Polish Printers' Devices As A Subject Of Pseudoheraldry (In The Context Of European 16th Century Printing)

Abstract

The author offers a look at the typology of printers' devices as an intermediate type of image between a coat of arms and a trademark. The formation of this printed book element, which appeared in the 15th century, was greatly in uenced by European medieval and, subsequently, Renaissance heraldry. However, several signi cant features distinguish devices from coats of arms: the lack of legal regulation, visual variability and inconstancy, optional usage, non-strict abidance to the formal rules of heraldry and purely commercial applying. In the latter feature, the publishing mark acts as a trademark intended for marketing purposes. At the same time, the functions that publishing marks inherited from coats of arms are revealed in the practice of their usage, and consist in verifying products and increasing the prestige of the printer. With the example of the Polish 16th century press, we can see different strategies for using signets: for veri cation, for continuity demonstration, for personal representation. In the context of Early Modern European print culture, the Polish printers' guild provides a representative example of how devices were associated with the social status of the entrepreneurs. In many cases, it played not a decorative role, but a symbolic one, providing the reader with information about the printing house or its owner