THE General History OF PRINTING, FROM
Its first Invention in the City of MENTZ,
TO Its first PROGRESS and PROPAGATION thro' the most celebrated Cities in
Europe.
Particularly,
Its Introduction, Rise and Progress here in
England. THE Character of the most celebrated PRINTERS, from the first Inventors of the Art to the Years 1520 and 1550; with an Account of their Works, and of the most considerable Improvements which they made to it during that Interval.
BY
S. PALMER,
PRINTER.
LONDON:
Printed by the Author, and sold by his Widow at his late
Printing-House
in
Bartholomew-close:
also by
J. ROBERTS
in
Warwick-lane,
and by most
Booksellers
in Town and Country. M DCC XXXII.
PREFACE.
A S it is very natural and commendable for every man to be ever inquiring after any discovery or improvement that may be useful to his profession, and to communicate it to the publick, I am willing to hope that the care and pains, the time and expence I have bestow'd on the following History, will be approv'd by every one who considers the nature, use and extent of it; and the rather, because nothing has been yet publish'd, at least in
English,
on the subject of
PRINTING,
so methodical and comprehensive either in the
Historical
or
Practical
part of it. As to the History, I could not, without some regret, observe that we had nothing in our own language but some few fragments dispers'd in several Authors, who only spoke of it occasionally, whilst so many
Italians, Germans
and
French
had wrote so copiously upon it, and
ex professo.
Tho' even these seem rather to have had a view to the introduction and progress of the Art in their respective countries, than to the displaying of its excellency and improvements. Neither did I find that any of them had given so particular a History of the Invention and Inventors, or so general a one of its progress and promulgation through
Europe,
and beyond it, as I could have wish'd, or as I thought might be compiled.
However, neither these considerations, nor the discoveries I had made from some ancient and valuable editions I met with in some of our noble libraries, nor even the examples of several men of my profession abroad, who have writ largely on both the subjects, could have prevail'd upon me to have undertaken this
Historical
part, which I knew deserved a much better pen. The
Practical
being more within my province, my ambition reached no higher than to have published such a compleat system of it, from the helps I had received from Mr.
Fertel
and Mr.
Jn. Andr. Endters,
(two eminent Printers, the first at St.
Omer
's, and the other at
Nuremberg,
who have published two curious treatises of it) and from my own observations and improvements on them; as few of my profession would have fail'd of being the better for in some branch or other of the Art. And I could with the utmost pleasure have communicated all the other discoveries which I had occasionally made, to any person that would have been at the pains of writing this History. But when I discover'd my design, I found, to my surprise, that the Practical part would not meet with that encouragement and approbation I expected, particularly from those for whose benefit and improvement I had chiefly design'd it, tho' the publick could not but have been the better for it, by having much better and neater impressions than are generally done.
Upon this account my friends and patrous persuaded me to alter my Design, and to suspend the Practical part, till the Historical, which they press'd me also to undertake, had in some measure made way for it. Pursuant therefore to this new plan, I resolved to spare neither cost nor pains to get a sight, or at least a certain intelligence of all the Old editions that were valuable either for their antiquity, elegancy, or for any light they could give me into this History, and to add my own observations upon them, not only as an historian, but more especially as a
PRINTER.
The Reader will find, by the sequel, that none but one of that profession, and one that is well vers'd in those old ancient works can form a right judgment of them; and this is the reason that so many of them have been mistaken for Manuscripts, or have been supposed to have been printed upon wooden blocks, even by persons otherwise very learned and judicious, whereas it is even demonstrable that they were done by separate metal types.
My next care was to read over all that has been writ hitherto upon the subject, especially by the judicious
Malinkrot,
by
De la Caille, Chevilier, Endters, P. Pater, Orlandi,
and by the learned Mr.
Maittaire,
from all whom the Reader will find I have received no small helps, and which I do here gladly acknowledge; and if I have at any time ventured to dissent from them, I hope he will find my opinion back'd with sufficient authority; but where that could not be obtained, I have contented myself with leading the Reader to the most probable side. And it is with no small pleasure that I have found one or two of my conjectures since confirm'd by the discovery of some latent pieces, which were not known to them. They had indeed access to the most celebrated Libraries of their own countries, but this History will convince them that all that is valuable and curious is not confined to them, and that we have many as nobly and richly furnish'd in our own as any in theirs.
And here I should be extremely ungrateful, if I did not take this opportunity of acknowledging the great helps and curious informations I have been favour'd with by several of the Patrons and Encouragers of this work, as well as my great obligations to the Right Honourable the Earls of
Pembroke
and
Oxford,
to whom I am proud to own myself beholden (but more especially to the former,) for all the discoveries which this History has above any other extant. My free access to those two Libraries, as well as to those of my very good friends Dr.
Mead,
Dr.
Rawlinson,
Mr.
Richardson,
and others, besides some of our publick ones, such as those of
Oxford, Cambridge,
and of the
Middle Temple,
have afforded me the satisfaction of seeing many of those scarce editions, which have been mention'd by most Annalists, if we except Mr.
Maittaire,
either from Catalogues or hear-say. And here I gladly take this opportunity of returning my thanks to these learned Correspondents, who have favour'd me with any ourious intelligence from those Libraries, which my Business and the bad state of health, would not permit me to visit.
The order of this History is as follows.
The first book contains an account of the Discovery and Inventors of the Art, whether really such, or only pretended, with remarks on their first tryals upon Blocks, and their first editions.
The second book treats of the promulgation of
PRINTING
into all the several cities and places in
Europe,
and the improvements made to it by the most eminent Printers down to
An. 1520.
The third gives an account of its first introduction into
England,
its rise and progress in several cities, towns and monasteries; with the characters and works of the most famous
English
Printers to
an. 1550,
a fuller account of all which may be seen in the following
Table of CONTENTS.
This Performance I entirely submit to the approbation or censure of the curious and candid, as it shall deserve. And I shall gain the main end I propos'd, if what I have done shall contribute to some more full and elaborate productions of this nature.
Thus far Mr. PALMER's
Preface
to the Historical part, as to what relates to the Practical, we need not trouble the Reader with it here. What the Author design'd to treat of in it, may be seen by the
Table of Contents
prefix'd to the first Number of this work. In this Table he will likewise find several particulars which were promis'd to be added to this History, but which we have been obliged to omit, either for want of materials, or because they were not thought so necessary to this work by the promoters of it. Of the first sort was the
History of Printing
in
Scotland
and
Ireland;
concerning the former of which we can add nothing to the short account which was printed at
Edenburgh
by Mr.
Watson
the King's Printer there; and as for
Ireland
we are still more in the dark for want of Memoirs. Mr. PALMER had likewise promis'd the Prints of the
Rebus's
of all the foreign eminent PRINTERS, but, as he had not got them cut before his death, and has given an account of them at the end of their works, it was thought that charge might as well be spared; so that we have only added those which were used by the most considerable ones of our own nation. His list of the most excellent PRINTERS from 1500 to this time; the several acts for regulating the Press, and for securing the property of Copies, being left very imperfect, the charge of finishing them was likewise thought unnecessary; for which reason they are also omitted.
All that needs be added with regard to his Practical part, is, that, as it was intended to have been printed first, the Author has left it in such perfect order, that, if the Publick will be pleased to encourage it, an Edition may be easily printed from his Manuscript. 'Twere needless to tell the world how fit he was for such a work, what pains he has taken, and what improvements he made to it; those who knew Mr. PALMER will think it sufficient to say that the subject is the
Art of Printing,
and he the Author of it.
THE
CONTENTS.
BOOK I.
CHAP. I. AN enquiry into the rise of Printing—Pag. 1
II. An account of the different manners of Printing by blocks of wood and separate metal types— 4
III. Testimonies of writers from the middle of the 15th century in favour of
John Faust,
and the city of
Mentz
8
IV. Authentick facts in favour of
Faust
and
Mentz—
27
V. The pretensions of
Harlem
examin'd and confuted— 37
VI. An enquiry into the first books printed on blocks of wood,
viz.
the
Donatus Speculum,
&c.— 49
VII. The pretensions of
Stratzburgh
confuted— 59
VIII. The time of the discovery of Printing—
IX. Of the first books printed by
Faust
and
Schoeffer—
71
X. Remarkable occurrences between the year 1450 and the promulgation of the art— 85
XI. The conclusion, with an account of the ancient method of Printing— 91
XII. An account of the first printed Bibles before the year 1501— 97
BOOK II. THE history of the dispersion, progress and improvements of Printing from
an.
1462 to 1520—
INTRODUCTION— 108
CHAP. I. The city of
Mentz,
monastery of
Subiaco,
and the city of
Ausburgh.
§ 1.
Faust
and
Schoeffer
continue to print at
Mentz,
after the dispersion of most of their servants at the taking of that city—115
§ 2. The monastery of
Subiaco—
120
§ 3. The city of
Ausburg—
121
CHAP. II. The first Printers at
Rome.
Their patrons and correctors petition to the Pope,
&c.
The city of
Tours,
and the town of
Reutlingen—
122
III. The city of
Venice,
1469. The names, character,
&c.
of the Printers who flourish'd in this city from that year to
Aldus Manutius
's time,
an.
1494— 140
IV.
Aldus Pius Manutius Romanus,
a
Venetian
Printer, his life, character, and
Greek
editions,
&c.
Inventor of the
Italick
letter. An account of the other Printers at
Venice
till the year 1500— 151
V. Of the three first Printers at
Paris,
and their successors. The encouragement they met with. Some account of the books printed by, and other particulars relating to them. A second Printing-house set up in the
Louvre
by King
Lewis
XI. with the rest of the
Paris
Printers— 165
VI. The settlement and progress of Printing in the cities of
Cologn,
pag. 178.
Milan
180.
Stratzburg
183.
Bolonia
186, and
Treviso
189. The names, dates, and other particulars of their Printers—
APPENDIX to the foregoing Chapter. Printing set up at
Ratisbone, Amberg
and
Colle,
1471—page 190
CHAP. VII. Printing brought into the cities of
Naples,
pag. 191.
Florence
193.
Ferrara
197.
Nuremberg
199.
Verona
206.
Parma
207.
Mantua
208.
Derventer
209, and
Padua
ibid.
&c.—
VIII.
Note,
This is printed CHAP. IX. by a mistake, and all the rest follow that course. The cities of
Louvain,
pag. 210.
Ulms
and
Utrecht
212.
Turin
and
Genoa
213.
Brescia
214.
Alost
215.—
X. [IX.] The cities of
Basil,
p. 216.
Placentia, Pignerol
and
Esling
228.
Vincentia
229.
Lubeck
230.
Valentia
231.
Rostoch
and
Brudges
ibid.
Delft
232—
XI. [X.] The cities of
Spire,
p. 232.
Lyons
233.
Geneva, Brussels, Coscence
and
Pavia
242.
Goude, Zwol, Caen, Ceulen, Genzano
and
Quilembourg,
243.
Lignitz, Hasselet, Reggio, Mount Royal
and
Wartzburgh,
244.
Pisa, Aquila, Erford
and
Langres,
245.
Gaunt
and
Memining,
246.—
XII. The rest of the cities and places which began to print before the year 1500.
Soncino,
p. 246.
Leipsick
249.
Vienna, Urbino, Antwerp, Heidelbergh, Cremona
and
Harlem,
250.
Abbeville
and
Toledo
252.
Modena, Boisleduc, Eychstadt, Tubingen, Rouen, Gaeta
and
Tholouse
253.
Siena
and
Hagenaw
254.
Lisbon, Sevil, Dole
and
Ingolstadt,
255.
Luneburgh, Magdeburgh, Thessalonica, Fryburg, Angoulesme, Liria, Madrid, Barcelona, Grenada, Montferrat, Mirandula
and
Pampeluna,
256.
Avignion, Leyden, Provinz, Bergamo
and
Bemberg,
257.—A list of editions printed with cuts
—ibid.
and 258
CHAP. XIII. An account of some eminent Printers from 1500 to 1520. The great improvements they made to the Art, and the encouragement they met with from the learned; with a catalogue of their most considerable impressions in the oriental tongues,
Polyglots,
&c.— 259
XIV. Of the abuses of the Art of Printing.— 285
APPENDIX. An account of a new and discover'd edition printed by
John Guttembergh
at
Stratzburgh
in 1458, now in the possession of the Right Honourable the Earl of
Pembroke—
299
A list of some of the most eminent Persons, Authors, Editors,
&c.
who condescended to prepare Manuscripts, and to correct for the Press during the 15th century, with the character of some of the most considerable of them—30
BOOK III.
Of
English
Printing and Printers.
CHAP. I. OF the Art's being first brought into
England
313
II. Printing at
Oxford
by
Frederick Corsellis,
other Printers, and their works— 321
III. Printing set up at
Westminster
by
Wm. Caxton
and
Winken de Worde.
An account of their works— 327
The city of
London.
An account of the
London
Printers, and their works— 352
Printing and Printers. The cities of
York
and
Cambridge.
Monastery of
Tavistock.
The city of
Worcester,
and town of
Ipswich—
386
&c.
An Appendix to the general History of printing of Books, being an additional History of the rise and progress of Prints which are incused. Exactly copy'd from the Right Honourable the Earl of
Pembroke
's book of those Prints,
&c.—
390
A list of XVI volumes of Drawings and Prints relating to the same subject, and taken from the Manuscript-titles of the books themselves in the same library.
A chronological and alphabetical Table of all the cities and places in which the Art of Printing began to be exercis'd before
an.
15
0, and in
England
to
an.
1550.
ERRATA.
PAGE 2. Note †
l.
8.
for
sciae
r.
scire. p. 22.
l.
28.
r.
Regio montc. p. 93.
l.
2.
dele
of. p. 150.
l.
6.
r.
BACTIBOVIUS. p. 151.
l.
23.
r.
VITALIS. p. 173.
l. ult.
marg.
for
fient
r.
tient. p. 178.
for
CHAP. V.
r.
CHAP. VI. p. 182.
l.
15.
r.
SCINZENZELER. Ibid.
l.
27.
r. Montegatiis.
p. 190.
l.
3.
r.
BERNARDIN. p. 190.
l. penult. dele
15. p. 193.
l.
22.
r. L'Aquila.
p. 196.
l.
2
r. dci.
Ibid.
l.
30.
r. Tanaidis.
p. 198.
l. ult. r.
Tradidit, and
Ferrariensis.
p. 208.
l.
19.
r.
1472. p. 210. CHAP. IX.
for
CHAP. VIII.
and all that follow are wrong, &c.
p. 224.
l.
4.
from the bottom
dele, p. 236.
l.
8.
r.
ENGELHARD. Ibid.
l.
13.
r. Asc.
p. 249.
l.
3.
r.
MINCHAR
Happenim.
Ibid.
l.
5.
r.
BECHINATH. Ibid. Not. 1.
l.
6.
r.
.
p. 250.
l. ult.
r.
Verdnsen.
p. 252.
l.
6
from the bottom, r.
edition. p. 253.
l.
4.
r.
ROUEN. Ibid.
l.
6
from the bottom, r. Rotomaginm.
p. 255.
l.
6.
r. Hebraice.
Ibid.
l.
4.
fsom the bottom, r. Epidemiae.
p. 256.
l.
12.
r.
ABARBANEL. Ibid.
l.
14.
r. Josuae.
p. 258.
l. ult. joyn the last word with the first in the next page.
Ibid.
l.
13.
r.
ALBUMAZAR. Ibid.
l.
22.
r. Hypnerotomachia.
Ibid.
l.
5.
from the bottom, r. Montegna.
p. 260.
l.
28.
r.
1516. p. 266.
l.
19.
r.
1514. p. 270.
l.
17.
dele
in. p. 271. Not. 2.
l.
6.
r.
aptandos. p. 281.
l.
26.
r.
bought. p. 283.
l.
4.
r. propaganda.
p. 285.
r.
CHAP. XIV. p. 290.
l.
8.
r. Chapuis.
Ibid.
l.
