Card Printing Press in Ferrara, 1436
"At the 29th March 1436 is a short list of work done for the
joiner, picture framer and engraver Guido Castellani, including a Torchiolo da carte", writes
Ortalli in his "The Prince and the Playing Cards". "The small press is the first evidence of the Este court's dealings with
manufactured playing cards as opposed to entirely drawn and hand-painted cards." Ortalli assumes, that already earlier cards
painted by Sagromoro had been partly printed, but now he sees, that "the press for making cards was purchased directly by the
Este."
In the entries appears a mysterious "Mantovano", which seems to be the printer, obviously somebody
from Mantua. The Mantovano is still active in printing business
1452, when he had to print Imperadori-cards:
"stanpire charte da imperaduri da zugare". In 1436 he is mentioned in the sentence "commissioned at
your behest by the Mantuan" (commesse per Vostra parte lo Mantoan) (Francesschini 1993, p. 178, n. 412f.).
Mantua is not ruled by the Este, but by the Gonzaga-family.
To these informations we found the following background interesting enough to be mentioned, considering, that for
the years of the 1430ies it might have been true, that methodes of playing cards production were much better
developed in Germany than in Italy generally.
German-Italian Marriage
The Emperor Sigismondo gave to the Gonzaga-family the title Marchese at 22th of September 1433 during his 2-years-visit in Italy.
At this opportunity he was crowned to a king of Lombardy in December 1431 in Milano and crowned as
Emperor in May 1433.
The Emporor didn't come alone of course, he was accompanied by 100s of persons in minor function.
Such Emperor visits caused strong expenses for the visited cities, but they also offered a lot of good
opportunities to take up new cultural influences. Talkings about smaller businesses in the
background was a natural result. It seems, that Mantua earned - beside the title Marchese for the reigning Gonzaga - the "printing
connection"
from the visit and also the hand of the 10-years-old Barbara von Brandenburg, the niece of
Sigismondo, for
Ludovico, the espected heir of Mantua (the "theoretical" marriage took place 3 monthes later).
The marriage decision should have established immediately an influential and promising link between the courts in Germany and
Mantua (= Northern Italy).
Results of this early familiar connection are observable in the following century by the marriages of the family:
-
Frederico I., the successor of Ludovico the Turk, marries in 1463 Maria of Bavaria. The marriage endures 15 years.
-
His sister Barbara marries Eberhard I, duke of Wuertemberg, 1474, the marriage endures 22 years. It spreads many influences
of the Italian renaissance in Germany. Another sister marriage of Paolina also seems to have been Germany-related.
-
2 Gonzaga-generations later the Gonzagas do unite with Montferrat (1531), a heiress is married. The Montferrat region might
have had some German influences.
-
Another Gonzaga-generation later two important marriages (1549 + 1563) are done with female descendants of Austria,
also German-talking.
Compare to this: Gonzaga-genealogy 2 and
Gonzaga genealogy 3
Gonzaga 2: -
D1. Ludovico III "il Turco", Marchese di Mantova (1444-78), *Mantova 5.6.1414, +Goito 12.6.1478; m.Mantova 12.11.1433 Barbara von Hohenzollern (*1423 +7.11.1481)
-
E1. Federico I "il Gobbo", Marchese di Mantova (1478-84), *Mantova 25.6.1441, +Mantova 14.7.1484; m.Mantova 10.5.1463 Margerita von Bavaria-Munich (*1.1.1442 +14.10.1479)
-
E8. Barbara, *Mantova 11.12.1455, +Böblingen 31.5.1503; m.Urach 12.4.1474 Eberhard I von Württemberg (*11.12.1445 +24.2.1496)
-
E10. Paolina, *1464, +1495/96; m.11.7.1476 Leonard/Gustav I von Görz (*1440, +12.4.1500)
Gonzaga 3:
- A1. Federico II, Marchese di Mantova (1519-30), 1st Duca di Mantova (1530-40), Marchese del Monferrato (1533-40), *Mantova 17.5.1500, +Marmirolo 28.6.1540; m.Mantova 3.10./16.11.1531 Margherita Palaiologina (*11.8.1510 +28.12.1566), heiress of Montferrat
- B1. Francesco III, Duca di Mantova, Marchese del Monferrato (1540-50), *Mantova 10.3.1533, +Mantova 22.2.1550; m.27.10.1549 Katharina von Habsburg (*15.9.1533 +28.2.1572)
- B2. Guglielmo I, Duca di Mantova (1550-87), Marchese del Monferrato (1550-74), 1st Duca del Monferrato (1574-87), *Mantova 24.4.1538, +Goito/Bozzolo 14.8.1587; m.Mantova 26.4.1561 Eleonora von Habsburg (*2.11.1534 +5.8.1594)
The development started in 1433, it is earlier not reflected by marriages. From this one might consider German influences
by the Gonzagas on other Italian families, also one might assume some bilinguality in the Gonzaga family.
