Defended by you from the dangers of the sea. Xylographic and chalcographic printing in health certificates of Málaga.

Abstract

These certifies (expended both for ships and citizens, population) were of the utmost importance during epidemics. They were a method to certify/secure that a population was free from contagion. They became an essential document for travelling through the territory. These certifies were usually illustrated with religious, heraldic or mythological motifs, both in engravings and chalcographies. Some of them were very rudimentary from a technical point of view and many others were absolutely painstaking in their composition and the execution of the engraving itself. Fortunately, in the case of Málaga, a great number of these certifies have been preserved so we can have them deeply analysed.