"A picture is worth a thousands words"
If photography had existed in the early days of printing we could see the presses, the tools, the shops and we could know more of what it was like to print in those days. Photography wasn't invented, of course, until the mid-nineteenth century. Verbal descriptions don't adequately describe what the scene was like. We are not even sure what Gutenberg's press really looked like.
We do have the benefit of engravings. Done by artists in wood, copper, and steel. These ancient "snap shots" on the world of work tell us more than a narrative portrayal. The "usual" which would be naturally drawn into an engraving might be overlooked by the writer as all too familiar. These graphic little details tell us much about everyday life in the printshops of old.
There are some common elements in many ancient engravings. One is the obvious placement of a well dressed "official" or patron in the shop scene. The expense of early printshops was often financed by government leaders or private investors. Gutenberg was underwritten by Johann Fust, who foreclosed when production wasn't completed on time.
In the case of books, there was a large initial investment, and the project might take years to complete. It could be these anxious financiers were just keeping an eye on their investment, or they were there to make sure that nothing would be printed that was offensive to those in power.
Others common in these old engravings were the writers and artists-in-residence. Printing offices, like the monasteries, became a center for scholars and new ideas. Many printers employed artists to do illustrations and design the type and books. Scholars were brought in to do translations. Aldus Manutius employed the great scholar, Erasmus, to work in his publishing house in Venice.
Some old illustrations show stacks of completed books and pamphlets. These were most likely the product of the shop and were offered for sale. The print shop served as book store as well. The shorter, less expensive pamphlets offered a more steady income to the printer. The subjects were numerous and mostly enlightening, but even the religious works pandered to the masses with violence and sexual content to make the more conservative members of society question the bad influence that the new media had on society.
To create another income line, some printers wrote and printed "news sheets" that were the early forerunners of newspapers. It didn't hurt when the print shop was near a port or was a mail drop for the post rider. This gave our ancient newsman the latest gossip from down the road or across the sea. One printer had an engraving of a navigational compass on the front of his paper. The north, east, west, and south points spelled out N-E-W-S and was perhaps the origin of the "newspaper."
There are often children present in the workplace illustrations. In addition to being a place of printing, it was also a "school" for the young apprentices. An enviable opportunity for a youth was to have his parents secure an apprenticeship for him at a local printer. Many a printer served the seven-year apprenticeship working six days a week and twelve to fourteen hours a day.
One sees the apprentices at various duties, including distributing the type back to the cases after printing. This is the way they learned the "lay of the case." They may also be found wetting the paper to soften it in anticipation of printing. Rough sheets of paper hanging from the rafters were there for both ink and paper to dry.
It can also be noticed that most everyone in the shop is heavily dressed. Work places were often not very well heated and the workers were there in coolest parts of the day. The one exception is usually the pressman. With sleeves rolled up, he had the most physical job in the shop. It took a lot of force to impress the form on to the paper. In one example the pressman's foot and leg are swollen from many years of this repetitious exercise. One old murder mystery plot was solved because the printer had a limp to his walk.
In some illustrations, daggers and swords are present. These side arms were worn by printers not so much for protection, but as a badge of honor. Some city governments banned the carrying of arms, but overlooked the law for persons of honor or nobility.
What don't the pictures show? They don't show the smells of the shop: the smell of the linseed oil and lamp black ink, the lye and urine used to clean the forms. Also missing are the smell of candles and lamps and the pungent smells of laborers who seldom had opportunity to bathe.
Many early shops worked under the most extreme political control. When allowed to print, it was best if the printing conform to the ideas and ideals of the ruling class, leader, or church. It took years for civilization to establish the foundation of freedom in printing. The pictures also can't show the centuries of dedication to freedom and pride that the printer's gave to their work.
Copyright © 1998 by Frank Granger
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