Heinrich Hubert Houben was a German cultural, theater, and literary historian as well as a publicist. In addition to his research on Goethe, the main focus of his studies was on the issue of censorship, which is also the focus of this monograph. Houben discusses banned literature, general bans against publishing companies, and recounts the ongoing struggle of writers and publishers, as well as theaters, against the constantly new regulations imposed by state authorities and police actions in the 19th century. It is a sad and alarming chapter of German cultural and intellectual history that Houben portrays here, but also one that calls for attention and therefore must be read. This is a carefully edited reprint of the original edition from 1926.