12.
r. creditnr. Ex Dc,
&c. Ibid.
l.
18.
r. puro.
p. 294. Not.
l. penult. r.
literaria. Ibid.
ult. r.
luat. p. 295. Not.
l.
3.
r.
aberratum. p. 345.
l.
7.
r. heraldica.
p. 356.
l.
15.
r.
Poete. p. 364.
l.
12.
r.
cum. p. 365.
l.
20.
r.
Muster. p. 367.
l.
3.
from the bottom, r.
MD XXXVII. p. 372.
l.
4.
r.
1539. p. 375, 376, 377 & 378,
in the Printers dates, dele the redundant
I
between the
XX. p. 380.
l.
16.
r.
Retractation.
A GENERAL History of Printing:
BOOK I. Of its Origin, Improvement and Progress by JOHN FAUST from 1440. to 1462.
CHAP. I. An Enquiry into the Rise of Printing.
M Y design is to give an historical account of the authors, discovery, improvement and progress of the Art of Printing; an Art so highly beneficial to mankind, by preserving and transmitting to posterity the treasures of antient and modern learning, that its original has been esteem'd divine. I shall begin with a previous enquiry into the causes and concurrent circumstances, which excited the inventors of it to a discovery, that might answer this end, with more expedition and exactness, than
Transcribing,
the only method known before.
THE world at this time began to recover from a state of ignorance, under which it had labour'd many centuries; learning reviv'd, and was patroniz'd in almost every country of
Europe;
its votaries exerted a laudable zeal in searching the libraries for those valuable books, which had lain buried in obscurity, and were become extremely scarce, great numbers being lost in the times of ignorance. Manuscripts were procur'd and multiplied; but the price of them was such, that none but men of fortune could purchase them: 120 crowns for a
Livy,
and 80 crowns for three volumes of
Plutarch
's Lives
De tribus voluminibus PLUTARCHI in quibus parallela viginti quatuor continentur, titulos sumpsit, ut mones; pretium minus LXXX aureis esse non potest, &c.
Papiens.
p 114. vet. edit.
, was then a moderate price: a few manuscripts were thought a portion worthy a nobleman's daughter; and one or two intitled the donor and his posterity to the perpetual prayers of a monastery: nay kings themselves disdain'd not the office of procuring them for their learned friends, as appears from a letter of
Antoninus Bocatellus,
sirnam'd
Panormus,
to
Alphonsus
king of
Naples
and
Sicily
Significasti mihi nuper ex Florentia extare TITI LIVII opera vaenalia, libros pulcherrimos; libro pretium esse CXX aureos. Quare majestatem tuam oro, ut LIVIUM, quem regem librorum appellare consuevimus, emi nomine meo, ac venire ad nos facias; interim ego pecuniam procurabo, quam pro libri pretio tradam, Sed illud a prudentia tua sciae desidero, uter ego an Pegnius melius fecerit; is, ut villam Florentiae emeret, LIVIUM vendidit, quem sua manu pulcherrime scripserat; ego, ut LIVIUM emam, fundum proscripsi. Haec ut familiariter a te peterem, suasit humanitas & modestia tua. Vale & triumpha.
Epistel.
lib. 5.
; and an old
manuscript hebrew bible
was a present from the Emperor
Frederick
III. to
Reuchlin,
who was sent embassador to him.
Paulus Jovius
relates a pleasant story of one
Jason Mainus,
a student of
Pavia,
whose extravagance having brought him to a goal was oblig'd to deposit a manuscript
Codex Juris
on parchment, into the hands of an usurer, in order to procure his enlargement:
Petrarch
's rhetoric master likewise, by pledging two volumes of
Cicero
's works, sav'd himself from a prison.
As this excessive price tempted some to purchase estates by the sale of their books, and exchange learning for money; so the learned at that time freely parted with their wealth to procure those invaluable remains of antiquity, out of a generous design to communicate them to the world.
THE Transcribers now had a favourable opportunity of enriching themselves, which they might have enjoy'd much longer, had not they (possess'd with the most mercenary views) done an incredible, and in some cases irrecoverable damage to learning, by mutilating and corrupting the best authors: hence arise those frequent complaints against their negligence and ignorance, which have cost the learned an infinite deal of labour to remedy: to evince this the following instance will suffice.
JOHN ANDREAS, bishop of
Aleria,
one of the greatest criticks of that age, tells Pope
Paul
II. in his dedication prefix'd to
Pliny
's
Natural History
In nonum annum premi non potuit emendatio, ne futura quidem exacta post nonagesimum.
, printed at
Rome
in the house of the
Maximis
by
Panaratz
and
Sweynheim, anno
1470, that tho' he had spent nine whole years in correcting that author; yet ninety more would not compleat a correct edition. This demonstrates what difficulties the republick of learning encounter'd with at it's revival; namely, the scarcity and excessive price of books, and the sordidness of the Transcribers, from whose hands they came so maim'd and incorrect, that the great Printer
Stephens
truly said,
they were a plague to the purchaser.
These were motives sufficient to excite the Inventors of this Art to a discovery so beneficial to the world, and of such honour and advantage to themselves: who those excellent persons were, and where it was made, will come under our enquiry in its proper place. And here the reader will find just cause of wonder, that this Art, which has been stiled the nurse and preserver of arts and sciences, should (if I may use the expression) be so forgetful of itself, as not to leave us the least sketch of its own history, the inventors being
more ambitious of deserving, than of purchasing praise.
Some light indeed we receive in this affair from a few inscriptions used by
Faust
at the end of his first printed books, to this purpose.
This present work, with all its embellishments,
&c.
was done, not with pen and ink,
&c.
but by a new invented Art of casting Letters, Printing,
&c.
by me
John Faust
and my son-in-law
Peter Schoeffer
in the famous city of
Mentz
upon the
Rhine,
anno—
: but recourse must be had to the writers of those times for the history of this Invention. Many cities have contended for the glory of it, and engaged the learned in defence of their claim; but those on the side of
Harlem
have manag'd the controversy with great warmth, and charged
Faust
the Inventor with robbing his supposed master
Laurence John Coster
of many thousand weight of his materials, on Christmas-Eve, when the whole family and city were in prayer at church; with other such ridiculous stories, invented meerly to deprive this
Great Man
of the honour, which he had so long incontestably enjoy'd. Had this been publish'd in his life-time, when he might have defended himself, or presently after his death, when his son-in-law or some of his friends might have done it for him, he had undoubtedly been clear'd; but such an accusation was not hinted till 125 years after, and then grounded only on suspicion, as Dr.
Junius
owns
Ut fert suspicio.
, who was the first that attempted to transfer this Discovery from
Mentz
to
Harlem.
However
Faust
's name died not with him, tho' some
Dutch
writers made use of
his art
to asperse his memory: and others of several nations rose immediately in his defence; in particular the learned
Malincrot,
dean of
Munster,
in his treatise
De Ortu & Progressu Artis Typographicae,
has not only refuted what was advanc'd on the other side, but made such researches after the old monuments of the Art, and collected so great a variety of testimonies, supported by undeniable facts, as seem at once to determine the controversy.
Boxhorn
indeed attempted an answer; but whoever reads it over, cannot but be convinc'd, that an over-fondness for his country's honour has made him deaf to the most evident demonstrations of his antagonist. However as he and his followers, have given up the point as to separate Metal Types in favour of
John Faust,
and lay claim only to the invention of
Printing on Blocks of Wood,
which they affirm to have been stoln from
Coster
by
Faust,
whose next invention they would have to be only an improvement of the former; I shall give the reader an idea of both, and shew the difference between those first essays of Printing, and that perfect one, which succeeded and continues to this day.
CHAP. II. An Account of the different Manners of Printing by
Blocks of Wood,
and separate Metal Types.
TIS agreed by most writers on this subject, that about the year 1440, several attempts were made by some persons, with vast expence and labour, which prov'd abortive; but that the discovery of separate Metal Types was not brought to perfection till about the year 1450. We find that their first essays were by carving or cutting letters with a sharp-pointed knife upon Blocks of Wood, each Block containing a page or one side of a leaf; that instead of the common Ink, which is the sort they first us'd, they invented a more glutinous one which succeeded better, being less apt to spread; that they pasted the two white sides of each leaf together, to make them look like single leaves: but of this I shall have occasion to speak more particularly in some of the following chapters. In the mean time I shall endeavour to demonstrate that this invention has not that merit for ingenuity, usefulness, or novelty, which the
Dutch
writers boast of.
WITH respect to the first, the only requisites are a tolerable genius, sharp tools, and a good copy: as to its usefulness, the only advantage resulting from it, is, that whatever the book be, the forms remain intire, so that as many editions as the author pleases may be printed without the expence of a new composition; but on the other hand, if we consider that those forms are of no use to any other work, and the time and expence in cutting them very great, with the great space so many Pages of Wood must take up, we shall perceive the necessity of inventing moveable Metal Types: But farther, this method of Printing was far from being novel, it is even demonstrable from authentick testimonies to have been practis'd in
China
and
Japan,
above four centuries before it was known in
Europe:
it is not easy, I grant, to prove that we receiv'd it from them, because of their vast distance, and the little commerce between us before the year 1440: yet there is no impossibility, but that it might have been brought us by some merchant either by the way of
Muscovy
or the
Red-Sea,
the
Persian Gulph
or
Arabia:
of which opinion I could mention many authors.
Gonzala de Mendosa,
in his history of the
Marvels of China,
written in Spanish, Book III. Chap. 16; and
Martin Martini
in his
Atlas Sinensis,
tell us, that they could prove by good arguments, that the Invention of
Guns,
of the
Loadstone
and
Printing
was known to us by their means. What adds to the probability of my conjecture is, that the
Chinese
to this day send with their goods, printed papers in the manner of our shop-keepers hand-bills, several of which I have seen; and 'tis not impossible but the hint of Printing on Blocks of Wood might have been taken this way.
WHOEVER has a just idea of the genius of the
Chinese
and
Japonese,
will own their capacity to have invented the method of Printing with separate types, if their manner of writing had admitted it; but as they are known to write, not with letters, as other nations, but with characters, each of which stands for a whole word; and that the number of those characters amount at least to 10,000, (tho' some authors reckon above 40,000); it would be impossible to have cases large enough to contain 'em, besides the insuperable difficulty of distinguishing and retaining them in memory. To return from this digression, let us now take a short view of the other new and more expeditious method.
IF we duely consider it in all its branches, it will evidently appear the result of no small study, time and cost. The cutting the counter-punches and punches and sinking them into the matrices, the adjusting them to the mould, that curious piece of mechanism, for casting single letters; the difficulty of the whole manual operation of Letter-founding: in the Printing, the disposition of the cases, the curious contrivance of the several parts of the work between the compositors, correctors and press-men,
&c.
add to all this the fine invention of the Printing-press, so admirable for its mechanical fabrick, together with the curious apparatus necessary for a Printing-house, for an explication of whose terms we must refer to the second volume of this work: these are things which require a genius vastly superior to devise, better hands to execute, greater forecast to obviate, and readiness to remedy all unexpected defects, more time and patience to go thro' all its various parts, more resolution to overcome all difficulties, and lastly the expences necessary to this invention vastly larger than those of the former; and consequently we shall be far from thinking an interval of ten years too long, but rather admire that such a prodigious design could be contriv'd and perfected in so short a time.
WHAT has been said on this head, will sufficiently demonstrate the disparity between these two methods, and convince the reader how much the former is inferior in every respect to the latter; nay, if we dare rely on the judgment of the learned, we should scarce think it worthy the name of Printing, since it has nothing common with it except the ink; and even a rowler, cover'd with cloath, would supply the place of a press to print their Pages of Wood.
NOW whether it be
Faust
or
Coster,
who practis'd this method on wood first, whether
Mentz, Harlem,
or any other city, gave it first encouragement; whether the afore-nam'd persons had the hint from
China,
or happen'd on it accidentally, (tho' if we admit of the latter supposition,
Faust
and
Mentz
have the better title); this must be granted from what has been said, that by Printing we do not understand the method of Printing on Blocks of Wood claim'd by
Harlem,
but the present Art of Printing by separate Metal Types, which is so justly admir'd for its expeditious and correct way of preserving and propagating knowledge; and to which we owe the improvements made in most arts and sciences for near three centuries past.
HENCE it appears how little reason the
Dutch
writers have to value themselves upon an imaginary victory, which, were it granted in its fullest extent, would be despicable in comparison of the other. Yet
Boxhorn
in his
Theatrum Hollandiae,
page 142. places his hero
Coster
in a kind of triumphal chariot, dragging his vanquish'd enemies the
Germans
and
French
after him, with a pompous inscription, which I think worthy the curious readers notice
Quem
Flos urbium,
HARLEMUM
Patritia familia edidit.
LAURENTIO COSTERO,
Qui incredibili & prope inhumana
Ingenii felicitate,
Moguntinis nequidquam negantibus
&
Gallis frustra obstrepentibus,
ARTEM TYPOGRAPHICAM
Primus invenit,
MONUMENTUM
hoc
L. M. P. Q.
Typis
Posuimus.
. He exults as if every sentence in that book was demonstration, and imposes an eternal silence on all those nations, which have appear'd in defence of
Mentz,
in a stanza of short verses after the manner of
Claudian,
which for its singularity is likewise here quoted
Serrarii libelli,
Streperi tacete Galli;
Taceat sonourus autor.
Solus Ovantem Batavus
Emeditatus artem.
Haec vox aetheriis insonet axibus,
Haec vox per populos, per mare transeat;
HARLEMUS Typicam prodidit artifex.
. However, I perswade my self that two or three of the following chapters will convince us of the vanity of these triumphs, unless this piece of divinity and poetry compos'd by
Scriverius
shall alter our sentiments; it contains four verses, to be plac'd under
Coster
's statue, and cited in the
Theatrum Holland.
abovementioned p. 156
Vana quid archetypos & praela
Moguntia
jactas?
Harlemi
archetypos praelaque nata scias.
Extulit hic, monstrante deo,
Laurentius
artem:
Dissimulare virum hunc, dissimulare deum est.
. I shall only inform the
English
reader, that the author of them pronounces it as rank atheism to deny
Coster
the glory of this invention, as to deny God that of the creation. I shall now leave
Harlem
and the
Dutch
writers, and pass over to the city of
Mentz,
to examine the testimonies brought in favour of her, after having return'd
Boxhorn
four lines from a learned
Italian
poet, who may be suppos'd a more impartial witness in this controversy
Abstulerat
Latio
multos
Germania
libros;
Nunc multo plures reddidit ingenio.
Et quod vix toto quisquam perscriber et anno,
Munere
Germanica
conficit una dies.
Laur Valla.
.
CHAP. III. Testimonies of writers from the middle of the 15th century in favour of
John Faust.
MALINCROT hath collected the testimonies of writers on either side of the controversy, from the promulgation of the art to the time in which he wrote.
viz. ann.
1640. and rang'd them in the beginning of his book in the following order.
Those who declar'd for
Mentz,
before the dispute was started by Dr.
Junius,
and quoted by him in that work
62
Those, who have written on the same side since
Junius
47
 
109
Those who have written in favour of
Harlem
13
Those who are neuters
11
BY this list 'tis manifest where the advantage lies as to numbers, but lest so many testimonies should be thought tedious, it will not we hope be improper to select the most considerable, especially from those authors, who wrote soon after the discovery, and were better acquainted with this matter, than those who liv'd any time after it, and may be justly suppos'd to have follow'd their predecessors. But I would therefore avoid, as much as possible, clogging or interrupting the thread of this history. I shall only extract the most material authorities out of them, and in such a manner as shall be consistent with it, by inserting the passages themselves in the notes, that the reader may use his pleasure either in reading or omitting them.
