• Bártfa (Bardejov, SK) (1597) 1601–
• Lőcse (Levoča, SK) 1614–1615

The Klöss printing shop was one of the rare exceptions the foundation of which reaches back to the previous century. Of the two offices working in Bártfa in the 16th century it was only that of Jakob Klöss sen. which continued its activity in the 17th century. Although it can almost be taken for certain that Jakob Klöss sen. was in contact with Bálint Mantskovit the Bible-printer at Vizsoly, still, his pritning shop in Bártfa was not deriving from the Vizsoly equipment. After his settling in Bártfa he began to print with an equipment of unknown origins including printing types and ornaments. It was only as late as 1608-1609 that a part of the dissolved Vizsoly press came to his possession and continued to be used until the 1630s. The printing activity of Jakob Klöss senior, thoe founder of the press in Bártfa, is not continuous, as he temporarily moved to Lőcse to the other Scepusian town in Upper Hungary, where he was the first printer to settle (1614-1615).

Ornamental frames from the Lőcse-period of Jakob Klöss sen. (1614)

Soon he returened and in 1616 he was in Bártfa again. When he died in 1618, his son Jakob Klöss jun. was not of full age yet. The years between 1619 and 1621 are represented by only two pritnings and preserved the name of Martin Wolfgang (later printer in the Transylvanian town Brassó) who was meanwhile in charge of the Klöss press. It was during his time that the first Hungarian langauage calendar left he Klöss press, for the year 1621 (RMNy 1199).

One of the Hungarian-language books issued by Jakob Klöss sen. (RMNy 1258 )	Wood-cut animal pictures from a fortune-telling book (RMNy 1029)

Jakob Klöss jun. came of age in 1622 and was leading the printing shop for an unusually long period, until 1663, for more than forty years. In the first years of his activity the magnate families patronizing the press were the Várday, Nyáry and Telegdy-families as it can be seen from the printer's dedications. Jakob Klöss jun. was a well-to-do citizen of Bártfa, who, similarly to his father, was several times chosen to head of the magistrate.
This press as it issued more than 70 books in Hungarian, played an important role in the spread of Hungarian literature.

ILLUSTRATIONS

February, April and June - Agricultural works as represented in a Bártfa calendar for 1630

Sybillas: illustrations for a fortune-telling book (1616)

Some wood-cuts of the series illustrating the New Testament

PRINTER’S FLOWERS

INITIALS

BOOK ORNAMENTS

PRINTING TYPES

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LITERATURE:
Régi magyarországi nyomtatványok 2, 1601–1635. Szerk.: Borsa Gedeon és Hervay Ferenc. Budapest 1983.
(for short: RMNy)
Kovács Sándor Iván: A Bedegi Nyáry família nyomtatómestere: ifjú Klösz Jakab. In: Magyar könyvszemle 1966, 331–338
Farkas Ágnes: A bártfai Klöss-nyomda és Városi nyomda. In: A régi magyarországi nyomdák betűi és díszei XVII. század. Budapest 2010 (Hungaria typographica II) 49-54, 106-118, 277-339.