Keine Popularisierung ohne Depopularisierung

In 1892, a now-forgotten essay on the popularity of reading material was published, which offers considerations worthy of closer examination. Eduard Reyer developed a groundbreaking theory of the popular based on the empirical observation of the quantitative distribution of attention and reflected on the temporal dimension of this distribution – with a view to processes of popularization and depopularization. This essay elaborates on Reyer’s theoretical implications and opens up a seminal approach to understanding popularity, which remained without much resonance in its time.