Atrás de la escena tipográfica: los impresores en la Nueva España

Abstract

The history of the typographic printing press in the New Spain is a well-known topic that has been thoroughly examined. It is remarkable, however, that printers did not leave behind many first-hand reports of their professional practice. This study examines current knowledge of New Spain printing and typesetting practices, which is responsible for three-hundred years of bibliographic production. The study, moreover, takes a critical look at those accepted “certainties” regarding printing and typesetting, which in fact have little bibliographical or documentary support, for example, the wide-spread assumptions regarding guild practices. The study proposes a historical interpretation of the cultural practices of men and women.