Anthology as a Book and Publishing Phenomenon

The article looks at anthology as a specific type of publication in the context of the literary and book publishing theory and practice. The etymology of the notion has been traced as well as the historical development of anthologies from Antiquity to present days and key samples in the field of anthology creation. Special attention has been paid to the Bulgarian anthologies throughout the separate historical stages of Bulgarian book publishing. A special place has been given to the first poetic anthology in Bulgaria called “Bulgarian Poetry from Ivan Vazov onwards” (1911) and to the four anthologies compiled by Geo Milev highlighting their exceptional role in the development of such type of editions in Bulgaria and the critical consideration of Bulgaria’s literary process as a whole. One important aspect in the article is the publishing principles that compiling and publishing a given anthology abides to. The role of the publishing team and their assistants has been considered in order to achieve an optimum aesthetic and economic effect with the end product – the book.