce a mathematical model to cope with this problem. The conditions for the effectiveness as well as the limits of this method will be discussed from a practical point of view. We also show that his model is capable to (partially) explain the book historical law. Suggestions for related applications of this model within the field of bookhistorical research as well as other fields of interest, will conclude this contribution.