151:(also referred to as "the original printer's devil"), haunted every print shop, performing mischief such as inverting type, misspelling words, and removing entire lines of completed type. Titivillus was said to execute his pranks by influencing the young apprentices – or "printer's devils" – as they set up type, or by causing errors to occur during the actual casting of metal type. High-profile printing errors "blamed" on Titivillus included the omission of the word
37:
256:
although he had previously attributed its invention to "Jhon
Guttenbergh". Literary scholar Sarah Wall-Rendell argues that the association of the Doctor Faustus legend with books and printing technology reflected ongoing ambivalence among Reformation writers about the impact that books would have on
447:
In North
America during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, young boys were indentured to printers by their parents, or in the case of orphans, by the municipal or church authorities. More than apprentices in other trades, printer's devils were boys who had expressed an interest in printing. By
163:
appearing as "Thou shalt commit adultery." Often depicted as a creature with claw-like feet and horns on his head, the origins of the
Titivillus legend date back to the Middle Ages, when he was said to collect "fragments of words" that were dropped or misspoken by the clergy or laiety in a sack to
280:), who was denounced by detractors for practicing the black arts as early printing was long associated with devilry. The assistant to Manutius was a young boy of African descent who was accused of being the embodiment of Satan and dubbed the
107:
wrote that "devil" was a humorous term for boys who were covered in ink: "whence the
Workmen do Jocosely call them Devils; and sometimes Spirits, and sometimes Flies." Once cast metal type was used, worn, or broken, it was thrown into a
196:
to perfect his printing process using movable type, and sued
Gutenberg for repayment, with interest, in 1455. Fust, together with Gutenberg's son-in-law Peter Schoeffer, then set up their own printing business and published the
188:(1894) states: "It is said that it is derived from the belief that John Fust was In league with the devil, and the urchin covered with ink certainly made a very good representation of his Satanic majesty."
172:. Over the centuries, Titivillus was also blamed for causing monks to make mistakes while copying manuscripts by hand; meddling with block and plate printing; and eventually, playing pranks with
203:, a Bible which introduced colour printing, in 1457. Over the centuries, biographical accounts of Fust, the printer, have often become confused or intertwined with the legend of
322:
While the term "printer's devil" in India may stem from the
European legend of Titivillus, another theory is that it might stem from the Malayalam term for "printing error" (
112:", after which it was the printer's devil's job to either put it back in the job case, or take it to the furnace to be melted down and recast.
1015:
274:
216:
452:
noted that with the decline of the apprenticeship system in the United States, the term "printer's devil" was going out of use.
850:
249:
credited "a
Germaine...named Joan. Faustus, a goldesmith" for the invention of the printing press, in the second edition of
184:
Regarding the origins of the term "devil" to refer to "the errand boy or youngest apprentice in a printing office", Pasko's
1029:
56:
establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including
168:
daily, and later, to record poorly recited prayers and gossip overheard in church with a pen on parchment, for use on
995:
929:
700:
664:
553:
489:
1022:
79:
There are religious, literary, and linguistic hypotheses for the etymology. Printers blamed the mischievous devil
988:
Some Degree of Power: From hired hand to union craftsman in the preindustrial
American printing trades, 1778–1815
139:
would make the hand-copying of manuscripts obsolete. Several theories of the term's origins are included below.
160:
123:, technological inventions such as the printing press were often regarded with suspicion, and associated with
1045:
969:
628:
95:
The term "printer's devil" has been ascribed to the apprentices' hands and skin getting stained black with
511:
688:
115:
Many explanations have been given for the religious or supernatural connotations of the term. From the
28:
717:
825:
251:
1055:
596:
224:
427:
375:
343:
8:
460:
The printer's devil is also known in other languages such as
Bengali, where it is called
391:
220:
147:
One popular theory is linked to the fanciful belief among printers that a special demon,
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807:
799:
204:
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24:
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991:
925:
899:
811:
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549:
485:
355:
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57:
891:
791:
745:
571:"Chapels, Devils, Monks, & Friars: The Irreverent Language of Printing History"
529:
Mechanick
Exercises: Or, the Doctrine of Handiworks, Applied to the Art of Printing
387:
363:
880:"Gods, Devils, and Gutenberg: The Eighteenth Century Confronts the Printing Press"
695:. Kirksville, Missouri: Thomas Jefferson University Press. pp. 112, 114–117.