BUT before I proceed any farther, it will be necessary to obviate an objection, that will infallibly occur to the reader's mind; which is, that in mentioning the first inventors of printing in the two preceding chapters, I have not so much as nam'd
John Guttenbergh:
whereas the greatest part of the authors, whom we are about to quote, place him in the first rank, and mention only the other two as co-adjutors to him. In answer to this it will be sufficient for the present to say, that the sequel of this History will shew that
Guttenbergh
had no other share in this invention, than by furnishing the other two with necessary supplies to defray the great charges of it; and that the authors of the
Mentz
and
Cologn
Chronicle, whom the rest seem to have follow'd in this, as also the learned antiquary
Trithemius,
have certainly confounded
Guttenbergh
with
Faust,
that is, mistook the one for the other, as will hereafter appear in its proper place.
OF all the authors, to whom the world is indebted for a particular account of this Discovery, Abbot
Trithemius
justly claims the pre-eminence, both upon the account of his living nearest the time of this discovery, which he tells us happen'd in his younger years
Tempore infantiae meae apud
Moguntiam,
&c.
Trith. Epist. Fam. Epist.
48.
, as well as for his care to derive his intelligence from its origin. We have two noble testimonies out of his Chronicle; the one from the first part, intitled
Chronicon Spanheimense,
where
His quoque temporibus ars imprimendi & characterizandi libros, de novo reperta est in civitate
Moguntina
per quendam civem, qui
Johannes Guttenberg
dicebatur: qui cum omnem substantiam propter nimiam difficultatem inventionis novae in eam perficiendam exposuisset, consilio & auxilio bonorum virorum
Johannis Fust
& aliorum adjutus, rem inceptam perfecit. Primus autem hujus artis dilator fuit, post ipsum inventorem,
Petrus Opilio de Gernsheim,
qui multa volumina suo tempore impressit. Morabatur autem praefatus
J. Guttenberg Moguntiae
in domo
Zumjunghen,
quae domus usque in praesentem diem illius novae artis nomine noscitur insignita.
Chronic. Spanheim.
ad ann. 1450.
speaking of the year 1450 he says;
"That about this time the Art of Printing and Casting Single Types was found out
a-new
in the city of
Mentz
by one
John Guttenberg,
who having spent his whole estate in this difficult discovery, by the assistance and advice of some honest men,
John Faust
and others, brought his undertaking at length to perfection: that the first Improver of this Art, after the Inventor, was
Peter Schoeffer
(in Latin
Opilio) de Gernsheim,
who afterwards printed a great many volumes: that the said
Guttenberg
liv'd at
Mentz
in a house call'd then
Zum-junghen,
but afterward known by the name of the
Printing House.
"
But lest the reader should be startled at the word
a-new (de novo)
it will be requisite to acquaint him that
Trithemius
was in all probability of the same opinion with some other writers, who from a passage of St.
Cyprian
misunderstood, wherein the invention of Printing (by which is meant no more than that of stamping of Letters and Hieroglyphicks upon Medals, Coins, &c.) is attributed to
Saturn,
took occasion to reckon it among the
artes perditae,
and consequently esteem'd this rather a revival of the art than a new discovery; but he sufficiently retracts that error in the next passage we shall quote from him, which was not wrote till many years after, and that from a more diligent enquiry into the discovery and merit of this new, and
till then unheard of, Art;
for this will appear from his words as you will see immediately.
THIS next passage, which is fuller, and for its singularity and decisiveness deserves to be set down at length, is taken out of the second part of
Trithemius
's Chronicle, intitled
Chronicon Hirsaugiense.
This book was unknown to the learned till the year 1690. when the
Benedictins
of the monastery of St.
Gall
in
Switzerland
beg'd leave to publish it from the original manuscript, which had lain hid all that time. The Abbot wrote this towards the close of his life, after he had been inform'd of many particulars, relating to this invention, from the mouth of
Peter Schoeffer
(in
English, Shepherd)
sirnam'd
de Gernsheim,
to whom
Faust,
for the many helps he had receiv'd from him, namely, in devising Punches, Matrices, and Moulds for casting their Metal Types (in which the main perfection of the Art consisted) gave his only daughter
Christina
in marriage, and from a servant took him into partnership with him, as appears by the inscriptions to the first books publish'd by them, of which we have given a sketch already. The passage is as follows
His temporibus in civitate
Moguntina Germaniae
prope
Rhenum,
& non in
Italia,
ut quidam falso scripserant, inventa & excogitata est ars illa mirabilis, & prius inaudita imprimendi & characterizandi libros. per
Johannum Guttenberg
civem Moguntinum, qui cum omnem pene substantiam suam pro inventione hujus artis exposuisset, & nimia difficultate laborans, jam in isto, jam in illo deficeret, jamque prope esset ut desperatus negotium intermitteret, consilio tandem & impensis
Johannis Fust
aeque civis Moguntini, rem perfecit incoeptam. Imprimis igitur characteribus literarum in tabulis lignois per ordinem scriptis, formisque compositis, vocabularium,
Catholicon
nuncupatum, impresserunt; sed cum iisdem formis nibil aliud potuerunt imprimere, eo quod characteres non fuerunt amovibiles de tabulis, sed insculpti, sicut diximus. Post haec inventis successerunt subtiliora, inveneruntque modum fundendi formas omnium
Latini
Alphabeti literarum, quae ipsi matrices nominabant; ex quibus rursum aeneos sive stanneos characteres fundebant ad omnem pressuram sufficientes, quos prius manibus sculpehant: & revera, si uti ante triginta ferme annos ex ore
Petrus Opilioni
de Gernsheim
civis Moguntini,
qui gener erat primi artis inventoris,
audivi, magnam a primo inventionis suae haec Ars impressoria habuit difficultatem; impressuri namque Bibliam, priusquam tertiam complessent in opere quaternionem, plusquam 2000 florenorum exposuerunt.
Petrus
autem memoratus
Opilio
tunc famulus,
postea gener,
sicut diximus,
Inventoris primi Johannis Fust,
homo ingeniosus & prudens, faciliorem modum fundendi Characteres, & artem, ut nunc est, complevit. Et hi tres imprimendi modum aliquandiu tenuerunt occultum, quousque per famulos since quorum ministerio artem ipsam exercere non poterant, divulgatus fuit in Argentinenses primo, & paulatim in omnes nationes.—Et haec de impressoria mira subtilitate dicta sufficiant, cujus inventores primi cives
Moguntini
fuerunt—Habitabant autem primi tres artis impressoriae inventores,
Johannes
videlicet
Guttenber, Johannes Fust
&
Petrus Optlic,
gener ejus
Moguntiae
in domo
Zumjunghen
dicta, quae deinceps usque in praesens
Impressoria
nuncupatur.
Chronic. Hirsaugiense
ad ann. 1450.
.
"About this time
(ann.
1450.) in the city of
Mentz
in
Germany
upon the
Rhine,
and not in
Italy,
as some writers falsly affirm'd, the wonderful and
till then unknown Art
of Printing Books by Metal Types
[characterizandi]
was invented and devis'd by
John Guttenberg,
citizen of
Mentz;
who having almost exhausted his whole estate in contriving of this new Method, and labouring under such insuperable difficulties, in one respect or other, that he began to despair of, and to throw up the whole design; was at length assisted with the advice and purse of
John Faust,
another citizen of
Mentz,
and happily brought it to perfection. Having therefore begun with cutting characters of the letters upon wooden planks, in their right order, and compleated their forms, they printed the vocabulary intitled
Catholicon;
but could make no farther use of those forms, because there was no possibility of separating the letters, which were engraven on the planks, as we hinted before. To this succeeded a more ingenious invention; for they found out a way of stamping the shapes of every letter of the
Latin
Alphabet, in what they call Matrices, from which they afterwards cast their letters, either in copper or tin, hard enough to be printed upon, which they first cut with their own hands. It is certain this art met with no small difficulties from the beginning of its invention, as I heard 30 years ago from the mouth of
Peter Schoeffer de Gernsheim,
citizen of
Mentz,
and
Son-in-law to the first Inventor of the Art.
For when they went about printing the Bible, before they had work'd off the third quire, it had cost them already above 4000 florins. But the afore-mention'd
Peter Schoeffer,
then servant and afterwards
Son-in-law to the first Inventor
John Faust, as we hinted before, being a person of great ingenuity, discover'd an easier method of casting letters, and perfected the art as we now have it. These three kept this manner of printing very secret for some time, until it was divulg'd by their servants, without whose help it was impossible to manage the business, who carry'd it first to
Strasburg,
and by degrees all over
Europe.—
Thus much will suffice concerning the discovery of this wonderful art, the first inventors of which were citizens of
Mentz.—
These three first discoverers of printing,
viz. John Guttenberg, John Faust
and
Peter Schoeffer
his Son-in-law, liv'd at
Mentz,
in a house then call'd
Zum-junghen,
but ever since known by the name of the
Printing-house.
"
FROM this authentick testimony, I shall beg leave to make the following observations,
viz.
1. That when the author concluded his Chronicle,
ann.
1514. two years before his death, and above 64 years after the discovery, this invention was indisputably ascrib'd to
Mentz;
he says indeed that some writers had attributed it to
Italy,
but without any foundation; and therefore he rejects this notion as absolutely false. Yet
Junius,
as has been already hinted, first started a dispute in favour of
Harlem,
almost 130 years after the art became known; and after him Dr.
Mentel
began another in favour of
Strasburgh, ann.
1650, both which shall be answer'd in their places.
THE next observation is, that tho' the passage quoted out of his first Chronicle seems to be taken, if not copy'd out of that of
Mentz,
which is likewise a very antient and authentick monument, yet our author seems not to have been satisfy'd with it, till he had it confirm'd by surer hands. Other authors indeed have written concerning the origin of this art, according to the best memoirs they could procure, whether true or false; but our author alone has been at the pains to fetch his information from the fountain head, and deliver'd the particulars of it, as he receiv'd 'em from the principal agent in the invention, in the quotation from his second Chronicle: so that his testimony, were it the only one we could produce for
Mentz,
ought still to be esteem'd unquestionable and decisive.
ANOTHER particular worth our observation is, that tho' he mentions two books as printed immediately upon the discovery,
viz.
the
Catholicon
and the
Bible,
yet he sufficiently shews the difference between the methods of their impression; the former being done upon wooden planks, cut with a knife after the
Chinese
manner, as our wooden cutts are done now; whereas the
Bible
was printed with separate types, which, as we shew'd in the preceding chapter, is the only way that merits the name of
Printing.
This seems plainly intimated by the words in the citation before-mentioned,
When they came to print the Bible; and by the vast expence they had been at before they finish'd the third quire of it:
from which it is evident, that this sacred book was the first work of consequence which the authors of this art made choice of to signalize the first-fruits of their invention.
THE last thing I would observe is, that tho'
Trithemius
gives the precedency of this discovery to
John Guttenbergh,
in the beginning of this passage, yet within a few lines after, he twice gives the title of
The first inventor of Printing
to
John Faust;
which contradiction cannot be well reconcil'd otherwise, than by supposing that he, thro' inadvertency, wrote the name of
John Guttenberg
instead of
John Faust
and this is far from being improbable, since their christian names are the same: and tho' he again puts
Guttenbergh
first, when he speaks of the house in which they liv'd, yet this might be done only out of respect to him, either as being a knight (according to the writers of that time), or because he was the most opulent of the three, and had contributed most to the charges of the invention.
THIS must be allow'd, unless we could suppose that the editor having compar'd the two passages together, namely, that out of the first, and this out of the second Chronicle, had corrected, as he imagin'd, the latter by the former, upon a suspicion, that the author writing the last almost 30 years after he had receiv'd the account from
Schoeffer,
might have mistaken one name for the other; but to be certain of this, it would be necessary to consult the original. However, what confirms me in my conjecture is, that the author or his editor have committed a mistake, and that
Guttenberg
had no other interest in the discovery than by assisting them with money to promote the design, is, the law-suit which he commenc'd against
Faust
at
Mentz
about the money expended, and the judgment of the court thereupon; of which the learned
Salmuth
has given the following account in his appendix to
Pancirol
's commentaries
Eodem tempore
Moguntiae
commorebatur
Johannes Guttenbergius,
honestis parentibus natus, qui proxime
Fausti
aedibus habitabat. Hic cum animadvertisset insignem hancartem Typographicam, non solum omnium ore passim celebrari, sed etiam admodum lucrosam esse, familiaritatem cum
Fausto
contraxit; & quia opulentus erat, pecuniam ei ad sumptus necessarios obtulit; quod
Fausto
minime ingratum fuit, quandoquidem comperiebat sumptus, quos in artem faciebat, quotidie crescere, & tunc opus chartae pergamenae imprimendum sub manibus habebat: quapropter cum
Guttenbergio
convenit & pactus est, ut quicquid in illud opus impenderetur, communi utriusque lucro vel damno cederet. Quoniam vero
Faustus
plus insumpserat, quam
Guttenbergius
necessitatem postulasse arbitrabatur: hic dimidiam suam partem exsolvere detrectavit; qua exre cum lis orta esset, alter alterum
Moguntinae
in jus vocavit, ubi, partibus auditis, pronunciatum fuit; si
Johannes Faustus
interposito juramento affirmare posset, omnem pecuniam, quam mutuam sumpsisset in commune opus erogatam, non autem in proprios usus conversam fuisse,
Guttenbergium
ad solvendum obligatum esse Cui sententiae
Faustus
paruit, sicut ex archetypo instrumenti, quod etiamnum superest, anno 1455 sexto novembris a
Johanne Ulrico Helmosperger
notario de ea re confectum fuit, liquido demonstrari potest. Unde evidenter apparet
Guttenbergium
nequaquam artis typographicae inventorem & primum authorem esse, sed aliquot annis postquam ea inventa fuisset, a
Johanne Fausto
in consortium adscitum, pecuniam ei suppeditasse—Cum igitur
Guttenbergius
ad sumptus resundendos damnatus fuisset, & ex eo simultates inter illum &
Faustum
magis exarsissent, ille autem interea artem vidisset & didicisset, siquidem inter tot operas, quae ad illam excudendam requiruntur, fieri non potuit, ut ea diutius occultaretur, quod etiam Deus proculdubio noluit,
Moguntia Argentinam
se contulit, quo aliquot ex operis secum attraxit. Post illud dissidium alii quoque, qui apud
Faustum
artem illam didicerant, eum deseruerunt, &
Francesurtum
atque in alia loca se receperunt; cum praesertim anno 1462
Moguntia
capta, & pristina sua libertate privata fuisset, quo factum est, ut haec praeclara ars omnibus innotesceret, & publici juris fieret.
App
ndic. ad Commentar. Paneirol. ad titul.
12.
qui est de Typographia.
; and this may be esteem'd another pregnant testimony for
Faust,
since 'tis extracted from an original record of the law-suit. The narrative as related by our author is as follows.
"ABOUT this time there liv'd at
Mentz
one
John Guttenbergh,
born of honest parents, who dwelt next door to
John Faust:
he observing this famous art of Printing was not only cry'd up every where, but also very gainful, contracted a friendship with
Faust;
and being exceeding rich, offer'd to supply him with money to defray the charges of it, which was gladly accepted by
Faust,
who began to find the expence grow too fast upon him, and wanted
vellum
to print a work then in hand. Upon this he agrees and covenants with
Guttenbergh,
that whatever sums were laid out in the work, should turn to their common profit or loss. But because
Faust
had dispos'd of more money then
Guttenbergh
imagin'd the business would require, he refused to pay his moiety; upon which a dissension arose between them, and they summon'd each other before the judges at
Mentz.
The parties being heard, it was decreed, that if
Faust
would make oath, that all the money which he had borrow'd, had been expended in carrying on the common business, and that he had converted no part thereof to his own private uses;
Guttenbergh
should be oblig'd to pay him.
Faust
submitted to this decree; as may evidently be prov'd from an original instrument still extant, which was drawn
Nov.
6.
ann.
1455. by
Uldric Helmosperger,
a notary publick, pursuant to the said sentence. Hence it manifestly follows that
Guttenbergh
was in no wise the inventor or first author of Printing; but that he had been admitted by
Faust
into partnership with him some few years after the discovery of the art, and had lent him money to prosecute the design.
