Francisco Robles and Juan de la
Cuesta, doubtless, made a good thing of it; but to Miguel de Cervantes
there must have come but a small share of the profit. The laws of
copyright were, in that age, little regarded; and it may be questioned
whether, in a book published in Madrid, they could be enforced outside
of Castile. The pirates and the wreckers were busy upon _Don Quixote_
from its very earliest appearance; and its quick and plentiful
reproduction in all the chief cities, not only of Spain but of the
outside Spanish dominions, though highly flattering to the author,
could not have greatly helped to lighten his life of toil and penury.
[12] Senor Gayangos is of opinion that there were other editions
of 1605 which have wholly perished; one probably at Barcelona,
the press of which city was very active in that year; one at
Pamplona, and probably one at Saragossa, which were capitals of
old kingdoms. See also Senor Asensio's letter to the _Ateneo_,
No. 23, p. 296; and the Bibliography of _Don Quixote_ at the end
of this volume.
[13] The ordinary _obrada_, or impression, of a book at this
period, I am told by Senor Gayangos--and there can be no better
authority--was 250 copies. But in the case of a popular book like
_Don Quixote_ the impression would be larger--probably 500 copies.
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