A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by ...

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a m ...

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

, and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

served as printer's devils in their youth.

Origins

The term "printer's devil" been ascribed to the apprentices' hands and skin getting stained black with ink when removing sheets of paper from the tympan. In 1683, English printer Joseph Moxon 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 " hellbox", 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. Many explanations have been given for the religious or supernatural connotations of the term. From the Middle Ages onward, particularly in Catholic countries, technological inventions such as the printing press were often regarded with suspicion, and associated with

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

and the " Dark Arts". Some have suggested that the term was coined as an

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

by scribes who feared that the

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

would make the hand-copying of manuscripts obsolete. Several theories of the term's origins are included below.

Titivillus

One popular theory is linked to the fanciful belief among printers that a special demon, Titivillus (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 "not" in the 1631 Authorised Version of the Bible, which resulted in Exodus 20:14 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 deliver to

daily, and later, to record poorly recited prayers and gossip overheard in church with a pen on parchment, for use on Judgement Day. 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

movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuatio ...

Johann Fust

Regarding the origins of the term "devil" to refer to "the errand boy or youngest apprentice in a printing office", Pasko's ''American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking'' (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." Johann Fust (c.1400–1466), also known as Faust, loaned money to

Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs ...

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 '' Mainz Psalter'', 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 Johann Georg Faust (c.1480–1540), the

alchemist Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

and necromancer who became the subject of numerous " Faust books" published in Germany starting in 1587, which in turn inspired Christopher Marlowe's work, ''Doctor Faustus'' (c.1591–1593). The legendary Faustus is said to have sold his soul to the demon Mephistopheles, in exchange for a book or

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

of magical spells. In 1570, even before publication of the first ''Faustbuch'', English church historian John Foxe credited "a Germaine...named Joan. Faustus, a goldesmith" for the invention of the printing press, in the second edition of '' Actes and Monuments,'' 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 an increasingly literate populace.

Aldus Manutius

Yet another possible origin is ascribed to

Aldus Manutius Aldus Pius Manutius (; it, Aldo Pio Manuzio; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and prese ...

, a well-known

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

printer of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

and founder of the

Aldine Press The Aldine Press was the printing office started by Aldus Manutius in 1494 in Venice, from which were issued the celebrated Aldine editions of the classics (Latin and Greek masterpieces, plus a few more modern works). The first book that was dat ...

, who was denounced by detractors for practicing the black arts (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 ''printer's devil''.

William Caxton

English tradition links the origin of ''printer's devil'' to the assistant of the first English printer and book publisher, William Caxton. Caxton's assistant was named "Deville", which evolved to "devil" over time, as that name was used to describe other printers' apprentices.

Malayalam root

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" (''achadi pisaku''), which is only one change of a Malayalam letter away from "printing devil" (''achadi pisachu'').

Famous devils

A number of notable men served as printer's devils in their youth, including

William Dean Howells William Dean Howells (; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ...

, James Printer,

Raymond C. Hoiles Raymond Cyrus "R.C." Hoiles (November 24, 1878 – October 31, 1970) was an American newspaper publisher. He was born in Alliance, Ohio, and started his career as a subscription solicitor in the local newspaper '' The Alliance Review''. Hoiles ...

, Samuel Fuller,

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...

, Joel Chandler Harris, Warren Harding, Harry Burleigh, Lawrence Tibbett, John Kellogg, Lyndon Johnson,

Hoodoo Brown Hyman G. Neill, better known as Hoodoo Brown, was the leader of the Dodge City Gang in Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1879 and early 1880. According to Harold Thatcher, curator of the Rough Rider Museum in Las Vegas, Hoodoo was "the baddest cowboy of the ...

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many o ...

, Geoff Lloyd, Harry Pace,

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He began his career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), ...

Albert Parsons Albert Richard Parsons (June 20, 1848 – November 11, 1887) was a pioneering American socialist and later anarchist newspaper editor, orator, and labor activist. As a teenager, he served in the military force of the Confederate States of Americ ...

Meade Huggins Meade may refer to: Geographic placenames * Meade Glacier, Washington, US * Meade Island, Western Australia * Meade River, Alaska, US Populated places or administrative divisions * Meade, Kansas * Meade, Ohio * Meade County, Kansas * Meade ...

and Lázaro Cárdenas.

Usage

United States

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 1894, ''American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking'' noted that with the decline of the apprenticeship system in the United States, the term "printer's devil" was going out of use.

India

The printer's devil is also known in other languages such as Bengali, where it is called ''Chhapakhanar Bhoot''.

References

{{Reflist

Other sources

*Frank Granger (1997)
The Printer's Devil
Retrieved December 25, 2005. *Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. (year unlisted)
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama
Retrieved December 25, 2005. *Pubs and Breweries of the Midlands: Past and Present (year unlisted

Retrieved December 25, 2005. Obsolete occupations Printing