The first, who might have caught some effects of this new development in detail outside the Gonzaga-court,
should have been Leonello d'Este. He married Margaretha Gonzaga, sister of Ludovico the Turk in 1435. Inside this marriage-scene
we can now observe the detail of a printing press in Ferrara in 1436/1437, somehow connected to a mysterious person
called the Montuano - who must be capable to print playing cards.
In 1437 Lucia d'Este, one of the Parisina-twins,
married Carlo Gonzaga, the brother of Ludovico, a second Este-Gonzaga connection. However, the actual case seems to have been rather complicated. Probably
in 1436 Barbara von Brandenburg is "really" in Mantua, together with a German servant. Something must have been rather unpleasant
to her husband, the Gonzaga heir Ludovico.
He flees to Filippo Maria Visconti in Milano, November 1436. His father is very furious and now his brother Carlo becomes
the new heir. In this role he
marries Lucia d'Este spring 1437 - who rather immediately died after the wedding.
Then a new Milanese-Venetian War breaks out and often one, two or three Gonzaga men are on the battlefield,
not always for the same party. And generally Mantua changed inside the war the sides from Venetia to Milano. Details: in the Gonzaga-biography.
The dramatic development of the year 1436/1437 is followed by "Carlo Gonzaga being marriage-aspirant for Bianca Maria Visconti" (when Mantua at the side of Milano),
then "Leonello being possible husband-in-spe for Bianca Maria in winter 1440/1441" and "Francesco Sforza finally marrying Bianca
Maria in October 1441" as it was already promised to him 1432, when Bianca Maria was 7 years old.
Later it is stated, that Carlo and Ludovico lived as hostile brothers - we don't know the precise reason for this antipathy (perhaps we just didn't
find the right book, the Gonzagas were only peripheral for our studies),
but probably it relates to emotions builded in these deciding years "printing-press years" 1436/1437.
Ludovico became Marchese of Mantua in 1444 (he had reunited with his father a few years before) with the death of his father and in
1459 the host of the congress in Mantua and the same year maecen of Mantegna, who painted him and Barbara von Brandenburg in a
grandious fresco. Barbara (* 1423) became a letter friend to Bianca Maria Visconti (* 1425), they were in the same age. Perhaps that might
relate to a meeting between the both in this communicative winter 1440/1441? We've no news of this, but the distance between Mantua and Ferrara
is only ca. 70-80 km and all could have been done with a ship. It was Bianca Marias first stay outside of home, is it imaginable, that they
did let the good opportunity pass away to build friendly connections, which might later influence questions of peace or war?
Carlo became an adventurious condottieri. He belongs to the many, who tried to become duke of Milano in 1447 - 1450, again it was Francesco
Sforza, who was the final winner. In December 1456 he died.
Between all this confusing informations appears the innocent printing press in 1436, and the assumption, that it is a German
card printing-press somehow connectable to the visit of Sigismondo looks suggestive.
Personal Comment: I think, the mentioned printing-press is a relatively new invention for the Italian market, surely there
were other German printers before in
Italia, but I guess, that they couldn't afford to keep uptodate with new developments of printing technics in the meantime in
Germany. The printing press doesn't appear accidently in Ferrara: it relates to the good Gonzaga-Este-connections in this time. Import to Italy
of culture from north of the Alps has various examples: Music technology, oil-painting, old manuscripts. The son of Leonello,
Francesco, were perhaps send to the court of Burgund to gather such insider-know-how.
A similar action is done around 1460, when Bianca Maria Visconti sends a painter to Rogier van Weyden to learn - but this guy, who caused
some trouble by drinking too much (Bianca Maria had to write letters of excuse to Rogier),
later makes in Milano other things, which were often parallel to the work of engravers (there are relations between Rogier van Weyden
to Tournai, and that's a playing-card-production center probably since the mid 20ies).
The role of the Sigismondo visit, which happened also during greater political turbulences, is discussed at another place.
Links to printing technic
Unluckily the better internet material seems to exist only in German language:
|
|
|