the famous dictionary celebrates its 170th anniversary

Sales of the Larousse dictionary, consulted less and less, continue to decline. “Over the last ten years, the trend has been rather negative (…) the illustrated Grand Larousse has dropped by 80% in terms of sales and for the paperback, it is -50%”, says Loïc Bour, head of the science department, Librairie Eyrolles. Founded in 1852 by Pierre Larousse, these editions have long been reference works. Today, they are replaced by the Internet. “It’s been a long time since I opened a paper dictionary, I only look on my phone”assures a woman.

The publishing house claims that a paper reader is more active and learns better. “The first contribution of the paper dictionary is really the memorization of spelling. (…) When you are in the dictionary, you first look for a word and then, one thing leading to another, you will look at a very beautiful plank”, argues Carine Girac-Marinier, director of Larousse dictionaries. On Twitch, AdrienGeek challenged himself to read the illustrated Petit Larousse in its entirety to its 110,000 subscribers.