—Guttenbergh
being cast, and oblig'd to pay cost and charges, and new quarrels arising daily between
Faust
and him, and he having seen and learn'd the business, as it was impossible that among so many hands requisite to the carrying on of the art, it should continue longer a secret, which probably God would not suffer it to be, he
[Guttenbergh]
went off to
Strasburg,
taking some of the workmen along with him. After this breach, others having learn'd the art from
Faust,
left him, and settled some at
Frankfort,
and others elsewhere; especially when the city of
Mentz,
was taken
The city of
Mentz
formerly a very wealthy city of the Empire, was taken thro' a strategem, by the Archbishop
Adolph,
in the night preceding St.
S. Simon
and
Jude
in the year 1462, and plunder'd and depriv'd of its freedom.
ann.
1462. and depriv'd of all its former liberties, whereby this excellent art became more publick and universally known."
Thus far
Salmuth,
whose account is confirm'd by the author of the
Encomium Chalcographiae
Vid Malinkrot. p. 77.
.
J. Arnold Bergellanus
(who wrote an elegy upon the dissension between those two persons, in which he seems to favour
Guttenbergh
more than
Faust,
and to have follow'd
Wimpheling;
who out of love to his fellow-citizen, for he represents
Guttenbergh
as born at
Strasburgh,
and not to have remov'd to
Mentz,
till he had almost perfected the art) makes him the chief person in this discovery; yet mentions both the law-suit and the decree, as well as the deed before mention'd; but differs from
Salmuth
in affirming that the law-suit was not yet ended when he wrote his book, which might arise from
Guttenbergh
's hanging it upon the hooks, and escaping to
Strasburgh,
as
Salmuth
observes, or to
Harlem,
as others believe. However, this is evident, and agreed on by all hands, that there was an end at once to all their partnership, into which he was only admitted for the sake of his purse, which was absolutely necessary to
Faust.
FROM all these testimonies, which are not only quoted, but strongly assented to by the judicious
Malincrot
Vid. Malinkrot. c.
, I shall make one or two remarks in favour of
Mentz
and
Faust,
which are; 1. that among all the learned I have convers'd with, whose curiosity hath lead them to search into the rise and progress of Printing, and all the writers upon this subject I could ever meet with, not one has pretended to have seen any book printed in
John Guttenbergh
's name, even in the oldest monuments remaining of the infancy of this art, whether printed upon wood, or by separate metal types: 2. That on the contrary, where there is any mention made of either printer or place, it is still in
Faust
's and
Schoeffer
's name.
THEREFORE until there is some better proof of
Guttenbergh
's name, either jointly with the other two, or separately, or some book produc'd with it, it seems evident beyond contradiction, that the glory of this invention is wholly due to
John Faust,
and the improving and perfecting it to his son-in-law
Peter Schoeffer,
exclusive of
John Guttenbergh:
this I hope, will suffice to justify my conjecture, that either
Trithemius
mistook the names, or the editor of his second chronicle chang'd them, to make it agree with his first, and to sa
sfy the reader, that I had good reasons and authority to forbear mentioning
Guttenbergh
among the first inventors: I shall only add with respect to the learned
Salmuth
that he prefaces this account with a succinct relation of the improvements which the ingenious
Peter Schoeffer
made to the art, as the invention of Punches, Matrices,
&c.
as likewise of the difficulties which they met afresh, by reason of the softness of the metal in which they had cast their first types, and of his finding out a new mixture which fully answer'd the design: lastly that
Faust
was so pleas'd with his servants ingenuity, that he made him his son-in-law. This passage which I have here subjoin'd
Caeterum in exercenda hac nova arte, operis quibusdam usus est
Faustus,
in quibus fuit
Petrus Schoeffer Gernsheimensis,
qui cum heri sui institutum percepisset, magno illius artis studio incensus est & quia ingenio valebat, ani mum ad illam amplificandam adjecit, ac singulari Dei instinctu, rationem inivit, qua Characteres Matrici, ut vocant, inciderentur & ex ea funderentur. Alphabeto hoc modo inciso, characteres inde fusos,
Fausto
hero suo ostendit, quibus ille usque adeo exhilaratus est, ut ei protinus filiam suam unicam desponderet, ac paulo post in uxorem daret: quam vis autem in hoc genere Characterum aliqua difficultas suborta esset, propterea quod materia mollior esset quam ut pressurae resistere posset, tamen mox ejusmodi mixtura inventa fuit quae vim praeli aliquandiu sustinere potuit.
Appen, ad tit. de Typogr. p.
312.
is so exactly like that out of
Trithemius
's second Chronicle that one might easily be induc'd to think he had copy'd it from him, were it not that this letter was neither printed or indeed known, till almost a whole century after
Salmuth
wrote, as appears by
Camerarius
's letter prefix'd to his book, and dated from
Nuremberg ann.
1596.
THE learned
Wimpheling
claims the next rank, as being contemporary with
Trithemius,
and a no less diligent searcher after the memorable things of his own country. He wrote his book
ann.
1502 or 1504, wherein is the following account,
viz.
"That in the year 1440, when
Ferdinand
was
Emperor
of the
Romans,
that great and almost divine gift, the discovery of a new way of writing, was bestow'd upon mankind by
John Guttenbergh;
who having first invented the art of Printing, went afterwards to
Mentz,
where he perfected it."
—The rest of the passage, which relates chiefly to the promulgation of the art, and the Printers who enrich'd and signaliz'd themselves by it, we shall refer to the second book, to which it properly belongs.
I have already remark'd something of
Wimpheling
's partiality to his own city
Strasburg:
and indeed 'tis what the reader may observe in all authors, whose country laid the least claim to this invention;
Faust
for having carry'd on the business with all possible secresy, and scarce being known out of his own city till the dispersion of his workmen; they, wherever they settled, challeng'd to themselves the honour of this discovery, or at least of being co-adjutors to the inventor, as we shall shew in its proper place. However the reader will see with pleasure how our author retracts his too great liberality to his fellow-citizen, in another work,
viz.
his catalogue of the Bishops of
Strasburg,
wherein he expresses himself thus:
"Under that Bishop
Robert
of
Bavaria
was the noble art of Printing found out by a certain
Strasburgher,
tho' in an imperfect manner; but upon his going to
Mentz
unto other practitioners of that art, by the directions of one
John Gensfleich,
an old gentleman blind with age, the art was perfected, in the house call'd
Guttenbergh
in [English
Good-hill]
where the College of Lawyers now stands, to the eternal honour of the
German
nation."
THERE is no need to observe to the reader, the difference between this passage and the former; nor to inquire whether it was out of remorse, or upon better information, that the author gave this latter account; but it will be proper to remark, that
Gensfleich
is another name given by several writers to
Faust,
or perhaps a nick-name which he was known by, it signifying goose-flesh: so that our author has attributed to him at least the glory of having practis'd the art at
Mentz
before
Guttenbergh
came, and to have directed him in perfecting what he had in vain attempted at
Strasburg.
The reader may likewise observe that
Guttenbergh
seems to have been thus denominated from the house so call'd, in which
Faust
and he carried on the business, till their mutual discords parted them.
JOHN NAUCLERUS author of the universal history, which is divided into generations,
Histor. Univer. Gen 49.
tells us, that this art of Printing with metal types was discover'd at
Mentz
under the Emperor
Ferdinand
III.
ann.
1440; and extols the genius of
Germany,
as for other glorious inventions, such as Guns, &c. so more particularly for this of Printing, which he makes a large encomium upon. He liv'd near the times of this invention,
viz. ann.
1450, and tho' he mentions not the authors of it, yet since he says it was discover'd at
Mentz ann.
1440, it is plain he could mean none but
Faust,
seeing no books were printed there for many years after, but by him and his son-in-law.
NEITHER have the poets of those times been wanting in celebrating this invention, from which alone they and their works could expect that immortality, which they confer upon the
Great
and
Good.
We have quoted some of them in the preceding chapter, as
Laurentius Valla
an
Italian,
and
Sebastian Brand
a
German;
tho' this last being a native of
Strasburgh,
and afterwards Mayor of that city, we will not pretend to determine whether what he sings of the
Rhenish
nation and the
German
genius be meant of
Mentz
or his own city: however 'tis evident that he never dreamt of
Holland
or
Harlem.
But let us now hear
Conrad Celt,
the first
German
Poet-Laureat, who speaking of the river
Rhine
has the following Tetrastich upon the city of
Mentz
Amor. lib. 3. Eleg. 13.
;
Jamque
Mogunciacam
vastus te flectis in urbem,
Quae prima impressas tradidit aere notas;
Qualem ego te memorem? talem qui invenerit artem,
Italicis, Graiis
plus memorande viris.
IN another elegy he expresses his desire of visiting that famous city, which had taught the
Germans
this excellent method of writing without
Ibid. Eleg. 1.
pen, &c. I hope to be excus'd the pains of a larger collection of this nature; the reader may find plenty of such poetical encomiums upon this art in
Malinkrot
's history, chap. 2. and elsewhere. But I cannot omit inserting a short passage out of the famous
Swedish
poet
Nicodemus Frischlin,
who in his
Julius Redivivus,
a comedy in praise of
Germany
and the Art of Printing, has these lines,
—primus Inventor [Typographiae]
Moguntiae
Vixit, fatale nomen adeptus
Fausti.
—
soon after which he gives an elegant description of the wonderful change produc'd by this art: which render'd the
Germans,
(before a rude and illiterate people) able to teach the most polite nations of
Europe,
by its admirable quickness in multiplying of books, which is elegantly express'd by
Campanus
bishop of
Aleria
in this verse,
Imprimit illa die quantum non scribitur anno.
To return to the historians of later date;
Peter Apian,
who for his incomparable skill in mathematicks had the honour to be tutor to the Emperor
Charles
V. assures us
Cosmograph. lib.
2.
that
Mentz,
a frontier town between high and low
Germany,
was the place where Printing was discover'd by
John Faust, ann.
1453.
Sebastian Munster,
another Cosmographer, gives a larger account of this invention
Ab anno 1440 usque ad ann. 1450 nobilis ars imprimendi
Moguntiae
reperta est; ca
Moguntia Coloniam,
deinde
Argentinam,
&
Basileam,
tandem
Venetias
delata est. Primus ejus author & inventor
Johannes Gutte bergius,
qui
Zunjungen
dicebatur, isque cives alios duos
Moguntinos
adjutores habuit:
Johannem Faustum & Johannem Medimbachium,
qui artem hanc in secreto tenuerunt, famulis de ea non propalanda jurejurando constrictis,
Munster. Cosmograph. lib.
5.
c
159.
apud Malinkrot c.
2.
p.
14.
, tho' he seems to follow
Trithemius
and those who place
Guttenbergh
at the head of the triumvirate: his words are these,
"From the year 1440 to the year 1450 the noble Art of Printing was discover'd at
Mentz;
thence it was carry'd to
Cologn,
then to
Strasburgh, Basil,
and at last to
Venice.
Its first author and inventor was
John Guttenbergh,
otherwise call'd
Zumjungen,
who had two other citizens for assistants,
viz. John Faust
and
John Medimbach,
who kept this art very secret, having sworn their servants not to divulge it."
Mutius,
who wrote his
German
Chronicle
ann.
1539 attributes the invention of Guns, and soon after that of Printing, to
Mentz.
But the most illustrious testimony in favour of
Faust,
is that of the great collector of
German
antiquities
John Aventine,
to this purpose:
Hoc anno 1450. magnum ac vere divinum beneficium
Johannes Faustus Germanus,
civis
Moguntinus,
generi humano contulit, novum scribendi genus haud dubie coelitus revelatum (quod chalcographiam, excusoriam, impressoriamque vocare solent) invenit & biennio complevit. Consuluit pater indulgentissimus honestis literis, autoribus praeclaris, de quibus actum fuisset; ita torpore languescimus, adeo delicatuli sumus, fugitantesque laborum; tantum literarum uno mense ab uno homine imprimitur, quantum uno anno a pluribus scriberetur; quod
Campanus Aprutinus
pontifex uno versu clegantissime scribit.
Imprimit illa die &c.
ut supra.
Hinc indies magis ingenia vigent, studia literarum florescunt, copia librorum parvo aere egenis suppetit, omnes ad capessendas praeclaras artes tantum librorum commoditate alliciuntur. Hoc coelestissimum munus a
Fausto
&
Petro Schoeffer
de
Gernsheim
genero suo, cui unicam filiam
Christsnam
desponderat, inter secreta, adactis omnibus sociis ad fidem jurisjurandi religione habitam. Decimo post anno
Fausti
minister
Johannes Guttenbergius Argentoratensis
in
Germania
vulgavit. Municeps hujus
Ulricus Han,
hoc est
Gallus,
&
Xystus Resius Romae, Italiaeque
intulere; ubi hoc artificio, mea memoria,
Aldus
ille
Manutius,
vir ad instaurandas literas natus, claruit.
—Annal. Boicor. lib.
7.
de Typographia.
"In the year 1450
John Faust,
citizen of
Mentz
in
Germany,
confer'd on mankind a great and truly divine gift,
viz.
a new method of writing, undoubtedly reveal'd to him from heaven, commonly call'd
Chalcography
or Printing, which he invented and perfected within the space of two years. This gentleman, like an indulgent father, study'd how to preserve learning and excellent Books to posterity, which must otherwise have perish'd, thro' the carelessness and indolence of these times; had not this art (by which one man can print as many pages in a day, as several hands can write in a year,) quoted before, given new vigour to men's genius, made learning flourish, render'd books so cheap as to be a purchase for students of the lowest fortunes, and excited men to the study of arts and sciences by the plenty of learned works which it hath afforded us. This divine invention was kept private by
John Faust
and
Peter Schoeffer de Gernsheim,
to whom he had given his only daughter
Christina
in marriage; and all their workmen were bound by an oath not to disclose it. Ten years after this,
John Guttenbergh
of
Strasburgh,
one of
Faust
's servants, divulg'd it in
Germany. Ulric Han
a fellow-citizen of his, and
Xyxtus Resius
brought it to
Rome
and
Italy;
where, within my memory,
Aldus Manutius,
a person design'd for the restoration of learning, signaliz'd himself, &c."
The remainder of this passage chiefly relates to the dispersion and promulgation of the art; and therefore is unnecessary to be set down here. There is but one thing in this quotation that can puzzle the reader; which is, that the author makes
Guttenbergh
to have been one of
Faust
's servants, instead of his partner and usurer as has been shewed already; in the rest he exactly agrees with the writers quoted before. With respect to the disagreement among authors concerning the names of the first inventors, if we remember that
Guttenbergh,
to evade the sentence pronounc'd against him at
Mentz,
departed with some of
Faust
's workmen to
Strasburgh,
it will not appear improbable that some, who wrote at a distance, might confound him with those servants, especially considering that his name was never in any Book printed at
Mentz.
However 'tis plain that a place of one writer mistaken by another, has been the occasion of leading many more, who have follow'd him implicitely, into the same error. An instance of this, which will be no digression from our history, is as follows.
THE authors who have follow'd
Peter Ramus,
from
Sabellicus, Zuringer,
&c. down to
Paul Pater,
author of the treatise
De Germaniae Miraculo
[the Art of Printing] publish'd
ann.
1709 have ascrib'd this invention to
J. Regiomontanus,
and thought they did the Art no small honour, in making so great a Mathematician its author. What seem'd to confirm their opinion was, that
Faust, Guttenbergh
and he were contemporaries, and 'tis probable, liv'd near each other; tho' he afterwards remov'd to
Nurembergh.
