Το έντυπο παρελθόν: Νεοελληνική ιστορία και εκδόσεις στον Μεσοπόλεμο

Abstract

The introductory article to the special issue outlines the main directions of the research, which focuses on the study of the relationship between historiography and history-related publishing during the Greek Interwar period (1922–1936). Starting from the assumption, on the one hand, that the book constitutes a cultural and material product with historicity –shaped by sociopolitical conditions, technological developments, and economic strategies– and, on the other, that historiography, as an intellectual undertaking, interacts with publishing practices, the article examines a field where the history of the book intersects with the history of historiography. The Interwar period is regarded as pivotal due to the tectonic sociopolitical and ideological shifts that followed the First World War and, in the Greek case, the Asia Minor Catastrophe—transformations connected both to revisions of national historiography and to the emergence of Marxist approaches to history. At the same time, significant changes occurred in the publishing landscape, such as the decline of the traditional printer-publisher in favor of the professional publisher-entrepreneur.

Within this framework, the study of historical book production in the period is carried out through three fields: a) modern Greek history, from the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the completion of the Revolution of 1821; b) the period following the establishment of the Greek state, with emphasis on the war decade 1912–1922; c) left-wing historical books, in the context of the rise of Marxist historiography and the creation of parallel networks of publishing and circulation of ideas.

Attention is also given to the identity of authors and to the role of the press as a medium of promotion, critique, and circulation of historical works. Although the research focuses primarily on standalone publications, it also acknowledges the ongoing interaction with the press, which served as a channel for the dissemination of ideas and the recognition of authors. In this way, the study highlights the significance of print culture as a key factor for understanding both historiographical production and the cultural history of the period.