Ties That Bind (and Print): Pablo Hurus and Andrés De Li

TIES THAT BIND (AND PRINT): PABLO HURUS AND ANDRÉS DE LI Laura Delbrugge Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania While there is often a shortage ofevidence of the workings ofearly presses, especially in Iberia, one certainty is that the early days ofprinting were fluid, dynamic and intensely creative as the roles ofthe printer, publisher, bookseller and author overlapped and evolved with each volume produced. The role of the entrepreneurial publisher varied from region to region, and was influenced dramatically by the amount of working capital each possessed. Particular relationships between printers and authors were often complex. At times, authors acted as publishers, providing financial support for printing ventures. Printers and authors often participated in collaborative ventures, creating a dynamic and productive exchange ofideas concerning the types oftexts selected for publication, their layout, and their intended audience. Valuable insights into the early printing business can be gleaned from the examination of these individual working relationships. One such relationship was that of Pablo Hurus and Andrés de Li in late fifteenth-century Zaragoza. The Hurus/Li collaboration was a productive one, generating at least three extensive works between 1492 and 1494. In addition to Li writing for Hurus, he also appears to have provided financial support for the Hurus imprenta. While there are some notorial records that document the partnership between Hurus and Li, there is much information that can be gleaned from the finished products themselves that speak to the dynamic collaborative process behind their creation, and in doing so offer insights into the nature of early printer/author relationships. Pablo Hurus, a native of Germany, was one of the most influential early printers in Iberia. While Hurus's presence in Aragón is first documented in a 1476 contract for the publication of the ForiAragonum, he La corónica 31.1 (Fall, 2002): 41-47 42Laura DelbruggeLa corónica 31.1, 2002 is believed to have begun printing in the city of Zaragoza in 1485. He left Zaragoza in 1486, possibly returning to Germany. His relative, Juan Hurus, ran the imprenta from 1488 to 1490, at which time Pablo returned from Germany to begin a decade of intense text production. From 1491 to 1499 he was responsible for the production of at least fifty texts Q.M. Sánchez xi).1 He was a noted humanist, involved in all aspects of his imprenta, and often solicited texts for production from authors within his community. In addition, he translated numerous works himself. Febvre and Martin's general description of early printers is extremely relevant to Pablo Hurus. Many of the printers and booksellers .... whom we justly call humanists had neither the time nor perhaps the inclination to produce personal work. Men of culture and refinement, they were enlightened publishers and ensured that they were surrounded with writers and intellectuals for the greater good of their business. At the same time they encouraged them in their work and secured their services as partners and sometimes as close friends. (Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin 149) In the case of Pablo Hurus, much of his support, both financial and in the composition oftexts for publication came from an influential group of conversos that included Garcia de Santa Maria and Andrés de Li. The first confirmed interaction between Hurus and Li has been found in agreements for a 1478 printing in Calatayud of seventy-nine Bibles in Castilian (Leonardo Romero Tobar 562).2 Encarnación Marín Padilla, in an extensive study of this publishing agreement, notes the connection between Hurus and Li: Sostiene Ximénez de Embún que a Pablo Hurus lo llamaron los conversos zaragozanos micer Gonzalo García de Santa María y Andrés de Eli, y ... afirma que con Eli mantuvo el alemán una amistad estrecha y que los dos conversos fueron protectores de la imprenta. (591) Li and Gonzalo García de Santa María were the contacts between Hurus and the financial backers of the 1478 Bible printing: 1 For a fascinating look at influential players in Zaragoza during the early era of printing seeJ.M. Sánchez, Bibliografía zaragozana del siglo XV'. 2 Romero Tobar's work is an indispensable guide to...