privilegio ☜☞ privilegio


To protect the printers' investments, the privilegio granted them the exclusive rights to print a work, with no competition from others, for the specified number of years deemed sufficient to amortize the expenses of the edition. The period most often granted was 10 years, although some applicants asked for 20. The privilege was granted by the monarch, and sometimes the Suma del privilegio (the shortened version printed in a work) refers to the original, “que está firmado de su Magestad.”
  • Additional observation: Notice how on the bottom half of the page the letters from the printed recto show through. This is called the “bite of the type” and attests to the force with which the letters are pressed into the moistened paper on the bed of the press. The paper is raised and even after 250 years it leaves a tactile sensation.

    (See more about this topic in Miscellanies.)

    Escarmientos para el cuerdo

    [Private collection SzT]

<em>privilegio</em>
<em>privilegio</em>