Browse Documents By...
Original Language...
Documents For...
Browse Commentaries By...
Browse Referred Persons By...
Nuremberg Printers' Ordinance, Nuremberg (1673)
Source: Stadtarchiv Nürnberg A6 Nr. 1119.
Citation:
Nuremberg Printers' Ordinance, Nuremberg (1673), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Back | Record | Images | No Commentaries
Translation only | Transcription only | Show all | Bundled images as pdf
9 translated pages
Chapter 1 Page 1
New
Ordinance
and Statutes
Enacted by a most honourable /
strict and wise Council
of the Imperial Free City of Nuremberg
As to what is to be adhered to
henceforth by the printing-offices
and the book publishers
of this city.
[City-arms of
Nuremberg]
Nuremberg /
Printed / by Michael Endter.
1673
Chapter 1 Page 2
New Regulation for
Book printers,
enacted by a most
honourable and wise
Council of the City
of Nuremberg.
In view of what We, the mayors
and Council of this Imperial Free
City of Nuremberg, have for quite a
while now often had occasion to hear
from our native printers, / our
fellow-citizens - namely, how both amongst
themselves / and the journeymen in their employment, /
and no less so amongst their apprentices, /
several disagreements and misunderstandings
have arisen / from the fact that one or the other /
had ventured to do and act / as he pleased; / and,
Chapter 1 Page 3
furthermore, since they have all
most humbly requested us / to
elucidate and renew, / in accordance
with the present situation, /
the statutes and regulations issued to them
some time ago, / so that both book printers /
and the journeymen and apprentices in their
employment can comply with them in future; /
We have, after thorough consideration and
reflection on the matter, deemed it necessary
and worthwhile, / in our capacity as the city
authorities, / to accede to their request
and have the present ordinance drawn up.
We therefore desire and herewith earnestly
command / that from now on, / in all the local
printing-offices, / this ordinance of ours / is
to be scrupulously observed / in every respect; /
that on no account should it be contravened; / and that
in this way a general uniformity is maintained by and
amongst these printing-offices - / on penalty of
the fines fixed therein and any other ones which, / depending on
Chapter 1 Page 4
circumstances, / may well be imposed - / fines which
the offenders will be obliged
and admonished / to pay and discharge
without delay in every case.
Book Printers and Publishers.
[Election and obligations of the supervisors.]
First of all, as far as the book printers are
concerned, / they are to elect two of their number
to be supervisors, / who must each year pledge
themselves / before the [Council's] official register in person - / rather than by
sending some employee of theirs - / and swear by it / that
they will always keep to this ordinance / and will report
any offenders to the laudable authorities for due
punishment. Every year, when the elder of the two supervisors
is to retire, / they are to suggest and name / to the
honourable delegates [at the Amtbuch] / two other
colleagues / as candidates for the vacant post.
[Suppression and prohibition of any works which are contrary to the honour of God]
Secondly, / they shall not accept anything for printing,
nor send it to press, / that happens to be contrary and detrimental, /
or offensive and harmful in any other way, / to
the honour of God, / His Holy Word, / Christian discipline and decency, /
the local government and the community, /
for which purpose they must bring all books, /
tracts, / or anything else that they intend to print here or in Altdorf -
Chapter 1 Page 5
the whole text, that is, of these manuscripts, / not just
sections, / and still less just general ones, or prefaces, - /
to the Supreme Administrator of Church Finances for
proper censorship, / and without the latter / they may not print, /
or have printed by others, / anything here or in Altdorf. Furthermore,
whenever they / or their agents /
return to our city / from the fairs at / Frankfurt, /
Leipzig, / and other places, with whatever they have
bought there, / they must hand in each time without delay /
a general list or note, / which they should bring with them /
for this purpose, / indicating what kinds of books were being
offered for sale at the fair they had attended, / and
together with this they must always provide a list
on a separate piece of paper, / which is also to be submitted, /
detailing one by one which of the books on the general list /
they actually bought at the fair.
Similarly, if a bookseller arranges for />
printed books,/ works, / poems, /
or any other texts, / to be sent or delivered
to him from other places, / or if he should himself
come by such works in between the various fairs, /
with the intention of offering them for sale and
circulating them here, within the territories over
which this most honourable / and wise Council has jurisdiction, /
he must not start to offer them for sale, / sell or distribute them,
unless he has previously, / as mentioned above, / submitted a
Chapter 1 Page 6
an accurate list of all the books ordered / or personally
bought by him / to the aforesaid local authority / and
actually obtained the latter's permission. /
Thus, / in general, / he may not offer for sale, / sell, or
distribute anything, / secretly or openly, /
through his own agency / or that of others / acting on his behalf, /
unless / it has been previously declared by him, / following
the above procedure, and duly inspected and authorised.
