Business, families, competition : book printing in Krakow until the middle of the 17th century

The article presents the development of printing as a craft and the general conditions of its practice in Krakow, the capital and for a long time the only university centre of the Polish-Lithuanian state, from the early 16th to the mid-17th century. The author shows the place of printers in the social fabric of the city, presents the gradual formation of the professional group and its changing structure. The competition on the book market and the early forms of control and protections of the interests of printers (such as the system of monopolies and privileges, the "servitoriat", censorship) are outlined in general terms, as is the problem of the intersecting jurisdictions of various authorities. The social status, origin and education of printers are also discussed.