1060:
543:
950:
419:
395:
383:
379:
339:
293:
266:
234:
136:
65:
326:), which is only one change of a Malayalam letter away from "printing devil" (
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903:
434:
worked as a printer's devil on a prison newspaper while he was incarcerated.
359:
347:
338:
A number of notable men served as printer's devils in their youth, including
199:
169:
612:
Perry, Timothy P. J. (July 2015). "Early Depictions of the Printing Press".
431:
415:
399:
367:
238:
173:
156:
104:
61:
895:
76:
served as printer's devils in their youth along with indentured servants.
633:
548:. Vol. 8. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 304.
423:
407:
189:
128:
116:
803:
779:
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411:
403:
371:
212:
148:
80:
73:
69:
49:
879:
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Pubs and Breweries of the Midlands: Past and Present (year unlisted)
246:
693:
Books Have Their Own Destiny: Essays in Honor of Robert V. Schnucker
53:
36:
947:
Printer's Devil to Publisher: Adolph S. Ochs of The New York Times
241:
of magical spells. In 1570, even before publication of the first
208:
132:
109:
851:"Banner 15 March 1912 — California Digital Newspaper Collection"
219:" published in Germany starting in 1587, which in turn inspired
270:
100:
87:. Other theories include racism, Gallicisms, or misspellings.
230:
165:
124:
84:
292:
Some boys claimed their names descended from an apprentice
990:. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. p. 16.
96:
659:. Framingham, Massachusetts: NESFA Press. p. 286.
131:". Some have suggested that the term was coined as an
1023:
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama
192:(c.1400–1466), also known as Faust, loaned money to
601:. Open Court Publishing Company. pp. 249–250.
924:. Blaft Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 320–321.
655:Pratchett, Terry (2004). Perry, Sheila M. (ed.).
1037:
545:Glossator: Practice and Theory of the Commentary
1021:Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. (year unlisted).
629:"This Geek Will Put Reporters Out of Business"
516:. New York: H. Lockwood & Co. p. 136.
513:American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking
450:American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking
186:American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking
19:This article is about the profession. For the
920:Bhairav, J. Furcifer; Khanna, Rakesh (2020).
919:
784:SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900
777:
309:
303:
297:
265:Yet another possible origin is ascribed to
233:is said to have sold his soul to the demon
877:
780:""Doctor Faustus" and the Printer's Devil"
657:Once More with Footnotes: Terry Pratchett
654:
296:had in the 1470s. His name changed from
35:
715:
686:
99:when removing sheets of paper from the
1038:
594:
16:Apprentice in a printing establishment
985:
981:
979:
963:
944:
922:Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India
915:
913:
884:Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture
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773:
771:
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767:
740:
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682:
680:
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626:
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568:
541:
526:
509:
716:Ellison, Suzanne (17 January 2015).
505:
503:
501:
215:who became the subject of numerous "
157:1631 Authorised Version of the Bible
778:Wall-Randell, Sarah (Spring 2008).
257:an increasingly literate populace.
83:or confused a name with the legend
13:
976:
910:
868:
764:
735:
673:
598:The Devil in Legend and Literature
14:
1072:
878:Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. (1998).
588:
510:Pasko, Wesley Washington (1894).
498:
484:. Oxford University Press. 2010.
474:
317:
287:
260:
1008:
482:The Oxford Companion to the Book
442:
333:
957:
938:
843:
818:
709:
135:by scribes who feared that the
1032:. Retrieved December 25, 2005.
1025:. Retrieved December 25, 2005.
1018:. Retrieved December 25, 2005.
648:
620:
605:
562:
535:
520:
179:
1:
970:Northwestern University Press
575:Essays by Robin Camille Davis
467:
142:
237:, in exchange for a book or
90:
7:
718:"My old nemesis Titivillus"
689:"The Revenge of Titivillus"
627:Romeo, Nick (6 July 2015).
595:Rudwin, Maximilian (1931).
245:, English church historian
103:. In 1683, English printer
10:
1077:
687:Presley, Paula L. (1998).
40:Printing press, circa 1568
18:
964:Baird, Russell N (1967).
455:
437:
119:onward, particularly in
986:Lause, Mark A. (1991).
750:Encyclopedia Britannica
542:Cisco, Michael (2013).
29:Printer's Devil (album)
1014:Frank Granger (1997).
527:Moxon, Joseph (1683).