What is more, this most honourable, strict and
wise Council, / for good reasons that induce it to do so, /
will not fail / to put into action for the future
and reinvigorate / the visitations and inspections of
bookshops and printing-offices, / for these are not only
a long established and good custom, /
but are also highly necessary as such.
[Censorship of books.]
Thirdly, / if they should want to re-publish
old books, they must also submit these, / just as with new ones, /
together with the text of any additions or modifications to the original text,
for due censorship / and await
the printing authorisation.
[When these books are to be put in print.]
Fourthly, / all materials which have been submitted for
censorship / must be sent to press / within six months of /
their having been approved - / that is, they must start to be
printed within this time period / and the impression actually
carried on, / and, moreover, [copies of] both the first / and
any subsequent editions / must be delivered to / the public city library, /
no matter what their formats are, / that is, whether these are large or small,
Chapter 1 Page 7
whether they are made up of many or few sheets. /
Failing this, any other book printer is at liberty to
print the materials in question. And henceforth
our local booksellers and publishers /
will not have the right to have their
books or calenders printed / outside of the
territory of this city, on pain of a considerable punishment.
However, if it should happen that the printing-offices
here or in Altdorf / are not able to carry out the printing of
these works [e.g. for technical reasons], they must report this
to a member of this most honourable and wise Council / and
await the latter's decision and permission / as to whether
foreign printing-offices may be called upon to carry out the impression.
[Prohibition of reprinting]
Fifthly, / given that because of reprinting /
a great deal of trouble has been caused and occasion given for many complaints, /
book printers and publishers are to refrain / from any reprinting whatsoever, /
both of privileged and unprivileged materials. / They must also forgo
the expedient / of using different formats, / modifying the
illustrations and copper engravings in some way, /
or commissioning new copper plates, /
putting a different title and author's name
on the title-page, / drawing up new or different summaries, /
adding scholia or anything else. / Nor may they entrust a
foreign printer / with undertaking anything of the sort.
All this on pain of a fine of 1 gulden per sheet, / confiscation
of the copies, / and payment of the damages suffered
by the original publisher on account of the reprint.
Chapter 1 Page 8
[Local books which are reprinted elsewhere many not be sold here.]
Sixthly, even if someone were able to obtain, by
subreption, a privilege for a forbidden reprint edition of the kind
discussed above, / this privilege will not serve him to any avail
here, / nor can it prevent / the original publisher / from continuing
to publish the book. / Moreover, no book which has been reprinted
without due authorisation, / irrespective of whether /
it has the appearance of the original / or the latter
has been modified, / may be brought here from elsewhere, /
nor may it be sold in this city, / on pain
of the punishment stipulated in the above section.
Seventhly, in case the original printer / declines
to republish a book, / when requested to do so by the author, /
and another printer should offer to undertake this, /
the latter is certainly entitled to print it, /
but he must come to a fair and reasonable agreement /
with the original printer, regarding any [unsold] remaining copies
of the first edition. As far as general works are concerned - /
that is, the Gospels, / psalm-books, / the Catechism, / booklets of
names*, / and similar so-called primers - /
the printing of these may not be carried out as it pleases
the publisher, / say, adding to, or abbreviating the text, /
or including some songs etc. / Rather, each such work
must be left / as it is, unless / an honourable magistrate of
this city / should decide to order a suitable modification
to be made to the text, / or also if / foreign books are being
___________________________________________________
* Probably lists of names that could be used when
christening a child.
Chapter 1 Page 9
republished here, / but their authors
have decided to make alterations to the text, / in which case,
then, the book printer or publisher / must first of all
report this to the Supreme Administrator of Church Finances / and
await censorship approval.
[The display of books for sale in market-places, / in back-baskets, and on
trestles / is
forbidden outside of the dates during which fairs are held.]
Eighthly, in view of the frequent complaints by
our city's booksellers / about the offering of books for sale in
market-places, / in back-baskets, / on trestles and benches, /
that this most honourable and wise Council has received, / the
decision has been taken to issue the decree / not just to the bookbinders
in general, / but to everyone else too, / that this
is to be done away with / and henceforth only to be permitted at the
regular fairs and during the authorised fair period [Freiungszeit*].
On the other hand, booksellers are obliged / not to
press too hard - that is, contrary to what is fair and just -
on the bookbinders in terms of the binder's wages paid to them. /
The binders should, rather, be paid enough to allow them to stay [in Nuremberg].
Moreover, the city's booksellers / must henceforth, /
on pain of a fine of 10 gulden, / not have any of their books bound in
foreign places - / they must have them bound only by local masters.
[Number of printing-offices in the city.]
Ninthly, to prevent our city from being swamped
with printing-offices, / henceforth no more than /
the seven printing-works currently operating here, /
and the two which have been set up in Altdorf, at the University, /
will be permitted.
_____________________________________________________
* Fairs were usually allowed for four weeks at a time.
Translation by: Luis A. Sundkvist (pp.1-9)
Source: Stadtarchiv Nürnberg A6 Nr. 1119.
Citation:
Nuremberg Printers' Ordinance, Nuremberg (1673), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Back | Record | Images | No Commentaries
Translation only | Transcription only | Show all | Bundled images as pdf
9 translated pages
Chapter 1 Page 1
New
Ordinance
and Statutes
Enacted by a most honourable /
strict and wise Council
of the Imperial Free City of Nuremberg
As to what is to be adhered to
henceforth by the printing-offices
and the book publishers
of this city.
[City-arms of
Nuremberg]
Nuremberg /
Printed / by Michael Endter.
1673
Chapter 1 Page 2
New Regulation for
Book printers,
enacted by a most
honourable and wise
Council of the City
of Nuremberg.
In view of what We, the mayors
and Council of this Imperial Free
City of Nuremberg, have for quite a
while now often had occasion to hear
from our native printers, / our
fellow-citizens - namely, how both amongst
themselves / and the journeymen in their employment, /
and no less so amongst their apprentices, /
several disagreements and misunderstandings
have arisen / from the fact that one or the other /
had ventured to do and act / as he pleased; / and,
Chapter 1 Page 3
furthermore, since they have all
most humbly requested us / to
elucidate and renew, / in accordance
with the present situation, /
the statutes and regulations issued to them
some time ago, / so that both book printers /
and the journeymen and apprentices in their
employment can comply with them in future; /
We have, after thorough consideration and
reflection on the matter, deemed it necessary
and worthwhile, / in our capacity as the city
authorities, / to accede to their request
and have the present ordinance drawn up.
We therefore desire and herewith earnestly
command / that from now on, / in all the local
printing-offices, / this ordinance of ours / is
to be scrupulously observed / in every respect; /
that on no account should it be contravened; / and that
in this way a general uniformity is maintained by and
amongst these printing-offices - / on penalty of
the fines fixed therein and any other ones which, / depending on
Chapter 1 Page 4
circumstances, / may well be imposed - / fines which
the offenders will be obliged
and admonished / to pay and discharge
without delay in every case.
Book Printers and Publishers.
[Election and obligations of the supervisors.]
First of all, as far as the book printers are
concerned, / they are to elect two of their number
to be supervisors, / who must each year pledge
themselves / before the [Council's] official register in person - / rather than by
sending some employee of theirs - / and swear by it / that
they will always keep to this ordinance / and will report
any offenders to the laudable authorities for due
punishment. Every year, when the elder of the two supervisors
is to retire, / they are to suggest and name / to the
honourable delegates [at the Amtbuch] / two other
colleagues / as candidates for the vacant post.
[Suppression and prohibition of any works which are contrary to the honour of God]
Secondly, / they shall not accept anything for printing,
nor send it to press, / that happens to be contrary and detrimental, /
or offensive and harmful in any other way, / to
the honour of God, / His Holy Word, / Christian discipline and decency, /
the local government and the community, /
for which purpose they must bring all books, /
tracts, / or anything else that they intend to print here or in Altdorf -
Chapter 1 Page 5
the whole text, that is, of these manuscripts, / not just
sections, / and still less just general ones, or prefaces, - /
to the Supreme Administrator of Church Finances for
proper censorship, / and without the latter / they may not print, /
or have printed by others, / anything here or in Altdorf. Furthermore,
whenever they / or their agents /
return to our city / from the fairs at / Frankfurt, /
Leipzig, / and other places, with whatever they have
bought there, / they must hand in each time without delay /
a general list or note, / which they should bring with them /
for this purpose, / indicating what kinds of books were being
offered for sale at the fair they had attended, / and
together with this they must always provide a list
on a separate piece of paper, / which is also to be submitted, /
detailing one by one which of the books on the general list /
they actually bought at the fair.
Similarly, if a bookseller arranges for />
printed books,/ works, / poems, /
or any other texts, / to be sent or delivered
to him from other places, / or if he should himself
come by such works in between the various fairs, /
with the intention of offering them for sale and
circulating them here, within the territories over
which this most honourable / and wise Council has jurisdiction, /
he must not start to offer them for sale, / sell or distribute them,
unless he has previously, / as mentioned above, / submitted a
Chapter 1 Page 6
an accurate list of all the books ordered / or personally
bought by him / to the aforesaid local authority / and
actually obtained the latter's permission. /
Thus, / in general, / he may not offer for sale, / sell, or
distribute anything, / secretly or openly, /
through his own agency / or that of others / acting on his behalf, /
unless / it has been previously declared by him, / following
the above procedure, and duly inspected and authorised.
What is more, this most honourable, strict and
wise Council, / for good reasons that induce it to do so, /
will not fail / to put into action for the future
and reinvigorate / the visitations and inspections of
bookshops and printing-offices, / for these are not only
a long established and good custom, /
but are also highly necessary as such.
[Censorship of books.]
Thirdly, / if they should want to re-publish
old books, they must also submit these, / just as with new ones, /
together with the text of any additions or modifications to the original text,
for due censorship / and await
the printing authorisation.
[When these books are to be put in print.]
Fourthly, / all materials which have been submitted for
censorship / must be sent to press / within six months of /
their having been approved - / that is, they must start to be
printed within this time period / and the impression actually
carried on, / and, moreover, [copies of] both the first / and
any subsequent editions / must be delivered to / the public city library, /
no matter what their formats are, / that is, whether these are large or small,
Chapter 1 Page 7
whether they are made up of many or few sheets. /
Failing this, any other book printer is at liberty to
print the materials in question. And henceforth
our local booksellers and publishers /
will not have the right to have their
books or calenders printed / outside of the
territory of this city, on pain of a considerable punishment.
However, if it should happen that the printing-offices
here or in Altdorf / are not able to carry out the printing of
these works [e.g. for technical reasons], they must report this
to a member of this most honourable and wise Council / and
await the latter's decision and permission / as to whether
foreign printing-offices may be called upon to carry out the impression.
[Prohibition of reprinting]
Fifthly, / given that because of reprinting /
a great deal of trouble has been caused and occasion given for many complaints, /
book printers and publishers are to refrain / from any reprinting whatsoever, /
both of privileged and unprivileged materials. / They must also forgo
the expedient / of using different formats, / modifying the
illustrations and copper engravings in some way, /
or commissioning new copper plates, /
putting a different title and author's name
on the title-page, / drawing up new or different summaries, /
adding scholia or anything else. / Nor may they entrust a
foreign printer / with undertaking anything of the sort.
All this on pain of a fine of 1 gulden per sheet, / confiscation
of the copies, / and payment of the damages suffered
by the original publisher on account of the reprint.
Chapter 1 Page 8
[Local books which are reprinted elsewhere many not be sold here.]
Sixthly, even if someone were able to obtain, by
subreption, a privilege for a forbidden reprint edition of the kind
discussed above, / this privilege will not serve him to any avail
here, / nor can it prevent / the original publisher / from continuing
to publish the book. / Moreover, no book which has been reprinted
without due authorisation, / irrespective of whether /
it has the appearance of the original / or the latter
has been modified, / may be brought here from elsewhere, /
nor may it be sold in this city, / on pain
of the punishment stipulated in the above section.
Seventhly, in case the original printer / declines
to republish a book, / when requested to do so by the author, /
and another printer should offer to undertake this, /
the latter is certainly entitled to print it, /
but he must come to a fair and reasonable agreement /
with the original printer, regarding any [unsold] remaining copies
of the first edition. As far as general works are concerned - /
that is, the Gospels, / psalm-books, / the Catechism, / booklets of
names*, / and similar so-called primers - /
the printing of these may not be carried out as it pleases
the publisher, / say, adding to, or abbreviating the text, /
or including some songs etc. / Rather, each such work
must be left / as it is, unless / an honourable magistrate of
this city / should decide to order a suitable modification
to be made to the text, / or also if / foreign books are being
___________________________________________________
* Probably lists of names that could be used when
christening a child.
Chapter 1 Page 9
republished here, / but their authors
have decided to make alterations to the text, / in which case,
then, the book printer or publisher / must first of all
report this to the Supreme Administrator of Church Finances / and
await censorship approval.
[The display of books for sale in market-places, / in back-baskets, and on
trestles / is
forbidden outside of the dates during which fairs are held.]
Eighthly, in view of the frequent complaints by
our city's booksellers / about the offering of books for sale in
market-places, / in back-baskets, / on trestles and benches, /
that this most honourable and wise Council has received, / the
decision has been taken to issue the decree / not just to the bookbinders
in general, / but to everyone else too, / that this
is to be done away with / and henceforth only to be permitted at the
regular fairs and during the authorised fair period [Freiungszeit*].
On the other hand, booksellers are obliged / not to
press too hard - that is, contrary to what is fair and just -
on the bookbinders in terms of the binder's wages paid to them. /
The binders should, rather, be paid enough to allow them to stay [in Nuremberg].
Moreover, the city's booksellers / must henceforth, /
on pain of a fine of 10 gulden, / not have any of their books bound in
foreign places - / they must have them bound only by local masters.
[Number of printing-offices in the city.]
Ninthly, to prevent our city from being swamped
with printing-offices, / henceforth no more than /
the seven printing-works currently operating here, /
and the two which have been set up in Altdorf, at the University, /
will be permitted.
_____________________________________________________
* Fairs were usually allowed for four weeks at a time.
Translation by: Luis A. Sundkvist (pp.1-9)