Publishing catalogues as sources for the study of bibliography and history of edition. The case of the Fondo de Cultura Económica

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to demonstrate that, even though publishing catalogs have a commercial function, they also offer valuable information on the study of bibliography and history of publishing. Our case study is focused on the publishing house Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE), because it is a paradigmatic company due to its longevity and the large number of catalogs it has printed.
This article has two sections. In the first section, we present the definition and variants of the expression “catalog”; next, we discuss the evolution of this term; finally, we discuss the difficulties involved in the study of these objects. The second section of the article focuses on FCE’s catalogs; it presents its transformation over time, and shows how they changed from giving a general editorial offer to giving detailed bibliographic information for their readers. It describes the variety of catalogs edited by the FCE, analyzing their material aspects (the use of images and their physical structures) and the form of organization of texts and content. This research demonstrates that publishing catalogs are bibliographical objects that should be studied and addressed in themselves as a publishing genre, in the same way as any other product of the printed culture.