Printinghousesandthebeginningsofliterarypublishing

With the arrival of the Royal Family in 1808 and the Imprensa Régia (Royal Press), typography became a viable business for a group of Rio residents interested in the press and books. After the end of the Crown's exclusive control – which had already been printing European novels translated in Portugal – over the publications circulating in the city, the first typographers who dared to work with printed materials emerged.

The greatest name of the 19th century was, without a doubt, the Rio-born Francisco de Paula Brito, typographer, publisher, writer, translator, playwright, poet, and journalist. In short, a complete man of letters, a key figure in the birth of literary life in Rio de Janeiro during that period.

Image description: The image is a black and white engraving. At the center is a man depicted in right profile, wearing a suit with a bow tie. The background is light-colored, with a circular outline drawn around the figure.

After learning the trade at the Tipografia Nacional, he owned – alone or in partnership – different establishments in the city center, one of them being the Imperial Typographia Dous de Dezembro, with direct support from Emperor Pedro II.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white book cover. At the top, in larger letters, it reads "QUE AS MULHERES." Below, in smaller letters, is "TÊM PARA OS TOLOS." Next, there is text that reads "TRADUCCÃO DO SNR." and "Machado de Assis." The cover features a centered floral ornament. Below the ornament, it reads "RIO DE JANEIRO" and "TYPOGRAPHIA DE F. DE PAULA BRITO." Beneath that, there is a location reference "64—PRAÇA DA CONSTITUIÇÃO—64" and the date "1861."

In his bookstore, located on Praça da Constituição (present-day Tiradentes), the finest names in literature, politics, law, and theater of the period would gather. It was even the headquarters of the “Sociedade Petalógica,” founded in 1853, where a group of notable writers met periodically around the books, magazines, and newspapers published by Paula Brito's presses.

It was in one of his print shops, incidentally, that the young Machado de Assis, at 15 years old, found his first job and had his first boss as his first figure of a publisher. Paula Brito was also responsible for publishing one of the first Brazilian novels, O filho do pescador (1843), by Teixeira e Sousa, and the poetry classic Primaveras, by Casemiro de Abreu.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white book cover. At the top, it reads "BIBLIOTHECA ROMANTICA" in capital letters. Below that, there is a decorative symbol. Next, the title "FILHO DO PESCADOR" appears in larger, bolder letters. Following that, it reads "Romance Brasileiro ORIGINAL". Below that is the author's name, "A. G. Teixeira e Souza". At the bottom center, there is a floral ornament. At the bottom, it reads "RIO DE JANEIRO" and "Typ. da ESCOLA de Scrafim José Alves, Editor 83 Rua Sete de Setembro - 83".

After the 1850s, a series of print shops opened in the city, such as Franceza, owned by Georges Leuzinger; Universal, owned by Eduardo and Henrique Laemmert; or Da Nação, owned by Domingos Luiz dos Santos. Besides the privately owned shops, there were also the print shops of the leading press outlets, such as those of the Jornal do Comércio, the Diário do Rio, the Jornal das Senhoras, and the Correio Mercantil.

This did not make the situation any easier for fiction writers. Almost always publishing in subscription format (a kind of prepayment through fundraising to finance the printing), even major authors of the time took a while to see their paperback works gain proper value, both in terms of print quality and sales. This situation would only change substantially in the early 1900s, and even then, slowly.