Jacobo Cromberger settled in Seville at the end of the 15th century to turn the city into one of the great world capitals of the new ingenuity of that century, a technological revolution that would give way to the Renaissance: the printing press. He came from the German city of Nuremberg, but it was in the Andalusian capital where he opened the most important Spanish printing press of the first half of the XVI and edited both scientific and religious works of erasmist tendency – which was a real challenge to the Inquisition – as the greats the great best sellers of the time, cavalry and entertainment novels such as the famous Amadís de Gaulawhich Cervantes read in editions out of their workshops. Cromberger founded the first printing press in America, gets the monopoly of this flourishing business in the New World and becomes a myth.
A generation later: when Jacobo has died and his son Juan Cromberger gives continuity to this dynasty of printers, which at that time were also editors and even booksellers, completely controlling the editorial business. “It was the most prolific printer of its time and, also, in charge of expanding the commercial interests of the family in the New World,” as the historian and professor emeritus of the University of Oxford Clive H. Griffin assures. From father to son, from man to man. But the fate that Juan Cromberger died young, leaving nine young children, and his widow, Brígida Maldonado wanted to take a script turn to this story.
Original documents brought to light by the historical archive of Seville and gathered in a temporary exhibition that can be visited until the end of August at the headquarters of the institution not only discover the figure of this visionary businesswoman, considered the first woman at the head of a printing press in Andalusia, but also reveal the importance that women entrepreneurs had in the Seville of the XVI, almost always overshadowed by the family name and without the possibility of signing their editions.
And, when sending the second member of the saga, Brígida Maldonado, also born in a family of booksellers – the Carón de Salamanca – was in charge of their nine minor children and with a prosperous business to continue exploiting. As Griffin points out in the article The Cromberger and their printing press (Published in the magazine Andalusia in history), at that time Brígida had four alternatives: “to marry a printer, as was frequent at the time; pass the management to a relative or trusted employee; register the printing press with her own rubric, or direct it herself, but in the name of her late husband until her eldest son – he has reached the necessary age and experience.”
He chose this last option, which explains “that her name is not printed on the holpings or feet of the works exits from the Cromberger workshops in the five years she was in front, but instead appears that of her died husband.” This has gone unnoticed, hidden after the family name, a “strong and intelligent” woman who, says Griffin, was a pioneer: “She was innovative and entrepreneur.” Namely: “He knew how to exploit the desire of the reading public by the best sellersamong which are Erasmus translations from Rotterdam, he assumed the risk of publishing new titles that became sales successes, ”he adopted very cunning commercial strategies, such as the publication of break -toa editions, that is,“ books printed in discrete sections that could be sold completely or separately ”; and even negotiated a renewal of his monopoly on the sale and printing of books in the new world Clive Griffin stands out.
This is witnessed by the documents guarded in the Provincial Historical Archive of Seville, among which a notarial power, dated May 1541, in which, surprisingly and despite its successful career, it appears signed by it as “the sad Brígida Maldonado” stands out. The archive also treasures other documents related to this woman printer, which reiterated her penalty as “unfortunate widow” on some other occasion: you can read her will, dated May 1, 1590, or the document dated March 20, 1544 in which one of her servants speaks of her as “The Imprime, which was the wife of Juan Cromberger.”
You will never know how your life was, at the head of the business and in the care of your nine children, but your willingness to get sad and unfortunate leads us to think that this story has no happy ending. In fact, after five years during which Brígida Maldonado managed to maintain the strength of the editorial company that had been founded by his father -in -law (it was said that two out of three books printed on the Iberian Peninsula left this workshop), his son Jácome took over, who had reached the age of majority.
As of December 1545, the name of Juan (where Brígida should say) was replaced by Jacome at the printing feet of the books of the Cromber Casa. He had reached the age of majority and thus ended his work as director, manager and creative mind at the head of the business. But the things of destiny: “Jácome was a much lower printer, its editions are full of errata and its production was largely limited to reprints,” says Professor Griffin without ambiguity.
And it is that the case of Brígida Maldonado “was frankly exceptional, demonstrating that the role played by women in the world of book until the end of the 16th century was more active than it had been thinking,” defines the expert.
This is also believed by the Sevillian journalist and historical novelist Eva Díaz Pérez, who in her novel Grammar’s dream (A Fabulated Biography of Antonio de Nebrija) walks through that Seville of molds and smell of ink of the Cromberger: “These documents underline the importance of women entrepreneurs in the Seville of the 16 He refers to his book. ” It’s about The trip made by Spain and Francewhich is edited after his death and, specifically, writes Navager: “The city is little populated and almost in the hands of women.”
“Brígida’s case is very characteristic of women’s role in the printing press in the Golden Age – also the historian Eduardo Peñalver, author of the thesis, also author The printing press in Seville in the seventeenth century-. What happens is that the footprint that has left the presence of women in the typographic industry is very little visible, books when published appear with the name of the family, in 99% of cases they are widows of printers. Now the archive work has allowed us to know what was the importance of Brígida Maldonado, who for five years directed the company and kept it as a very bright printing press. ”“ What differentiates Brígida from other printers is that he did not have a subsidiary role, it was a very relevant figure, ”says Peñalver.