List of women printers and publishers before 1800
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This list of women printers and publishers before 1800 includes women active as printers or publishers prior to the 19th century. Before the printing press was invented, books were made from pages written by scribes, and it could take up to a year or two for a book to be completed. Books were a luxury mainly for religious scholars and the upper classes. Johannes Guttenberg invented the printing press around 1450, which allowed for mass production of books. Having books become more widely available meant that a wider range of people had access to information, but this threatened the authority of the state. Some printers had their works censored and may have been jailed for disseminating information of which the state did not approve.[1]
Printing required setting type and running the press itself, which could be arduous, as well as bookbinding. Although running the press was considered too physically difficult, many women were able to do all the jobs required to produce a book. Generally, women learned the trade from their fathers or husbands. From the mid-1500s to the mid-1600s, women made up 10% of the printing workforce in London.[1]
Prior to the abolition of the guild system in 19th-century Europe, the most common way for a woman to become a businesswoman was to inherit a business and profession from her late husband, as the guild privilege was by custom granted to the widow of a guild member. This was often the case in regard to women printers and publishers prior to the 19th century.
The list is sorted chronologically, by country: