The point is not sheer volume. It's that the market for which this volume was produced has tastes and interests vastly more diverse than the narrow spectrum of interest to the aristocracy. Also, within this arrangement, the artist himself has vastly more liberty, since the patron (i.e. the publisher) is far less interested in controlling the work itself, and far more interested in what sells. Audiences, in turn, trust the taste and inspiration of the artist, which puts the creative ball squarely in his court.

Put these factors together and you'll find that creation itself encompasses a far greater range, and with that, the sum of human culture and knowledge grows exponentially.