What made this still more probable was, that
Regiomontanus
perfectly understood Mechanicks, so that, as it is said, he made an iron Flyspring from under his hand; fly round the room with a humming noise, and return back under his hand; he is likewise reported to have made a wooden Eagle, which flew from
Nurembergh
to meet the Emperor, hover'd over his head in a tonick motion, and went back the same way with him. It would be dangerous now to assert the truth of these stories, since such flights of ingenuity have been so long discourag'd, to make way for more useful inventions; yet
Jul. Scaliger
was so far from doubting of them, that he pretends to have found out the Art, and bragg'd that he could perform the like with a wet finger. However this was sufficient to persuade our authors that
Regiomontanus,
reputed so universal an artist, was most probably the person who invented the method of Printing, and communicated it to
Faust
and
Guttenbergh;
in consequence of which they have plac'd him at the head of the other two. Nevertheless this notion seems to take its rise from a passage in
Purbach
's tables, wherein 'tis said that the discovery of Printing is to be refer'd to the times of
Regiomontanus,
as
Malinkrot
has fully prov'd. This story, I hope, will both convince the reader of the danger of following an author too implicitely, and justify my differin from the generality of those who attribute the discovery to
John Guttenbergh,
whose opinion I apprehend to be sufficiently confuted. Setting aside this mistake of
P. Ramus
with respect to
Regiomontanus,
he agrees with the rest of our other testimonies in favour of
Faust;
and I conceive it to be not in the least improbable, that the inventors might, in such a variety of tools, implements, and other things necessary to the perfecting this Art, have recourse to him or some other ingenious person, for advice and assistance.
HOWEVER it is certain that
Regiomontanus
was a very early printer, tho' not taken notice of as such by any writer I have met with. I did indeed believe him to have been an assistant in perfecting of the Art, but never could meet with any sufficient authority to fix the honour upon him, till I was admitted into the Library of the Right Hon. the Earl of
Pembroke,
whom I beg leave to take this first opportunity of mentioning with honour and gratitude, not only for his great condescension in allowing me a free access to his noble Collections of antient Editions, but likewise for several very curious hints upon this subject, which shall be mention'd in their proper places; here it was that his Lordship was pleas'd to shew me the following great curiosity, viz.
Manilius
in 4to. with these words at the end.
Ex Ossicina
Johannis de Regiomente
in Nuremberg.
THE antiquity of this curious Edition shews it self at first sight, tho' there be no date to it, a circumstance much to be lamented, tho' too common to many of those antient monuments in the infancy of the Art. I must therefore be oblig'd to rank it with the rest of these dateless works, of which I shall have occasion to speak in the sequel of this history: it is evident this is an older edition than that mention'd by
Fabricius
of 1474, which 'tis reasonable to suppose, not only by his being contemporary with, but assistant to,
Faust
in perfecting this art: however as
Regiomontanus
was a man of such profound skill in astronomy, mechanicks, and several other branches of learning, I am willing to hope time will bring forth some further testimonies concerning him.
BUT what convinces me that he had no share in the first discovery of the Art, is that in his long dedication prefix'd to his
Astronomical Tables,
the first piece he ever publish'd, which I have seen, and which is dedicated to the Primate of
Hungary,
he doth not make the least mention of his having been concern'd in such a noble discovery, which it is reasonable to suppose he would have done, could he have claim'd such a singular piece of merit to have recommended him to so great a patron; especially when he expatiates so much upon the difficulties that attended the work he dedicates to him: but to return.
I apprehend a probable objection against the testimonies before quoted (which are scarce a fourth part of those collected by
Malinkrot,)
that they are taken from
Germans,
who may be reasonably suppos'd too partial to their country, and consequently less to be relied on than foreign writers, whose authority would be of far greater weight in this case. This I shall obviate by shewing, that learned authors of other nations are consistent with the
Germans
in this particular. I have already cited two poets, the one an
Italian,
the other a
Swede;
the former of whom ascribes this discovery to
Germany,
and the latter to
John Faust
of
Mentz.
My next design is to produce some of those, who are eminent for their enquiries into the antiquities of their own and other countries. At the head of these stands
Polydore Vergil,
an
Italian,
who in his Book
de Rerum Inventoribus,
after an elegant encomium upon the Art, and a description of its important benefits to mankind, proceeds thus
"Wherefore that the author of such a discovery may not be depriv'd of his due praise, and that posterity may know to whom we are indebted
1 Quare tantae rei author non est sua laude fraudandus, praesertim ut posteritas sciat, cui divinum acceptum beneficium referre debeat. Itaque
Johannes Guttenbergius
natione
Teutonicus,
equestri vir dignitate, ut ab ejus civibus accepimus, primus omnium in oppido
Germaniae,
quam
Moguntiam
vocant, hanc imprimendarum literarum artem excogitavit, primumque in ea exercere coepit; non minore industria reperto ab eodem, prout ferunt, authore, novo atramenti genere, quo nunc literarum impressores utuntur. Decimo sexto deinde anno, qui suit salutis humanae M CCCC L VIII. quidam nomine
Conradus,
homo itidem
Germanus,
primum in
Italiam
attulit, &c.
lib.
2.
cap.
7.
for this divine gift; it was
John Guttenbergh,
by nation a
German,
and a Knight, who first devis'd this Art of Printing Books in the city of
Mentz,
and began to practise it there, as we have been inform'd by the citizens themselves; he is reported likewise to have made another discovery,
viz.
of a new kind of Ink, us'd now by all printers. Sixteen years after this,
ann.
1457, one
Conrad
a
German,
brought it first to
Rome,
&c."
—Our author makes no mention of any but
Guttenbergh;
yet as he says the Art was first practis'd at
Mentz,
'tis plain from what has been said before, that he deserv'd not the first name in this invention. The citizens who gave this account, were certainly those that dispers'd themselves from
Faust;
who, though they learn'd the Art of him, yet might esteem
Guttenbergh
the first author, because he was most considerable; and not unlikely lorded it over the rest, who he knew, could not carry on the business without his purse; whilst
Faust,
whose chief care was to conceal the Art, till he had reimburs'd himself so far as to be able to carry it on without his help, might let him enjoy the honour of the discovery in the mean time. What confirms my conjecture is, that if
Conrad
arriv'd at
Rome
in the year 1457 he must have left
Mentz
before
Faust
and
Schoeffer
had printed any Books with their names. However in this case
Faust
would not be the only man, whose indigence and honesty have been inducements to part with the credit of a beneficial discovery to a person of less merit, rather than to let it die with him, for want of means to carry it on.
THE following author
Jacobus Philippus Bergomensis,
Jacob. Philip. Bergomens. lib.
15.
supplem. Chronic. ad ann.
1458. Ars imprimendi libros his temporibus in
Germania
primum enata est, quam alii repertam esse asseverant a
Cuthimbergio Argentino:
alii a quodum alio, nomine
Fausto;
alii a
Nicolao Genson
praedicant; pro qua innumerabiles authores ipsi congregarunt divitias, &c.
who is doubtful concerning the genuine inventor, may easily be set right, from what has been already said. He tells us,
"that the Art of Printing was first brought to light in
Germany,
about the year 1457; that the discovery was by some attributed to
Guttenbergh
of
Strasburgh,
by others to one
Faust,
and by a third sort to
Nicholas Genson
or
Jenson,
that the authors of it got immense riches, &c."
With relation to this
Jenson,
it will appear by the sequel of this history, that he was only one of those who first carry'd the Art into
Italy,
where he distinguish'd himself by his fine impressions, &c. but never made the least pretences to the invention. There is no necessity of repeating what has so often been said concerning
Guttenbergh,
whom
Palmerius
of
Pisa
asserts to have been the author of this discovery about the year 1440; his words are as follow:
"
Quantum literarum studiosi
Germanis
de beant nullo satis dicendi genere exprimi potest: namque a
Johanne Guttenberg. Zum-junghen,
equite
Moguntiae, Rheni,
solerti ingenio librorum imprimendorum ratio anno 1440 inventa, hoc tempore in omnes fere orbis partes propagatur, qua omnis antiquitas parvo aere comparata posterioribus infinitis voluminibus legitur.
Chronic. ad ann.
1457.
What obligations the learned world hath to the
German
nation, cannot be sufficiently express'd; for the Art of Printing, which had been invented by
John Guttenbergh Zum-jungen,
a knight of
Mentz
upon the
Rhine,
about the year 1440, is at this time
(viz. ann.
1457) divulg'd almost throughout the world; by which the works of the antients may be purchas'd at a small price, and be read in an infinite number of volumes since printed."
There are a prodigious many more authors, who, tho' they do not mention either the names of the inventors, or the place of the discovery, yet unanimously give the honour of it to
Germany;
and even
Paulus Jovius,
who ascribes the invention of wooden planks to the
Chinese,
from whom it was brought into
Europe,
by the way of
Scythia
and
Muscovy,
when he speaks of the other method of Printing, says, it is no wonder that several arts and sciences owe their birth to the
Germans,
since the noble discovery, of metal types, as well as that of brass cannons, was found out by them
Lib. 14. histor.
.
MY next testimony is that of the celebrated politician
John Ruterus,
who not only in his historical relations attributes the invention of Guns and Printing to the
German
nation, but confirms it more fully in his book
de fortuna illustrium virorum,
&c. where he says,
"That he will not contend about the author of Printing; but gratefully acknowledge the singular gift of God in it, seeing one man can print as much in one day, as the best hand can write in a whole year; for there is scarce (continues he) a Press, especially in the
German
Printing
3
Ruterus
's his words, as I find them translated by
Gaspard Eusius
in
Malinkrot,
p. 19. are these.
"De Authore artis impressoriae hie non digladiabor: summum id Dei beneficium grato animo nos sedulo decet agnoscere; ab uno enim homine uno die tantum literarum imprimitur quantum vix toto anno scribi posset; singulis enim diebus in quolibet prelo in
Germanorum
typographiis ter mille sexcentae chartae, nonnunquam etiam quater mille, interdum ultra, &c."
houses, which doth not print off 3600 sheets
per diem,
nay some 4000, and others exceed even that number."
I shall conclude this chapter with a passage out of the great Monsieur
Thevet,
cosmographer to the king of
France,
not only because his authority will easily out-balance that of all the
Dutch
writers, but likewise because there are some particulars in it which will be acceptable to the reader. As it is something prolix, I shall only extract the most remarkable part, as follows:
Thevet
's Lives and Pictures of Illustrious Persons,
ch.
97.
"This art [of Printing] is believ'd to have been first invented at
Mentz
in
Germany,
about the year 1442. by
John Guttenbergh,
a
German
knight; who began his first essays of it there, and found out a new sort of ink, now us'd by the Printers: but there are some writers of opinion that this honour rather belong'd to
John Faust
and
Ives
[in latin
Ivo] Schoeffer
two years before that time, and affirm that
Guttenbergh, John Mentel
and others [whose names our author quotes out of
Pantaleon]
all
Germans,
improv'd afterwards the art, and divulg'd it in several parts of
Germany;
and at length carry'd it to foreign nations. Others write that this art came originally from
China
and
Cathai;
but this assertion is without any foundation, seeing the
East-Indies
were not discover'd by the
Portugese
till about 65 years ago; whereas Printing has been invented and practis'd ever since 1442.
Paul
the
Venetian-indeed
gave the first description of that country about 400 years ago, but made not the least mention of Printing being us'd there. A confirmation of my opinion is, that the
Greeks, Mingrelians, Abyssines, Turks, Persians, Moors, Arabs
and
Tartars
write all their books by hand, this method was ordain'd in
Turky
by an edict of
Bajazet
II. who prohibited the use of printed books under pain of death
ann.
1483; which edict was confirm'd by
Selim
I.
Bajazet
's son
ann▪
1515. Besides this, whilst I was in
Egypt,
I saw several books so neatly written on the bark of palm-trees, that they might be taken for printed ones. The merchants, which bring their wares from
India
through the
Red-sea,
make use of the same sort of written books, some of which are now to be seen at the library of the Queen dowager at St.
German
's in the fields near
Paris.
Others pretend that this art of Printing has been carry'd as far as
Mexico,
which kingdom is directly opposite to
Cathai,
the one being in
Asia
towards the south, and the other in
America
towards the north-pole. However it must be own'd that the
Americans
write with characters, representing several kinds of beasts, fish, fowl, the different parts of human bodies, and the like; by which they express their mind, as the
Egyptians
did formerly.—I have two of those books by me, with an interpretation of their hieroglyphicks. The goddess
Minerva
is said to have been the inventress of learning and war; and the
Germans
have imitated her in both these respects, by the invention of bombs and printing, which were certainly discover'd by them. One fault however that nation labours under, which somewhat eclipses their glory, which is, that they know not how, or at least neglect to improve those inventions, that were so easily found out by them."
—The author proceeds in an encomium upon the art and those who rais'd it to greater perfection; but that belongs to another chapter.
I hope that the testimonies produc'd hitherto will be more than sufficient to fix the palm upon
Faust
and the city of
Mentz;
and that the reader will follow me with pleasure to the next chapter, where they will be confirm'd by incontestable matters of fact.
CHAP. IV. Authentick Facts in favour of
Faust
and
Mentz.
IF the testimonies alledg'd in the preceding chapter are insufficient to convince any person that this invention is due to
Faust;
what follows in this will, I conceive, put it quite out of doubt, unless he be more incredulous in this case than a
Dutchman:
for the great
Erasmus
has not only own'd himself convinc'd of this truth by one single fact, but even transmitted it to posterity. I shall therefore begin with that noble testimony, which is a privilege granted by the Emperor
Maximilian
to
John Schoeffer,
grand-son of
John Faust,
not only for the sole printing the works of
T. Livy
(at the end of which, the privilege is annex'd, printed by the said
John Schoeffer
at
Mentz, ann.
1499), but likewise prohibiting all persons to reprint either the said book, or any other which should be afterwards printed by him, in consideration of his being grand-son to the first Inventor of the art of Printing: concerning whom
Erasmus,
who first publish'd that work, speaks in his preface to it as follows:
"If those, who furnish'd
Origen
and St.
Jerom
with writers and parchments, have merited the highest commendation; what praise is due to Printers and Booksellers, who supply us with whole volumes for a small price? If
Ptolemy Philadelphus
acquir'd such reputation, for collecting so great a library; what recompence can be made to those, who furnish us daily with books in all languages? But amongst all these, to whom we are so much oblig'd, we must gratefully remember the first inventor of this divine secret;
John Faust
grand father to
John Schoeffer.
"
Thus far
Erasmus,
without the least mention of his countryman
Coster.
With respect to the Emperor's priviledge, it could not be suspected of any partiality to
Faust
rather than to
Guttenbergh,
or to
Mentz
rather than
Strasburg,
&c. since they were equally under his dominion.
THE next fact to be related, is that of the tools, old types,
&c.
of the inventors, preserv'd in
Mentz,
above 130 years at least after the sacking of that city
ann.
1462, and view'd before that time by some eminent persons, as curious relicks of the art: among others,
John Arnold Bengellanus
Hodie vetustissima quaedam in eum (imprimendi sc) usum ab authoribus comparata, quae vidi, instrumenta extant Moguntiae.
Bergellan. in praesat. Encom. su
Typograph.
assures us, that he had seen them there; and
Nic. Serrarius
—adjiciantur primi denique artis hujus modioli, quos antiqua hic
(Moguntiae enim scribebat)
domus in
Cesariae
horti platea custodit, quosque mihi insuper
Albinus
typographus, monstrabat.
Nichol. Serrarius de Rebus Moguntin. l.
1.
c.
37.
says, they were then kept at
Mentz
in a house in the street call'd
Keyser
's
garden,
and shewn to him by one
Albinus
a Printer. We need not bring a greater number of authors to attest this, seeing it may likely be esteem'd but a weak proof by some of our readers; but if they will consider what noise
Junius
and
Scriverius
have made about some trifles (compar'd to these) preserv'd at
Harlem
in memory of
Coster,
according to a tradition of two or three old gentlemen; they will not wonder that I lay some stress upon this, and choose sometimes to make use of their own weapons against them. I shall therefore subjoin another fact, which is the inscription set up at
Mentz
by
Ives
of
Witigen
or
Venza,
doctor of laws, and professor in that university, in the inner court of the college of lawyers. Johanni Guttenbergensi Moguntino,
qui primus omnium literas
re imprimendas invenit, hac arte de toto orbe bene merenti,
Ivo Witigensis
hoc saxum pro monumento posuit,
anno 1508. This inscription tho' it favours
Guttenbergh
more than
Faust,
is more authentick than any of those three brought by
Junius
for
Coster,
the last of which as
Malinkrot
observes, is either written or at least publish'd by him; the second is but a few years older, and the first not plac'd over
Coster
's door 'till after
Junius
had publish'd his description of
Holland.
