Beschrijving

Recent research into the history of the printing business and book trade in the handpress age has emphasized that women played an important role. Widows and daughters of printers for example regularly took over printing houses at the death of the printer and scholars presume that they were already involved in some way in the management beforehand. Unfortunately, in many cases, the investigation of this involvement has been hampered by a lack of data on the role of women and their ‘hidden’ labour, as they often remained in the shadow of their husband, father or other male relative. This article seizes the unique opportunity offered by the archive of the Plantin Press in Antwerp to further investigate the role of women through a case study of Maria Theresia Borrekens (1728–1797), wife of Franciscus Joannes Moretus and head of the Plantin Press for almost twenty-nine years after her husband’s death. Through tracing Maria Theresia’s handwriting in the archive in three distinct periods, the article investigates Maria Theresia’s involvement in the business, before and after her husband’s death. The results show how Maria Theresia was not only responsible for the household accounts, but also contributed significantly to the administration of the printing press and clearly gained extensive knowledge of the business and its daily practices during her marriage. As such, she was able to take over the printing press at her husband’s death because she had already been deeply involved in the business before. The case of Maria Theresia Borrekens illustrates how wives could be involved in the family business in many ways and explains how widows of printers were able to continue the management of the business after their husband’s death. In this way, the article makes an important contribution to our understanding of the roles of women, especially wives and widows, in the printing business.