Jakov of Kamena Reka

Jakov of Kamena Reka
A page from the Book of Hours printed by Jakov
Born16th century
NationalityVenetian
Other namesKamenče[1] or Osogovac[2]
Occupationprinter
Known forone of the first printers of Cyrillic books

Jakov of Kamena Reka[3] (Macedonian: Јаков од Камена Река, romanized: Jakov od Kamena Reka, Serbian: Јаков из Камене реке, romanized: Jakov iz Kamene reke; literally: 'Jakov from Kamena Reka'; fl. 1564–72) or Yakov Kraykov (Bulgarian: Яков Крайков[4]), was a Venetian printer. The information about his life is scarce. It is known he was from a former village called Kamena Reka (literally: 'Stone River'),[3] according to him near the town of Kolasia, in Osogovo, Macedonia.[5]

It is assumed that the village could be Makedonska Kamenica in present-day North Macedonia,[6] or Kamenichka Skakavitsa, in present-day Bulgaria, both placed in an area in Osogovo called Kamenitsa. However, near the town of Kyustendil, then called Kolasia is Kamenichka Skakavitsa.[7][8] His family members had a long tradition of being Christian priests.[9] In his youth Kraikov was a copyist of Church Slavonic books in the Osogovo Monastery "St. Joakim Osogovski". Then he went to Sofia, where in a local Church school, Kraikov deepened his literary knowledge.[10]

Afterwards, he set off through Kyustendil and Skopje to Venice. It is assumed that Kraikov worked on his way in Gračanica monastery where a printing press was opened.[11] He was among the first printers of Cyrillic books.[12][13] Kraikov reached Venice around 1564 or 1565 where he worked in the Vuković printing house, established by Božidar Vuković and inherited by his son Vićenco Vuković.[14] In 1566 (in period of only three and a half months) he printed the Book of hours ("Casoslov") of 710 pages on the printing press of Vićenco Vuković.[15][16] It was printed in Serbian recension of the Church Slavonic language.[17] To print this book Jakov used old, already worn out, sorts. He had at disposal Vuković's matrix and was prepared to cast new letters but he obviously failed to do it.[1] This book is described in some sources as the first Bulgarian/Macedonian printed book.[18][19]

In 1570 Jakov worked in the printing press of Jerolim Zagurović where he printed a Prayer book.[16] In 1571 Jakov again worked in Vuković printing house, where Stefan Marinović also worked before him.[20] In 1597 this printing house was taken over by Italian printers (Bartolomeo Ginammi, Marco Ginammi, Giovanni Antonio Rampazetto, Francesco Rampazetto, Georgio Rampazetto, Camillo Zanetti) and its printing press was operational for additional 70 years.[20]

  1. ^ a b наука, Српска академија (1950). Гласник Српске академије наука. Академија. p. 324. Стари македонски штампари Јаков од Камене Реке (Каменче)
  2. ^ Marković, Božidar; Furunović, Dragutin; Radić, Radiša (2000). Zbornik radova: kultura štampe—pouzdan vidik prošlog, sadašnjeg i budućeg : Prosveta-Niš 1925–2000. Prosveta. p. 24. Јаков од Камене Реке (Осоговац)
  3. ^ a b S.J., Michael F. Suarez; Woudhuysen, H. R. (October 2013). The Book: A Global History. Oxford University Press. p. 506. ISBN 978-0-19-967941-6. ...Jakov of Kamena Reka (the Stone River)...
  4. ^ История на българите, TRUD Publishers, ISBN 9545284676, p. 225.
  5. ^ Родину и отчствомь бехь иже вь подкрули великие гори Осоговцеи близь Коласискаго града в места нарицаема Камена река... изидохь из Македоние отчества моего и выидохь у вь западнах странахь. (Каратаев 1833: 161; Гусева 2003: 418–419)
  6. ^ Književnost. Prosveta. 1950. p. 98.
  7. ^ Petŭr Atanasov (1980). Yakov Kraĭkov: knizhnovnik, izdatel, grafik : XVI v. : [monogr.]. Nauka i izkustvo. p. 114.
  8. ^ Orientalia christiana periodica. Pont. institutum orientalium studiorum. 1978. p. 375.
  9. ^ Plavšić, Lazar (1959). Srpske štamparije: od kraja XV do sredine XIX veka. Udruženje grafičkih preduzeća Jugoslavije. p. 185. ...од племена свештеничког познатог тог краја од давнашњих времена .
  10. ^ Elka Mircheva, (Sofia, Institute for Bulgarian Language (IBL), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) A New Valuable Contrubution [sic] to the Study of Bulgarian Literature, Abstract: A review by Elka Mircheva on Mariyana Tsibranska-Kostova's book Yakov Kraykov's Book for Different Occasions between Venice and the Balkans in the 16th century. Valentin Trayanov Publishing House, 2013.
  11. ^ Bulgarskata kniga prez vekovete: izsledvane, Ivan Bogdanov, Narodna prosveta, 1978, str. 212.
  12. ^ Macedonian Review. "Kulturen život" (Cultural Life). 1992. p. 232. ...the very first printed book by a Macedonian author – the Caso- slov of Jakov of Kamena Reka, in 1566.
  13. ^ Margins and Marginality: Marginalia and Colophons in South Slavic Manuscripts During the Ottoman Period, 1393—1878, Tatiana Nikolaeva Nikolova-Houston, The University of Texas at Austin. School of Information, ProQuest, 2008, ISBN 054965075X, p. 165
  14. ^ Istorija: spisanie na Sojuzot na društvata na istoričarite na SR Makedonija. Sojuz na društvata na istoričarite na SR Makedonija. 1984. p. 513. Печатницата на Божидар Вуковиќ, во која работел првиот македонски печатар Јаков од Камена Река,
  15. ^ Glasnik na Institutot za nacionalna istorija. Institut. 1995. p. 110.
  16. ^ a b Mijović, Pavle (1987). Kulture Crne Gore. Leksikografski zavod Crne Gore. p. 310. ISBN 9788673570020. It was inherited by his son Vicen- cio, from whom Jakov of Kamena Reka took over...
  17. ^ Istorija: spisanie na Sojuzot na društvata na istoričarite na SR Makedonija. Sojuz na društvata na istoričarite na SR Makedonija. 1984. p. 398.
  18. ^ Bibliotekar. Društvo bibliotekara N.R. Srbije. 1972. p. 736. ...најстарија штампана маке- донска књига „Часослов", коју је штампао Јаков од Камене Реке у Венецији 1566. године.
  19. ^ Съюз на българските журналисти, Ще припомним първия ни печатар Яков Крайков, 03.04.2014, Елица Иванова, Кюстендил, Симпозиум и изложба за първия български печатар и граматик ще припомнят делото му. Център за славяно-византийски проучвания към СУ "Свети Климент Охридски".
  20. ^ a b Georgevich, Dragoslav; Maric, Nikola; Moravcevich, Nicholas; Ljubica D. Popovich (1977). Serbian Americans and their communities in Cleveland. Cleveland State University. p. 211. However, it was leased, first to a Stefan from Skadar and again in 1571 to a certain Jakov from Kamena Reka.