A proof still stronger is the inscriptions found in the oldest books printed at
Mentz,
wherein that city is styl'd the mother and inventress of printing. If
Harlem
or any other city could have shewn a juster title to this honour, it is surprizing that this place should have enjoy'd it for above 125 years without the least contradiction, and that no
Dutch
writer did so much as attempt, in all that long interval, to confute those known and remarkable
colophons
or inscriptions, which
Faust
began to print at the end of his books, when he could no longer conceal his discovery; and in which he gives an account of the inventors and manner in which the books were done, first negatively, viz.
not with pen and ink or any other writing instruments,
and then affirmatively,
but by a new art of casting types and printing;
to which he adds the city of
Mentz
as the place where they were printed; and concludes with the date of the month and year when they were finish'd. We shall only subjoin some of the oldest and most remarkable of them for the present.
I begin with that which is at the end of the
Codex Psalmorum,
printed
an.
1457, and consequently the oldest book known to be printed with a date or inscription. It is in the Emperor's library at
Vienna;
and
Peter Lambec
who was library keeper, gives this account of it
Reperi interea unum impressum in membrana, in cujus fine de origine artis typographicae hoc legitur testimonium.
"Praesens psalmorum codex, venustate capitalium decoratus, rubricationibusque sufficienter distinctus, ac inventione artificiosa imprimendi ac characterisandi, absque calami exaratione sic effigiatus, ad eusebiam Dei industrie est consummatus per
Johannem Fust
eivem
Moguntinum
&
Petrum Schoeffer de Gernsheim,
anno Domini Millessimo CCCCLVII in vigilia assumptionis."
Lib.
2.
Bibliothec. Viadobon. pag.
939.
; that he met with one of them there printed on vellum, at the end of which was this remarkable account of the origin of printing,
viz. This present Book of Psalms, embellish'd with beautiful capitals, and illuminated with all necessary
rubricks, was thus form'd by an ingenious invention of printing by
separate Types,
without pen or wrinting, and finish'd with great care, for the service of God, by
John Faust,
citizen of
Mentz,
and
Peter Schoeffer de Gernsheim,
in the year of our Lord
One Thousand CCCCL VII,
on the eve of the assumption,
i. e. Aug. 14.
THE next impression is the
Rationale Divinorum Officiorum
of
William Durand,
printed at
Mentz
an. 1459. in
fol. Malinkrot
has it, and tells us that it had been formerly bequeath'd to the monastery of
Galilea
near
Zutphen
(a place afterwards destroy'd in the civil wars,) to be kept chain'd in the library; and for which the donors were to be pray'd for, together with their whole generation. The inscription at the end of it being exactly the same with that of the Book of Psalms, needs not be repeated here. It is likewise mention'd by
Hoffman
in the second volume of his
Lexicon Universale
printed at
Basil
ann. 1677, who says he saw it in the library of that university, bearing date 1459, he calls it
Officiale Durandi,
p. 508, and gives this inscription at the end,
praesens hoc,
&c. as before.
THE next in date is the
Catholicon,
a
latin
vocabulary, the same which is affirm'd by
Trithemius
to have been printed in wood some time before 1450, and which was reprinted at
Mentz ann.
1460. I have seen two of these books, one in the Earl of
Pembroke
's library, and the other in the learned Dr.
Mead
's, with this very remarkable colophon at the end;
Altissimi praesidio, cujus nutu infantium linguae fiunt disertae, quique nimio saepe parvulis revelat, quod sapientes celat; hic liber egregius
Catholicon,
Dominicae incarnationis anno MCCCCLX, alma in urbe
Moguntina,
nationis inclytae
Germanica
(quam Dei clementia tam alto ingenii lumine, donoque gratuito, caeteris nationibus praeferre illustrareque dignatus est) non calami, styli, aut pennae suffragio, sed mira patronarum formarumque concordia, proportione & modulo impressus atque confectus est
Hinc tibi, sancte Pater, Nato, cum Flamine sacro
Laus & honor, Domino trino tribustur & uno; Ecclesiae laude libro hoc Catholice plaude; Qui laudare piam semper non linque
Marium.
Deo gratias.
"By the assistance of the most high God, at whose nod the tongues of infants become eloquent, and who often reveals that to babes which he conceals from the wise, this excellent book, the
Catholicon
was finish'd in the year of our Lord's incarnation 1460, in the city of
Mentz
belonging to the noble
German
nation (which God of his goodness has vouchsaf'd to prefer to other nations, and of his free gift to make conspicious by this glorious invention) this work was done, not by the help of quil, pencil or any writing instrument, but by the agreement, symmetry, and proportion of the printing-press."
then follows a doxology in four
latin
verses to this purpose;
To thee Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three in one, be honour and praise: O Catholick reader give thanks for this book in the church, and never cease to praise the blessed Virgin
Mary.
Thanks be to God.
THIS book, tho' it mentions not the printers, yet is easily known to have been done by
Faust
and
Schoeffer
from the likeness of the types, and because at that time there were no other printers at
Mentz,
or any where else.
TWO years after this came out the great
Latin Bible
in
solio,
which I also saw in Dr.
Mead
's library, which according to
Trithemius
and the
Cologn chronicle
must be the second edition of it, the first having been printed soon after the year 1450, tho' without any colophon, whereas this has the following;
Praesens hoc opus finitum ac completum & ad eusebiam Dei industrie in civitate
Moguntina
per
Johannem Fust
civem, &
Petrum Schoeffer
de
Gernsheim
clericum diocesis ejusdem▪ est consummatum anno incarnationis dominicae 1462, in vigilia assumptionis gloriosae virginis
Maria.
"This present work was finish'd and compleated, designedly for the service of God, in the city of
Mentz,
by
John Faust
citizen of it, and
Peter Schoeffer de Gernsheim
clerk of the said diocess in the year of our Lord's incarnation 1462, on the vigil of the assumption of the glorious virgin
Mary.
"
IT is unnecessary to remark that the word
Clerk [Clericus]
doth not here signify a clergyman, for 'tis plain that
Schoeffer
was not so by his marrying
Faust
's daughter, and leaving a son to succeed him; but it was usual then to give that title to men of moderate literature. Father
le Long
in his
Bibliotheca sacra
gives us the colophon of this Bible something different from ours, tho' of the same date, the reader may see it at full length in the ingenious Mr.
Mattair
's Annals
page
60,
not.
6.
CONCERNING this bible some writers give us the following account, which is not a little in favour of
Faust;
that it was so like hand-writing, and the titles and capitals so finely painted on vellum, that
Faust
sold some of them at
Paris
for a prodigious price: but the buyers finding a greater number upon him, than it was possible for several men to transcribe in their whole life, and the pages of each copy so exactly alike, that he was seiz'd, try'd and condemn'd for
Magick
and
Sorcery,
and was accordingly drag'd to the stake to be burnt; but upon discovering his Art, the parliament of
Paris
made an act to discharge him from all prosecution, in consideration of his admirable invention. However 'tis not a miss to inform the reader, that his
Black Art,
for which he was so roughly treated, was printing his Bible on the
Black Letter.
I shall in its proper place give my reasons for my opinion, that the bible, which
Faust
sold for MS. was the first printed by him; in the mean time this process against him, and his discharge from it by order of that Parliament, being matter of fact, it was not foreign to our purpose to mention it here.
THE last book which we shall speak of, is,
Tully
's
Offices
printed
ann.
1465, at the end of which are these words
Praesens
Marci Tullii
clarissimum opus
Johannes Fust Moguntinus
civis, non atramento plumali, canna, neque aerea, sed arte quadam perpulchra manu
Petri de Gernsheim,
pueri mei, feliciter effeci, finitum
an.
MCCCCLXV die IV
Februarii.
,,
John Faust,
citizen of Mentz,
happily perfected this famous Work of
Marcus Tullius,
not with pen and ink,
&c.
but by a
new beautiful Art,
by the assistance of my Boy
Peter de Gernsheim, Feb. 4. ann. 1465, the edition at
Oxford
is dated 1466, tho' generally thought to be the same. This inscription I saw in the book which that great Lover of the antiquities of the Art of Printing, and Promoter of learning, the Right Honourable the Earl of
Oxford,
shew'd me the first time I had the honour to wait on his Lordship, and to whose kind reception and information I stand greatly indebted.
THE next inscriptions I shall mention, are those in
Peter Schoeffer
's name alone, in which there is a constant and remarkable strain of gratitude and respect for the city of
Mentz,
from which, besides other ample encouragements, he had receiv'd his freedom as a reward for his improvements in the art. As every one of them has an encomium upon that city, I shall content my self with abridging some of the first, and giving the last, which has something singular in it, at full length; and conclude this head with a remarkable one us'd by his son
John Schoeffer
at the end of some of his books.
IN the book call'd the
decisions of the Rota
printed
ann.
1477, and said to be still extant in the library of
Franckfort,
he styles the city of
Mentz
the inventress and protectress of printing; in some other books,
viz. Justinian
's
Institutions,
printed
ann.
1468 and 1477,
&c.
he calls her the noble city which God has prefer'd to all others, and signaliz'd with such superior gifts,
&c.
the like is also to be seen at the end of
Harpianus
's
Speculum decem praeceptorum,
printed,
ann.
1474.
THE last is at the end of St.
Jerom
's
Epistles
in
Latin,
printed in
folio
upon vellum
ann.
1470, one of which is in the library of St.
Victor,
and another at the College of
Sorbon
at
Paris,
Vide
de la Caille
's
history of Printing,
Paris 1689 pag. 13
Jam decet ut nostris concordent ultima primis.
Sit Decus illi, qui dedit hoc opus initiare;
Et qui finire dedit ipsum, sit decus illi.
Est decus ecclesiae pugilis tot scripta tenere:
Si quibus intendas est decus ecclesiae.
Igitur
Sophronii Eusebii Ieronymi,
orthodoxae ecclesiae Christi propugnatoris clarissimi, liber
Hieronymiantes,
aut si mavis, quod & ipse velim, liber epistolaris explicit, ut dignitas nominis
Ieronymenus
egregio viro
Job. Andreae
permaneat, qui hoc ipsum, zelo devotionis erga virum sanctum affectus, tempore prisco vulgavit in orbem. Est autem opus praesens arte impressoria feliciter consummatum per
Petrum Schoeffer de Gernsheim
in civitate
Moguntina,
cujus nobilitati vir beatus
Ieronymus
scribens ad
Ageruntiam
de monogamia, testimonium perhibet sempiternum, multis millibus incolarum ejusdem in ecclesia p
o fide Catholica sanguine proprio laureatis.
Huic Laudatori reddit
Moguntin
vicem,
Tot sua scripta parans usibus ecclesia.
Anno Domini MCCCCLXX,
septima mensis
Septembris,
quae est vigilia Nativitatis
Mariae.
Da gloriam Deo.
and runs in
English
thus;
Now it behoves us to conclude as we began,
The honour be to him, who was with us at the beginning;
And also honour to him, who hath been with us to the conclusion:
'Tis the churches honour to preserve so many writings of her champion,
If you design them for any, let it be for the churches honour.
"THIS book therefore of
Sophronius Eusebius Jerom
and [worthy its author] a most eminent defender of the orthodox church of Christ; or, if you rather choose to call it with me, the book of his epistles is finish'd, that the honour of
Jerom
's name may be preserv'd, which is owing to the excellent
John Andreas,
who mov'd with a devout zeal towards that holy man, formerly publish'd this work to the world. This book was happily finish'd by the art of Printing by
Peter Schoeffer de Gernsheim
in the city of
Mentz,
to the honour of which city the blessed St.
Jerom,
writing to
Ageruntia
concerning monogamy (or marrying but once,) has given this lasting testimony, that many thousands of its inhabitants are honour'd in the church, for having suffer'd martyrdom in defence of the catholick faith."
Mentz now returns him
(Jerom)
praise for praise,
by publishing so many of his writings for the service of the church.
in the year of our Lord
1470,
the seventh day of
September,
which is the eve of the nativity of the Virgin
Mary.
Give glory to God.
THIS is an instance how ready
Schoeffer
was to take all opportunities of expressing his love and gratitude to that city, and rendering her praise as lasting as his own works.
THE last inscription which gives a succinct account of the discovery, is at the end of
Trithemius
's breviary of history, and is as follows
Impressum & completum est praesens Chronicorum opus
Anno Domini
MDXV, in vigilia
Margaretae
virginis in nobili famosaque urbe
Moguntina,
hujus artis impressoriae inventrice prima, per
Joannem Schoeffer
nepotem quondam honesti viri
Johan. Fust
civis
Moguntini,
in emoratae artis primarii auctoris; qui tandem imprimendi artem proprio ingenio excogitare specularique coepit
ann. Dom.
nativitatis MCCCCL indictione xiii regnante illustrissimo Romano imperatore
Frederico
Ill, praesidente sanctae
Moguntinae
sedi Reverendissimo in Christo patre Domino
Theodorico Pincerna de Erbach
principe Electore;
anno
autem MCCCCLII perfecit, deduxitque eam (Divina favente gratia) in opus imprimendi (opera tamen ac multis necessariis adinventionibus
Petri Schoeffer de Gernsheim
ministri suique filii adoptivi) cui etiam filiam suam
Christinam Fusti
pro digna laborum multarum. que adinventionum remuneratione nuptui dedit. Retinuerunt autem hi duo jam praenunciati,
Johan. Fust
&
Petrus Schoeffer,
hanc artem in secreto (omnibus ministris ac familiaribus eorum, neillam quoquo modo manifestarent, jurejurando adstrictis,) quae tandem
anno Domini
MCCCCLXII per eosdem familiares in diversas terrarum provincias divulgata, haud parum sumpsit incrementum, Cum Gratia & Privilegio Caesariae Majestatis, jussu & impensis honesti
Joannis Haselperg
ex Asia Majore Constant. diocesis.
Breviar. Truhemian.
Part. 1.
"This present chronological work was printed and finish'd
an.
1515, on the eve of St.
Margaret
Virgin, in the noble and famous city of
Mentz,
first inventress of this art of Printing, by
John Schoeffer
grand-son of the worthy
John Fust
citizen of
Mentz,
the first author of this art, who found it out at length by his own ingenuity, and began to practise it
anno
1450, in the time of the thirteenth indiction,
Frederic
III being then Emperor, and the most reverend father in God
Theodorick Pincerna de Erbach
being Prince-Elector and Arch bishop of
Mentz:
anno
1452. he perfected this art under God, and began to put it in practice, with the assistance of
Peter Schoeffer de Gernsheim,
first a servant, and then his son-in-law; who having made many necessary inventions in it, had his Daughter
Christina Fust
in marriage, as a just recompence for his labour, and useful discoveries. These two above-nam'd,
viz. John Fust
and
Peter Schoeffer
kept this art secret, having taken an oath of all their workmen and servants not to divulge it in any manner whatsoever: but afterwards it was divulg'd by those very workmen
anno
1462, and spread it self over several provinces of
Europe,
&c."
THE like inscription is at the end of the
Breviarum Mindense,
printed
anno
1516, by the same person: In both which the reader will be pleas'd to observe, that there is not a word mention'd of
John Guttenbergh.
UPON the whole 'tis my opinion, that were there no other evidence but these inscriptions, they would be sufficient to determine this controversy, seeing neither
Harlem, Strasburgh,
nor any other place can produce any thing equivalent. Had
Harlem,
for instance, any such authentick impressions in favour of
Coster,
all other testimonies of the best writers for
Mentz
would have been rejected as inconsiderable: or if Dr.
