Ett vittert fruntimmer. En studie av boktryckaränkor och speciellt fru Fougt
The purpose of this Masters thesis was to examine women printers conditions in Sweden from 1483 to 1883. Women printers usually inherited their printing businesses from their husbands. We wanted to examine the circumstances surrounding women printers, how they managed to keep their companies and for how long. Of these 108 women we also wanted to focus on one in particular, Mrs Fougt. Mrs Fougts ownership of Kongl. Tryckeriet in Stockholm lasted for 29 years, from 1782 to 1811. Her ownership was both compared to other women printers and to men printers during the period of 1782 to 1811. Legally, women were treated differently than men during this period, for example they were considered minors. However, upon the death of her husband, the widow gained the right to take over the business. Though the regulations governing the printing industry applied equally to women and men, printers rules of ownership differed: when a woman printer remarried, ownership was transferred to her new husband, if he was a printer. We found that children and economy might have had an impact on how long a woman printer owned her company. In contrast to the men, women printers often were inexperienced in the printing process. Mrs Fougt may have been an exception. From her parents and her husband she gained knowledge of the printing process, the running of the business, as well as an extensive social network. She probably also possessed the personal qualities required to successfully run her business for such a long period.