Lines of legislation in Venice regarding censorship ran in certain very definite directions, namely: the legalizing of custom and precedent, protection of the industry against foreign competition and preservation of the excellence of the nation’s press, protection of the buyer of books against poor workmanship and excessive charges (protection of the author’s right has already been discussed), and the development of a Bureau to administer the press laws and regulate the industry. In 1549 the book trade was organized by the creation with definite legal recognition of the Guild of Printers and Booksellers. It was believed that the trade could be dealt with better and could do its own work better if it were organized.
The purpose of the guild was three-fold:
1. To protect trade interests—the purpose of trade organizations at all times.
2. To assist the state and church in watching the output of the press.
3. To suppress pernicious books.
As the years went by the tendency was for the state censorship to relax and for the church censorship to become more severe. In time the censorship became very harassing and very troublesome. In 1671, although the Inquisition had ceased to be very active in dealing with the enforcement of press censorship laws, the requirements preliminary to printing a book were so severe that one wonders that printing existed at all. If a man wanted to print a book in Venice at that time he had to secure the following:
1. A testamur (a sort of approval) from the Inquisition.
2. A testamur from the Ducal Secretary.
3. A certificate from the University of Padua.
4. Permission to print from the Council of Ten.