Printers' devices: quick guide. Academic year 2020-21
Author: CRAI Biblioteca de Reserva
Keywords: Formació de usuaris, Reserva, Universitat de Barcelona, CRAI, impressors

http://www.bib.ub.edu/fileadmin/posseidors/
Base de dades Marques d’impressors
http://www.bib.ub.edu/fileadmin/impressors/
Bloc de Reserva
http://blocbibreserva.ub.edu/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/CRAIBibliotecadeReserva
Bblioteca de Reserva de la UB
(Ubicada dins la Biblioteca de Lletres)
Gran Via 585
Barcelona 08007
Tel. 93 403 53 13 / 93 403 58 93
Fax. 93 403 53 24

RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT CRAI LIBRARY
FORMER OWNERS DATABASE
PRINTERS’ DEVICES DATABASE
Rare book and manuscript CRAI Library
(inside the Philology CRAI Library)
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585
08007 Barcelona
Tel. 934 035 313 / 934 035 793

Printers’ devices database

https://bit.ly/3dEf5lY

Printers’ devices, the illustrative elements usually found on the title page or the colophon, serve to identify the printing house where the book was produced or the editor or bookseller who funded its production.
The term “printers’ devices”, then, is a generic one, as it does not distinguish between the marks of printers, editors or booksellers.
The complexity of this feature is evident in the use of different devices by a single printer, as well as in the use of a single device by different printers. Moreover, the devices used by one printer may feature completely different motifs or present variations on a single design.
The ‘Printers’ devices’ database contains information on all of these aspects, making it an invaluable tool for those interested in the subject. It is also a very useful resource for book agents as it provides extensive information related to their field of activity.
We also recommend the ‘Former Owners’ database, which provides information about the former owners of books in the Rare Book and Manuscript CRAI Library.
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© CRAI UB, academic year 2020-21

NATURE

CONSULTATION

PRINTERS RECORDS

https://bit.ly/2QROJDa

Search fields

Display fields

The Printers’ devices database details the printers and devices of the books catalogued in the Rare Book and Manuscript CRAI Library at the University of Barcelona.
The database was launched at the beginning of 1998 and is updated on a weekly basis from the printers’ authority records in the UB CRAI catalogue .
On March 2020, the database lists more than 1,840 printers and holds more than 3,330 images of printers’ devices.
The chronological scope ranges from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, with a small number of examples from the nineteenth century. The collection is eminently European, representing in particular printing from Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands and reflects the intrinsic characteristics of the collection.
The database links the printers’ records to the bibliographic entries in the UB catalogue, under which the records appear as secondary entries. It also links to the bibliographical record from which the image has been extracted.
It incorporates a timemap for pinpointing records spatially and temporally.
The database can be browsed in three languages: Catalan, Spanish and English.
The Source field contains the bibliographic refe- rences used to make the printers’ records.
All the records are included in the CERL Thesaurus.

The following field-specific searches can be performed:
Printer
Motto
Ensign
City (in Catalan)
Country (in Catalan)
Term (in the chosen browsing Language: Catalan, Spanish or English)
Keyword
Searches can be performed for all words (AND), for any word (OR), for the exact phrase or from the selected index.
For printer, city, country and term searches we recommend the index option. For motto, ensign and keyword searches we recommend the “all words” or the “exact phrase” options.
Timemap searches can be performed for cities and/or specific years of a printer’s activity. Search by period is not available. Results are displayed on the right of the map while at the bottom you can see the resulting set, with the link to the database.

General printers’ fields:
Search in catalogue: link to the catalogue for records of the selected printer
Persistent link
Standardized printer’s name
Alternative names not accepted (repeatable field)
See also: other related printers’ entries (repeatable field)
Country (repeatable field)
City (repeatable field)
Years of activity (repeatable field)
Note: biographical note
Ensign: phrase that accompanies some printers’ names, related to the device
Source: citation of the consulted bibliography (repeatable field)
Specific device fields:
Device: description of the device
Motto: if applicable
Note: if necessary
Term: keyword of the image (repeatable field)
Image (repeatable field)
Dates (in some devices)
Catalogue Bib. Rec.: link to the bibliographic record from which the image is taken
ID: Identification number