Mentel
could have produc'd any single book printed by his progenitor, of older or even equal date with the oldest of these, he would infallibly have triumph'd over all his antagonists. 'Tis certain that there is no book known to be printed at
Harlem
or any other place, of equal date with the last which were done by
Faust,
tho' it has been prov'd, that he continu'd printing near ten years before he put his name to his impressions: whence it follows, that he was not only the first Printer with fusile metal types, but likewise the first inventor of them, according to the testimonies quoted in the preceding chapter.
I doubt not but the reader is now willing to hear what methods the competitors with
Faust
take, in order to evade such a cloud of authentick testimonies; and what arguments they can allege in defence of their claim: in short, what grounds they have of triumphing in such an extraordinary manner. But I must here acquaint him, that if he expects evidence answerable to those clamours, he will be extremely disappointed in the two next chapters. However, since a controversy cannot be fairly decided, unless both parties be heard in their turn; I shall not desire the reader to believe me implicitly, but propose their pretensions in as just a light, and brief a manner as possible, together with the answers of
Malinkrot
and others to them; to which I shall take the liberty to add my own thoughts and observations, whether they chance to illustrate and confirm, or to contradict the concurrent testimony of the early, and the establish'd notion, of the modern writers, upon the subject, and leave it to him to judge of the merit of the cause.
I hope what I said last will not be look'd upon as either a piece of presumption or ostentation in me: no man can be more ready, than I am, to own the great helps I have receiv'd from these great men, especially from
Malinkrot, Chevalier, Mattaire, Orlandi
and some others of less note, or my own insufficiency for such a work as this, without such an assistance; but tho' they are all great and learned men in their way, yet for want of a sufficient acquaintance with the business of Printing, it was impossible for them not to overlook some things of moment, which a printer would easily discover at first sight,
viz.
Whether a book be MS. or printed; whether printed from pages of wood or with separate types, in both which respects, many of them have been either puzled or mistaken: I shall add but one instance more, not foreign to our purpose; the famous Mons.
Naudé
directed his readers how to know the books printed by
Faust
by the mark in the paper, which he calls the
Heifer's Horns;
Mr.
Mattaire,
who has been as curious and diligent as any one, tells us he could never observe that mark or any thing like it, whereas the very first book the Earl of
Pembroke
shew'd me of
Faust
's printing, by holding a leaf against the light, the mark appear'd very plain; I shall beg leave to add, that the hints and helps I have had from the curious and learned, and my access to several noble libraries, have moreover enabled me to make many more curious observations, on this subject, than I could otherwise have done. Let this be said once for all.
CHAP. V. The Pretensions of
Harlem
examin'd and confuted.
I Have more than once hinted, that this controversy in favour of
Harlem
was not started till above 125 years after the discovery of the art, when
Hadrian Junius,
M. D. began the dispute. During that long interval, the invention was universally ascribed to the city of
Mentz,
tho' the names of the inventors were sometimes confounded; and what ought to surprise us most of all is, that not one
Dutch
writer, during that time, ever offer'd to contradict the received opinion concerning
Faust
and
Mentz;
tho' many of them were men of great learning, and some either natives of
Harlem,
or had been educated in that university. 'Tis really wonderful, that neither regard to truth, or their country's honour, nor the common ambition of being the author of a new discovery, should have inspir'd some of them to undeceive the world in this point, if they had the least grounds of suspicion. But whatever be the reason of this unpardonable supineness in them, Dr.
Junius,
rather than fall under such a charge, undertook a task, as difficult as that
Egyptian
one, of making brick without straw. For from a collection of old traditions, wooden types, and two or three books, printed on wood, without name, date, or any other mark (by which it might be guess'd when, where, and by whom they were done), with some other transmuted relicks of the first essays of the art, he has form'd a story, which he thinks will baffle all the testimonies urg'd on the other side, and turn the panegyricks, bestow'd by the learned on the noble inventor, into the vilest calumnies. As his story is very prolix, and unnecessary to be set down at length, the following abstract may suffice.
"THO' the glory of this art is entirely due to the city of
Harlem;
yet I am sensible how deep the contrary notion in favour of
Mentz
is rooted in the minds of men.—Were I blest with that eloquence which
Carneades
is so fam'd for, who never affirm'd any thing but what he fully prov'd, nor oppos'd any error, but what he clearly confuted; I might have just hopes to reduce this stol'n glory to its owner, and bring to light the truth, which has so long lain hid in
Democritus
's well.—For if those antients, who contended for the invention of letters, in behalf of their favourite heroes, have merited such applause; what hinders but that I, influenc'd neither by partiality to one place, nor envy towards another, but with a sincere love to truth, should appear in so just a cause, which has been suffer'd to sink for want of advocates?—And if
Plutarch
esteems him the best evidence, who is not byass'd by favour or affection; I have a sufficient claim to it, since none of
Coster
's posterity can reward me for my performance. I shall therefore relate what has been told me by some grave and worthy old
Gentlemen,
who have fill'd the best offices in the city, and heard it from others of equal weight and authority;
viz.
That about 128 years ago, there liv'd at a noted house, standing to this day, over against the Royal Palace, one
Laurence John,
sirnam'd
Coster,
(which word signifies a sexton or church-warden; or, in the
Romish
sense one who is intrusted with all the rich plate, sumptuous robes,
&c.
belonging to the parish church; a place hereditary in his family,) who was the person to whom the Art of Printing owes its original, tho' he has been unjustly depriv'd of that honour.—That walking by chance in an adjacent wood, according to custom, after a full meal, or on holy-days, he cut some letters out of the bark of beech-trees; which being inverted and joyn'd together, he began to print some words, and then whole lines, in hopes that this might turn to the advantage of his grand-children: that the success of this prompted him to greater discoveries, he being a man of an extraordinary genius: that he with
Thomas Peter
his son-in-law, finding the common ink apt to spread, invented a more glutinous sort, and began to print whole pages; of which kind I saw some essays in an anonymous work, printed only on one side, and entitled the
Mirour of our Salvation,
written in
Low Dutch,
the white sides of the paper being glew'd together to hide the chasms: that after this he chang'd his wooden letters into lead; and then into tin, which was still harder and more durable: some of these old types being cast into drinking-cups are still to be seen at the aforesaid house, out of which
Gerard Thomas, Coster
's great-grand-son, dy'd a few years ago. But as all new inventions meet with encouragement, this art began to require a greater number of hands, which prov'd the first cause of mischief to this family: for one of his servants nam'd
John
(but whether
Faust
or not I shall not now enquire) being employ'd in this business, after having taken an oath of secrecy, had no sooner learn'd, as he thought, the method of casting and joining the fusile types,
&c.
but he took the next opportunity of robbing his master of all his printing-tools, together with his art: to which end he chose the night before
Christmass,
as the most proper for his design, when the whole family, with the rest of the city were at church at midnight-mass. Thence he escap'd to
Amsterdam,
next to
Cologn,
and at last settled at
Mentz;
where the year following,
viz. ann.
1442 he printed
Alexandri Galli doctrinale,
a grammar much in vogue at that time, with those very types that his master
Coster
had us'd before.
THIS is the substance of what I had from those gentlemen of veracity, who told me they had it handed down by tradition; and this has been likewise confirm'd to me by others of equal repute. I remember to have heard my tutor
Nich. Gallius,
an old gentleman of a very tenacious memory, say, that when he was a boy, he heard one
Cornelius
a printer, an old man, who had been one of
Coster
's workmen, mention the story of the first trials of printing, with a great deal of vehemence, and even with tears, especially when he came to the thievish part of it; protesting he could execute the rogue himself with the utmost pleasure, if he had been alive then; cursing those nights, in which, for near three months together, he had lain with so vile a miscreant. A story like this one
Quirinus Talesius
reports that he had heard from the same Printer.
THIS is what my sincere love of truth oblig'd me to publish, whatever the consequence be,—but I am fearful that prejudice in this case will out-balance reason and authority. The passing of this invention into
Germany
in a lawful way had been no harm; nay, I believe that it pleased God to make it the means of perfecting and divulging so useful an art,
&c.
"
HERE is all that our author could collect in defence of his cause, which he had made the best of after his way: it were indeed to be wish'd, the Doctor had rather imitated the modesty of
Carneades,
than wish'd for his eloquence; since that great philosopher (however he seems to forget it) never was known to affirm any thing. Convinc'd as he was of the weakness of human understanding, and of the power of prejudice; he always contented himself with confuting the opinions of others, without ever shewing that he held any of his own: but such an excellent talent would have spoil'd his design, and condemn'd both his book and his old men's fables to obscurity and oblivion, and saved some other authors the trouble of writing in the vindication of either; but tho' he has been follow'd by about a dozen of his country-men, yet no additional testimonies are to be expected from any of them: for even
Boxhorn,
who wrote with the greatest vehemence and spleen against
Malinkrot,
has been oblig'd to content himself with palliating the account of
Junius,
and endeavouring to shew, that it is not quite so improbable as his antagonist hath represented it. However it must be owned, that except the two last nam'd authors, and one or two more,
viz. Berchius
and
Scriverius,
the first of whom has been confuted by
Nicholas Serrarius
a Jesuit in his book
de rebus Moguntinis, lib.
1.
Cap.
36, 37, 38, and 39; and the later by the learned Mons.
Naudé, George Draude
and others; I say except these, all the rest write more moderately, without invectives or ill language, and some of them even with doubt; whilst others modestly contend only for the invention of printing on wooden-planks, leaving that of metal types to
Faust:
but even this is inconsistent with the story of
Junius,
who asserts
Coster
to be the inventor of them both, and
Faust
the thief. It would be superfluous to multiply quotations out of the writers on the side of
Harlem,
since they follow
Junius
upon his bare testimony; and a confutation of him will easily dispatch all the rest. I shall therefore examine the probability of his account, and see how far it outweighs, the testimonies and authorities alleg'd on the other side: in the execution of this, the best method will be to follow the steps of the learned
Malinkrot,
who has sufficiently expos'd the numerous absurdities, which this story is attended with. Setting aside therefore the oddness of
Coster
's fancy, in chusing to make his first letters of the bark of beech, which will bend whilst green, and break when dry; whilst the wood itself would have been much more proper to bear the weight of the press; and the improbability of his changing them into metal ones, which is barely asserted by
Junius,
and contradicted by
Berkius, Boxhorn,
and other
Dutch
writers, as we hinted before: nothing can be more ridiculous than the converting those types into drinking cups to perpetuate the memory of their discovery; they had certainly been more authentick in their former state; at least, if some notable work or inscription had been printed with them: or would it not have been a better method to celebrate the name of the inventor, to have distributed annually a portion of wine out of them, in order to inspire their poets with songs in his honour and
Faust
's shame; or to have hang'd them up, as trophies, in the town-hall or great church,
&c.
with respect to the stolen types, (which were turn'd to a better purpose by the thief, who the next year printed with them
Alexandri doctrinale,
and the works of
Petrus Hispanus,
if
Junius
may be credited, who was the first that said or thought of this;) well might
Serrarius
say after the Emperor
Julian, Who will be found innocent, if one accusation makes a man guilty?
One would naturally think that this story was devis'd in the woods and walks about
Harlem;
for several of the writers before mention'd, and particularly the
Colognian Chronicle
alleg'd by
Boxhorn,
agree that the
Latin
bible was the first book printed by
Faust
at
Mon
.
'Tis surprizing that these gentlemen of
Harlem
should pretend to tell us what was done with their types in the very heart of
Germany,
and yet be entirely ignorant of what was done in their own city: besides at that time it is certain, as we have already shewn, that separate types of any sort of metal were unknown—But to proceed; this treacherous servant, it seems, went off at 12 a-clock at night, when the whole family was at church.—It is highly improbable, that a
Dutchman
should leave his shop so open and expos'd at that time of night, when it was fill'd with all the tools and apparatus of an invention so important, and known only to himself and his man: for it is downright absurdity to think, that he might depend on the oath, with which he had engaged the latter to secrecy. Such a night as that, wherein the inhabitants of the city were going to or coming from mass, was by no means proper for such a design; and supposing he might have pass'd undisturb'd with his stollen treasure, yet he could not with the same facility pass thro' the gates, or leap over the walls, with at least a thousand weight of letters on his back: or if his booty was those wooden planks, with which the two large books mention'd before were printed, as some of the
Dutch
writers seem to hint against
Junius,
it was sufficient to load two or three carts: that he should go with them to
Amsterdam,
then to
Cologn,
and at last to
Mentz,
without being taken notice of, is no less astonishing. I shall not insist upon his rashness in chusing to go thro' such publick roads and noted cities, and thereby running the danger of being seized; the consequence of which would have been capital punishment: nor upon the unaccountable supineness of his master in not pursuing nor causing him to be apprehended, when he open'd shop at
Mentz,
where he could easily have reach'd him: nor yet upon the probability, that the publick must have been obliged, by this daring attempt of robbing the country of such a glorious discovery, to prosecute the robber with the utmost severity where ever he could be found.
IN the next place should we grant that
Faust,
or some other servants had stollen the types; does it necessarily follow that he carry'd away the art with them? Could neither
Coster,
nor his son-in-law and assistant
Tho. Peter,
nor any of his grand-children, recover a new press, cast new types, and publish something that might expose the thief, and shew to whom the world was indebted for this invention? Besides, it appears from
Junius
that some of the types were left behind, which were afterwards transformed into drinking-vessels: if these were not sufficient to set them to work again, the interval of ten years,
viz.
from the pretended robbery
anno
1441, to the divulging of the art
anno
1452, was more than enough to have compleated a new set; seeing the first inventors devis'd, try'd, and perfected this method in less time. But 'tis urg'd that
Coster
dy'd either of grief or otherwise before he had brought the art to any perfection; so that
Harlem
was anticipated by
Mentz.
This is affirmed by
Majolus
and
Quadi,
tho' without grounds; for
Junius
tells us, that he invented the separate metal types, as well as wooden-blocks; and met with such encouragement that people came far and near to purchase his books, tho' at very dear rates: now if he was alive, as
he
and
Berkius
relate,
anno
1447, six years after this pretended flight; during that interval he might have renew'd his works, there being no want of buyers, and inscrib'd his books after this or some such manner;
This work was done at
Harlem
by
L. J. Coster,
the inventor of this art of printing,
&c.
and not by that notorious pretender
John Faust,
who stole my art and instruments, and is set up at
Mentz,
&c.
But nothing of this nature was ever done by
Coster
or his posterity; which is a plain indication that this whole story is, what
Salmuth
and other learned writers affirm it to be, a mere old wife's fable without foundation or even probability. How the devisers and publishers of it can maintain it with so much positiveness and vehemence, with such calumnies, invectives and ill language, against persons of incomparable learning, who could not give into such an absurd and legendary account, is not my business to enquire. I shall only observe, that their charge upon a man of such conspicuous merit as
John Faust
recoils with double force and shame upon themselves; for it proves them guilty of a crime more flagrant than what they accuse him of, in endeavouring to deprive him not only of the glory of that invention, in order to fix it upon an imaginary country-man of theirs; but even of what is most valuable in the world, his reputation, upon the bare testimony and tradition of three old citizens, whose memory is as justly questionable, as their and
Junius
's impartiality, in a case wherein the honour of their city and fellow-citizens is concern'd; and what is still a greater aggravation of their unjust calumny, to make use of
Faust
's noble discovery to publish and perpetuate his shame, whose honour and memory ought rather to have been celebrated by it: little did that good man think, that his art would ever be put to so vile a use against himself.
IN the mean time, I must not omit to remark, that of all the writers, whom we have quoted for
Mentz,
and of many more collected by the diligent
Malinkrot
in his
History of Printing,
there is not one native of that city.
