Jakov of Kamena Reka

Jakov of Kamena Reka (, ; 'Jakov from Kamena Reka'; 1564–72) or Yakov Kraykov (История на българите, TRUD Publishers, , p. 225.), was a Venetian printer. The information about his life is scarce. It is known he was from a former village called Kamena Reka ( 'Stone River'), according to him near the town of Kolasia, in Osogovo, Macedonia.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)

It is assumed that the village could be Makedonska Kamenica in present-day North Macedonia, 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. His family members had a long tradition of being Christian priests. 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.Elka Mircheva, (Sofia, Institute for Bulgarian Language (IBL), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) A New Valuable Contrubution 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.

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.Bulgarskata kniga prez vekovete: izsledvane, Ivan Bogdanov, Narodna prosveta, 1978, str. 212. He was among the first printers of Cyrillic books.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, , p. 165 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. 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. It was printed in Serbian recension of the Church Slavonic language. 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. This book is described in some sources as the first Bulgarian/Macedonian printed book.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".

In 1570 Jakov worked in the printing press of Jerolim Zagurović where he printed a Prayer book. In 1571 Jakov again worked in Vuković printing house, where Stefan Marinović also worked before him. 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.

Jakov of Kamena Reka

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