Printers, Publishers and Booksellers in Counter-Reformation Milan: A Documentary Study

Seeking to fill in a gap in the literature of the publishing industry in sixteenth-century Italy, this dissertation examines the book industry and the lives of its member--printers, publishers and booksellers--in Counter-Reformation Milan. The study breaks with the tendency to spend more time with printed sources (i.e. books) and comparatively little with archival documents. By drawing on the rich font of notarial records in the Archivio di Stato in Milan, this study offers an integrated sketch of the larger Milanese book industry, e.g. the technical side of printing, the business relations between bookmen, the importance of patronage and kinship networks, the institutional ties with the Catholic Church and the dynamics of the commercial book trade. Because the book industry in late-Cinquecento Milan was noticeably smaller than its counterpart at Venice (the largest in Italy) and could not compete with Venetian bookmen for larger regional and international markets, Milanese booksellers and printers catered primarily to a local market. The steady rise in the population and local economy, the unique geographical position of Milan as a central hub in the commercial trade between France and Italy, and the active role taken by the Counter-Reformation Church to promote printing technology for pastoral ends were important factors contributing to the rise of the Milanese book trade. Given the nature of the sources used, this study throws light primarily on the business affairs and social milieu of the local bookmen. The work covers primarily the last half of the sixteenth century and adopts an overall thematic approach. One chapter discusses how the Counter-Reformation church, spearheaded by the efforts of Carlo Borromeo (the archbishop of Milan), patronized printers and booksellers for pastoral ends. The local market for popular print literature is also discussed. Finally, the monograph ends by examining in detail the careers to two powerful Milanese book families: the Da Ponte (printers) and the di Antoni (book merchants).