Folhinhas de Algibeira do século XIX: um estudo da forma, função e conteúdo

Abstract

This thesis aims to understand the relations between print, reading and reader, based on Folhinhas de Algibeira (Pocket Almanacs) published in the 19th century. Through an analytical-descriptive-comparative study of these prints, we aim to understand the functions, the symbolic, material, structural characteristics that make it, in its appearance and "essence", an almanac. The analytic-descriptive perspective and a comparative view between the impressions also took advantage of the dialogue with other publications of similar nature and with other sources, like periodicals of the time. From the theoretical and methodological point of view the research is based on the studies of Cultural History, the History of the Book and the Reading and the Popular Literature or of wide circulation, such as those undertaken by Roger Chartier, Robert Darnton, Jean-Yves Mollier and Lise Andries, allowing the comprehension of the print in two different ways, as historical source and as physical object. The study also dialogues with investigations of almanacs and other popular reading materials, such as Jean François-Botrel and Vera Casa Nova. The corpus of the research is constituted by the set of almanacs that are part of the collection "Catalog of Rare - Periodical Works", entitled: Folhinhas, which is under the custody of the Arquivo Público Mineiro. The 45 almanacs analyzed were published in the 19th century, between 1831 and 1888 and edited by four different publishers, three located in Rio de Janeiro (Laemmert, A. Guimarães, Ogier) and one located in Minas Gerais (Typografia do Universal). The study of the print seeks to characterize the genre and its function in the 19th century, problematizing the complex relations established between the object, space and time and the possible cultural practices of its use. We analyzed the ways in which publishers construct their editorial project and how they create shared strategies by social agents (the intellectual elite, priests) and institutions (Church, Government / Empire) with respect to a project of diffusion of conducts, values and information through the printed word. The results show that the genre so called almanac is sometimes synonymous with a calendar and there are oscillations in the terminologies or similarities between various materials published in that period or in the following, but with common aspects that unite them: the function to guide time and civil and religious conduct. One element that defines the material in relation to others is its shape that allows it to be carried in the "pocket” that is, carried close to the body. Comparing copies of the same publisher it is also noted an editorial formula that employs a general format for all copies with specific parts and this set up a reader segmentation and an identity for each invented title. The study of the themes made it possible to verify the schemes and systems about this period' thoughts and the way in which the printed works with the construction of these schemes, especially in the institution of the idea of civil and religious life.