310:
304:
298:
41:
945:Faber, Doris (1963).
896:10.1353/sec.2010.0189
569:Davis, Robin (2010).
39:
27:. For the album, see
1046:Obsolete occupations
826:"The Princeton Star"
376:Joel Chandler Harris
344:William Dean Howells
159:, which resulted in
1030:The Printer's Devil
1016:The Printer's Devil
830:open.library.ubc.ca
252:Actes and Monuments
229:(c.1591–1593). The
221:Christopher Marlowe
207:(c.1480–1540), the
796:10.1353/sel.0.0001
462:Chhapakhanar Bhoot
205:Johann Georg Faust
194:Johannes Gutenberg
121:Catholic countries
42:
752:. 26 October 2021
356:Raymond C. Hoiles
352:Benjamin Franklin
231:legendary Faustus
58:Benjamin Franklin
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46:printer's devil
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25:Printer's Devil
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1056:Apprenticeship
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951:Julian Messner
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790:(2): 259–260.
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734:
722:Lost Art Press
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420:Albert Parsons
396:Lyndon Johnson
384:Harry Burleigh
380:Warren Harding
340:Ambrose Bierce
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332:
328:achadi pisachu
319:
318:Malayalam root
316:
294:William Caxton
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288:William Caxton
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267:Aldus Manutius
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261:Aldus Manutius
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235:Mephistopheles
226:Doctor Faustus
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137:printing press
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66:Ambrose Bierce
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1009:Other sources
999:
997:9781557281852
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972:. p. 28.
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747:
746:"Johann Fust"
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719:
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704:
702:0-940474-59-X
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666:9781886778573
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443:United States
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361:
360:Samuel Fuller
357:
353:
349:
348:James Printer
345:
341:
334:Famous devils
331:
329:
325:
324:achadi pisaku
315:
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200:Mainz Psalter
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170:Judgement Day
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38:
34:
30:
26:
23:episode, see
22:
21:Twilight Zone
987:
965:
959:
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940:
921:
887:
883:
858:. Retrieved
855:cdnc.ucr.edu
854:
845:
833:. Retrieved
829:
820:
787:
783:
754:. Retrieved
749:
725:. Retrieved
721:
711:
692:
656:
650:
638:. Retrieved
632:
622:
616:(18): 27–53.
613:
607:
597:
590:
578:. Retrieved
574:
564:
544:
537:
528:
522:
512:
481:
476:
461:
459:
449:
446:
432:Cole Younger
416:Joseph Lyons
400:Hoodoo Brown
392:John Kellogg
368:Walt Whitman
337:
327:
323:
321:
291:
281:
264:
250:
242:
239:encyclopedia
225:
198:
185:
183:
174:movable type
161:Exodus 20:14
152:
146:
114:
105:Joseph Moxon
94:
78:
62:Walt Whitman
48:was a young
45:
43:
33:
20:
890:(1): 1–24.
634:Daily Beast
424:Adolph Ochs
408:Geoff Lloyd
217:Faust books
213:necromancer
190:Johann Fust
180:Johann Fust
164:deliver to
117:Middle Ages
1040:Categories
468:References
412:Harry Pace
404:James Hogg
372:Mark Twain
149:Titivillus
143:Titivillus
81:Titivillus
74:Mark Twain
70:Bret Harte
50:apprentice
904:1938-6133
812:149465440
273:printer (
247:John Foxe
243:Faustbuch
223:'s work,
209:alchemist
129:Dark Arts
127:and the "
91:Etymology
1051:Printing
804:40071334
271:Venetian
54:printing
860:23 July
835:23 July
311:Deville
305:DeVille
299:De Vile
155:in the
133:epithet
110:hellbox
1061:Devils
994:
928:
902:
810:
802:
756:15 May
727:13 May
699:
663:
640:13 May
580:14 May
552:
488:
448:1894,
426:, and
101:tympan
72:, and
808:S2CID
800:JSTOR
456:India
438:Usage
302:, to
166:Satan
125:Satan
85:Faust
52:in a
992:ISBN
926:ISBN
900:ISSN
862:2024
837:2024
758:2022
729:2022
697:ISBN
661:ISBN
642:2022
582:2022
550:ISBN
486:ISBN
308:and
269:, a
211:and
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792:doi
330:).
275:fl.
153:not
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1042::
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864:.
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644:.
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31:.
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