ABSTRACT
Almost from the first days of the invention of moveable type, the creation of an international book market was essential to the economics of the industry. The production of a large book required the investment of considerable capital before any return could be expected. At the heart of this international book market was the Frankfurt book fair. Frankfurt was established as the home of a major book fair as early as 1475, and it would retain unchallenged pre-eminence as the centre of the international book trade for more than two centuries. The Amadis craze pre-dates the Frankfurt catalogues, but the demand for recreational literature certainly made its impact. The 'lost' books of the Frankfurt catalogue bear further scrutiny, not least because they demonstrate the point that some classes and categories of sixteenth-century books were far more likely to survive than others.
