The roots of this printing art have to be traced in the period of our Revival. For this reason quite many monuments of the past have been lost or destroyed irretrievably. The time and conditions have caused a harmful influence as on the moulds-wooden and copper ones, as well as on the greater part of the prints-they are decayed and worn.
      This makes the prints preserved up to the present extremely valuable as monuments and documents of the epoch. Several works of art have survived up to nowadays and they are scattered mainly in the churches, chapels, monasteries or private houses in the whole country. Few are the museums in Bulgaria that can boast with their representative collections of such works.
      In the first place we connect the Revival print with the tradition in Bulgarian literature. Up to the beginning of 18th c. the printed books in Bulgarian language reached a significant number.
      To begin with the print-houses outside Bulgaria-in Romania, Venice, Rome, etc. where church literature was printed with Slavonic letters, we should mention and the first Bulgarian printed book "Abagar" by Philip Stanislavov-compiled in new Bulgarian language and illustrated with engravings on wood, published in 1651 in Rome. Similarly the book "Stematographia" of Hristophor Zhefarovich-printed in 1741 in Vienna is the first Bulgarian printed work of secular character.
      From the purely illustrative work it had reached and to independent printing stamp that took the popular folk name of "Shtampa" (Print). It found favourable ground for growth and development in the conditions of our Revival period.
      A great part of the prints were processed and printed on Mount Athos and in a number of towns in the neighboring countries outside Bulgaria. Some printing workshops were established and in or country at the end of 18th c. and the beginning of 19th c. We are familiar with the workshops in Bachkovo monastery, Vratsa monastery, Troyan monastery and of course in the Rila monastery. The monastery gained fame and glory with this work of art. The manufacturing of prints was imposed not only of the religious propaganda but it also accumulated great profits.
      The print workers from the Rila monastery made contacts with the town of Samokov, where already in the beginning of 18th c. the monastery established its own cloister. A local printing school was set and developed in the first half of 19th c. in Samokov-a town already known for its renowned icon painting and woodcarving school.
      The craft of printing became a profession for a lot of the local citizens and later even for whole families.
      From 1828 to 1884 Nikola Karastoyanov made prints and books with illustrations. Besides the old Nkola, and his sons Anastas, Sotir and Vladimir engaged in this trade.
      Another family of printers is that of the Klinkovi. The most prominent of them was the icon painter Georgi Klinkov(1843-1896). At that time another master of panting Nikola Obrazopisov also made prints.
      A lot of the Samokov and other anonymous printers introduced new stylistic moments in the composition arrangement of the pictures, hinted at the way of living and the surroundings they lived.
      For this reason the print is our valuable artistic heritage.