Starting from the assertion that the growth of the entire mathematical literature is following very closely an annual rate of increase of 2,5 \% (by titles) -- in the last years, at least, this rate has been considerably higher (the reviewer) -- the author gives a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the development of the literature of the theory of determinants. Classifying the papers till 1920 into six categories (New ideas and results, Applications, Systematization and history, Texts and education, Duplications, Trivia) the author estimates that ``all the significant information about determinants, including the main lines of the history of its ideas, is contained in less than 10 \% of the titles'' and that ``the publications containing significant new ideas, results, applications, and systematizations together with high-quality texts make up less than a third of the total literature''. For a special subtopic (derivative of a determinant) duplications of results and embodiment of results in textbooks are analysed.