"A pre "Columbian", the most modern of the time, was brought in from Lisbon, and then converted into the "Typographia Nacional Maranhense" later called "Typographia Nacional Imperial".The first privately owned printer in Maranhão was Ricardo Antonio Rodrigues de Araújo, whose enterprise existed from 1822 until the 1850s, and "Typographia Melandiana" of Daniel G. de Melo, who produced his first job in 1825.