Munster
indeed was born near it, but educated at a greater distance; and
Serrarius,
tho' he liv'd sometime there, was born in
Lorain;
yet if such an objection had been just against ten or twelve of 'em, there remains enough to fix the laurel on
Faust
's head. But with respect to the old evidences of
Harlem,
we only know what
Junius
is pleas'd to tell us of them, that they were persons who serv'd several considerable offices in the city. However
Malinkrot
makes a very shrewd remark upon one of: them,
viz. Cornelius
the Printer, who in a sally of passion wish'd
Faust
had been then alive, that he might have executed him with his own hands; and was at that time, as
Junius
relates, above eighty years old: now as this theft is pretended to have been committed
anno
1441, and it appears from an edition of
Tully
's
offices
that
Faust
was living
anno
1466; it is plain that in this space of 25 years
Cornelius
might have had an opportunity of gratifying his revenge upon him if he had thought fit. This circumstance therefore, which was contriv'd to add weight to the story, serves only to burlesque and overthrow it.
I fear the reader is more weary of this argument than I could wish; since there are two or three new allegations out of those who followed
Junius,
which tho' of small weight, I would willingly examine before I dismiss this chapter; tho' it were only to shew what shifts they are driven to, who undertake to support the credit of
Junius
's legend; and to let the world judge whether such arguments are not more likely to overthrow than maintain this cause. I shall here propose 'em with the utmost brevity.
BOXHORN, in his
Theatrum Hollandiae,
triumphs upon the evidence of two eminent writers, whom he has violently wrested to speak in defence of his claim. One is the author of the
Cologn Chronicle;
the other
Mariangelus Accursius,
a learned man, who flourish'd in
Italy
about the beginning of the sixteenth century. The former writes to this purpose
Chronic. Coloniens.
Quamvis autem, ut praemittitur,
Moguntiae
ars haec inventa fuerit, eo modo quo nunc temporis communiter usurpatur; prima tamen ejus praefiguratio, seu simulacrum ex
Donatis Hollandiae
reperta & desumpta fuit, qui ibi ante id tempus excusi fuerunt; e quo illis principium artis depromptum est: at posterior haec inventio priore, quoad artificium & subtilitatem, longe praestantior fuit.
N. B.
Theauthor wrote this
chronicle
in
High Dutch,
but I could never procure the original, and have been oblig'd to make use of
Malinkret
's translation of it.
, that
"altho' the Art of Printing had been found out at
Mentz,
in the manner we now have it, yet the first hints or pattern was taken from the
Donatus
of
Holland,
which had been printed there; that the aforesaid art took its origin from them, tho' the latter invention is much superior in contrivance and ingenuity."
'Tis to be observ'd by the bye, that this author wrote in the year 1499, almost 50 years after the discovery, and had these particulars from
Ulric Zel
an old bookseller then living at
Cologn.
The next testimony is a passage written by
Accursius
upon the first leaf of a
Donatus
printed at
Mentz
by
John Faust,
as follows
Joannes Faust
civis
Moguntinus,
avus maternus
Joannis Schoeffer,
primus excogitavit imprimendi artem typis aereis, quos deinde plumbeos invenit; multaque ad poliendam artem addidit ejus filius
Schoeffer:
impressus est autem hic
Donatus
&
Consessionalia
primo omnium
anno
1450, admonitus certe fuit ex
Donato Hollandiae
prius impresso in tabula incisa.
Theatr. Holland.
p. 138.
.
"
John Faust
citizen of
Mentz,
grand-father by mother's side of
John Shepherd,
was the first that devis'd this Art of Printing with brass types, which he afterwards chang'd for leaden ones: his son
Peter Schoeffer
added many other improvements to the art: this
Donatus
and the
Confessionalia
were first printed in the year 1450. He certainly took the hint from the
Donatus
printed before in
Holland
upon wooden planks."
What this
Donatus
and other books of that sort were, and whether really done in wood or otherwise, with some other particularities relating to them, shall be consider'd in a distinct chapter: our present enquiry is how far they make for the cause of the
Dutch
writers.
We will suppose that
Ulric Zel
was a man of as good a memory as those mention'd by
Junius;
and that the second passage quoted was actually written by
Accursius,
which is far from being certain: let us now examine what both these writers do, and what they do not, affirm. They affirm, 1. that this method of printing by fusile types was found out at
Mentz
by
John Faust,
and improv'd by his son-in-law
Peter Schoeffer:
2. that they printed some books in the year 1450: 3. that there was a
Donatus
printed before that time upon wooden planks in
Holland:
and 4. that from the hint, or, as the chronicler terms it, the model or pattern
[vorbildung]
of those wooden planks,
Faust
began the new way of printing by fusile types; tho' this last article seems only a conjecture of theirs.
THEY do not affirm, 1. that the old method of printing on wood was the foundation of the new one: 2. that this
Donatus
was printed at
Harlem
rather than at any other place, or by
Coster
than any other person: tho' if they had asserted this, it ought to be examin'd how they got that intelligence; seeing it was not known in
Holland ann.
1575. in which year
Junius
dy'd, that any such book had been printed there; for that author, who was indefatigable in collecting whatever favour'd his cause, would never have fail'd to mention it; and
Jos. Scaliger,
tho' he since declar'd himself for
Harlem,
formerly attributed this rude invention to the city of
Dort:
3. they don't affirm that this
Donatus
was printed before the
Catholicon
of
Mentz,
wherein lies the main point; for tho' they say it was done before
Faust
had perfected his invention, yet it does not follow that it was before he had begun to print with wooden planks. Nothing therefore can be gather'd from these authors, even with respect to this invention in wood, that favours
Coster
or
Harlem
more than
Faust
or
Mentz.
I have already observ'd that some of the
Dutch
writers are for dividing the glory between those two corrivals, and particularly
Peter Berchius:
in this he is follow'd by no less an author than
Boxhorn,
so often mention'd for his zeal in this dispute. He finding the impossibility of defending all the assertions of
Junius,
is willing to come to a composition. His words are these:
Sed non difficile est hanc tam gravem ac tam nobilem controversiam, & quae clarissima nostri aevi ingenia exercuit, componere, nempe, si vel id, quod res est, concedainus, typos quidem ligneos a
Laurentio Harlemensi
primum fuisse inventos, typo vero stanneos, aereos, & plumbeos ad horum exemplar efformatos esse a
Joanne Fausto
cive
Moguntino.
Boxhorn
Theat. Holland.
"It will be no difficulty to reconcile this great and weighty controversy, which has exercis'd the greatest wits of the age, if we will, as indeed we ought, yield the honour of the old wooden invention to
Coster
of
Harlem,
and that of metal types to
John Faust
citizen of
Mentz.
"
But this accommodation is attended with this disadvantage, that it will set the
Dutch
writers at variance not only with one another, but also with themselves; whereas 'tis much better in my opinion, to continue in war with the whole world, than to bring a domestick one into their own bowels. A consequence still worse is inevitable; for what will become of the pompous story of
Faust
's robbery? And of those creditable evidences mention'd by
Junius?
Would not they with the utmost vehemence protest against such a partition treaty? And old
Cornelius
the false accuser, deserve the most sanguinary treatment to be retaliated on him from some angry
Moguntine?
Will not the drinking cups, those noble relicks of
Coster
's metal types, run the risque of being turn'd into vessels of dishonour? And all the inscriptions in his praise, his statues, and even his house at
Harlem,
be liable to some such dismal fate.—If we should yield them this invention of wooden planks, so eagerly contended for; or agree with the more moderate of their writers that
Faust
and
Coster,
tho' at so great a distance, happen'd upon it together; or grant to
Boxhorn,
that
Harlem
was the mother, and
Mentz
the nurse of these two discoveries; and that the one is but an improvement of the other: yet
Coster
would not have deserv'd half of the incense bestow'd on him; nor
Faust
the least part of the calumnies which he has suffer'd. In vain were such shifts and forgeries used to deprive him of so small and inconsiderable share of his glory; whilst the far greatest part of it, which could not be touch'd, was more than sufficient to make him outshine and even eclipse his rival, for whose sake he was so ungratefully treated. Had not he been bless'd with a genius vastly superior to that of his suppos'd competitor, or contented himself without aiming at a more useful and expeditious method than the first; the common wealth of letters had receiv'd as little advantage from his discovery, as his own name and memory from those
Dutch
writers, were they the only persons to transmit them to posterity. However if their partiality, and adherence to
Junius,
have influenc'd them so far as to make such returns for those improvements, which they are oblig'd to acknowledge that he made; common justice will oblige me to acquaint the reader, that other writers of that country, of equal learning, and a more generous nature, have been so far from joyning with them, that they have ascrib'd the invention to
Faust
alone. I have before quoted an encomium of the great
Erasmus
upon him and his art, and shall close this chapter with another out of the learned
Opmer
of
Amsterdam,
who dy'd about the year 1595,
i. e.
20 years after
Junius,
and has left us the following testimony in his posthumous book of
Chronography:
Etenim hoc anno
Moguntiae
a
Joanne Fausto
ars imprimendi exerceri coepta est, fuerat is avus
Joan is Shoefferi
chalcographi nostrae aetatis, vir dignus ut celebretur.—
Quid? quod sub mundi vesperam, instante supremo jam die, inter caliginosas impiorum atque discordiarum feralium procellas rarae pietatis, summaeque doctrinae non pauci instar micantium syderum emicasse cernuntur; ut crederes orbem a graviore morbo convaluisse, atque amissas eloquentiae artiumque vires sensim recollegisse; opitulante disciplinis arte illa, qua plumbeis literarum characteribus ingeniose fusis, atque scribendi ratione optime compositis, atramentoque madefactis convenienter ac praelo compressis, diversarum linguarum libri numeroso quasi partu in quamplurima exemplaria in lucem producuntur:
Typographiae
arti nomen dedere, ac per
Joannem Faustum
anno 1440 excogitatam in lucem produxisse certissime constat. Mirum tanti artificii repertorem, & divinarum humanarumque disciplinarum generosum administrum a
Germanicarum
rerum scriptore indigno plane ornari elogio: fuit certe vir ille immortalis memoriae dignissimus, & acutissimis ingeniis annumerandus.
Opmer. op. posth, p.
703.
edit. Colon.
—
"This year 1440 the art of printing began to be exercis'd at
Mentz
by
John Faust,
who was the grandfather of
John Schoeffer
(a printer of this age,) and worthy the highest encomiums."
In another place (in the beginning of the 4th book) there is the following elegant panegyrick upon the art and inventor:—
"that at the decline of the world, when the last day seem'd to approach, so many men of accomplish'd learning and singular piety should break forth, like bright stars, with unusual lustre thro' the tempestuous clouds of deadly discord; so that you would have thought the world had been recover'd from a long disease, and gradually reassumed its lost strength, the arts and sciences: this was effected by the assistance of that art, which from metal characters of letters ingeniously cast, dispos'd in the order in which we write, spread over with a convenient quantity of ink, and put under the press, has usher'd into the world, books in all languages, and multiplied their copies like a numerous off-spring, and has obtain'd the name of Typography. This
art of Printing
was most certainly invented and brought to light by
John Faust
in the year 1440. It is amazing that the author of so important a discovery, and so generous a promoter of divine and human learning, should be unworthily traduc'd by a writer of the
German
affairs: surely such a person deserves eternal remembrance, and a place amongst men of the brightest genius."
—Who this
German
writer was our author no where tells us; but it seems as if his unnatural usage of his own countryman had taken off
Opmer
's wonder at the like treatment from the
Dutch
writers. If it should be asked what converts these last have made among other nations, I can only answer, that I know of none.
THE generality of writers have esteem'd
Junius
's story unworthy of either credit or confutation; and if any of the moderns seem neuter or doubtful in this case, it is more owing to a peculiar affectation of modesty, than either to any design of complimenting the
Dutch,
or fear of being mistaken in so evident a matter.
CHAP. VI. An Enquiry into the
first Books
printed on
Blocks
of
Wood,
viz. the
Donatus, Speculum,
&c.
AS the reader may reasonably think, there is something exceilent in these Books, either for beauty of impression, learning, correctness,
&c.
from the great noise which they have made among the writers of this controversy; I must begin with acquainting him that their whole merit consists only in their being look'd upon by them as the very first essays of the art of printing, even before the invention of fusile types. This is so far from admitting of any controversy, however some of them may have been misled into a contrary opinion, that their being printed only on one side of the paper, and afterwards glew'd together, on the blank side, from which they were call'd
paginae conglutinatae,
is a very pregnant proof of their being done after the first method,
viz.
upon wooden blocks; tho'we shall not only corroborate the fact by many other undeniable arguments in the sequel of this chapter, but even lead the reader into so plain a method of judging of those works, from those printed by fusile types, that he will not have the least room left to doubt of it.
As for the
Donatus,
so strenuously insisted upon, by
Bertius
and others, in favour of
Harlem,
it is a question whether there be one copy of it extant, seeing 'tis not to be met with in any of those curious libraries I have either seen or heard of, nor could ever be procured by any of our searchers into these antient monuments, tho' they have spar'd neither pains nor cost to have it sought for far and near: to which let me add, that no author I am acquainted with, has pretended to have seen it, if we except
Angel Rocha,
who in his
Bibliotheca Vaticana,
printed at
Rome
in the year 1591,
4to.
pag. 411, tells us, that
Aldus Manutius, junr .
shew'd him a grammar of
Donatus
printed on vellum, upon one of the first white leaves of which
Mariangelus Accursius,
a learned author living in
Italy
about the year 1500 had wrote, as he suppos'd, with his own hand, the following words in latin,
"that this
Donatus,
and another book entitled
Consessionalia
were the first printed books, and that
John Faust
citizen of
Mentz,
and first inventor of the Art of Printing, had printed them
ann.
1450,"
as has been said in the last chapter.
FROM this account of
Accursius
it is plain:
first,
that this
Donatus
bore neither date nor name of place or printer, otherwise he need not to have been at the trouble of guessing at them.
Secondly,
That
Donatus
is the name of the author, not of the book; and that it was only a grammar for boys, for so
Rocha
calls it in the place before quoted; to which we may add, that in the last list which the first Printers at
Rome
gave of their works to the Pope, they call it
Donatus pro pueris;
so that it could not be such a trifling thing as some authors have thought it, who only call it a Primer. The
third
thing I would observe from this passage is, that
John Faust,
who is here call'd the first inventor of printing, is affirm'd to have printed it at
Mentz:
but what has puzled the world is, what the same author adds at the end of the passage,
viz. that
Faust
did certainly take the hint from the
Donatus
in
Holland,
first printed on Blocks of wood;
which for that very reason, those authors who have follow'd him, have thought fit to make 10 years older, and have suppos'd them printed about the year 1440. I might indeed have omitted this passage, seeing
Accursius
seems to hint that this book of his was printed by fusile types; but as it was the only one that has been seen by any author, and confirms some of our former assertions, I thought it would not be amiss to insert it, especially considering that it was not impossible for
Accursius
to be mistaken in his judgment, of its being printed after the new method of separate types, as many other learned men have been in the like case. The merit of this quotation has been examin'd in the last chapter, and it is plain that all the authors that have mention'd the date of this book, such as
Beughen, Boxhorn, Bertius,
and others have taken it upon trust, as well as what they affirm of its being done upon wooden blocks, since none of them pretend either to have seen it, or to have taken it from any author that had: and if we should admit what
Accursius
affirms, that those suppos'd
dutch ones
were older than this he wrote upon, it will make it still plainer that they had neither date, printer, nor place's name; since this, which is suppos'd ten years younger, is without any of them. The same may be said of the other books I am now going to give an account of,
viz.
the
Speculum, Ars moriendi,
&c. which are in the Earl of
Pembroke
's curious collection, none of which, tho' they seem to be improvements of one another, has the least mention of time, place, or printer.
However, as to their being engraven upon wooden blocks, and consequently being the first essays, or as some antiquaries call them, the first
Maculatures
of the art, I am fully convinc'd, both by the ink with which they are printed,
viz.
the common writing ink, and by some undoubted trials I have made of them. I shall therefore lay down the following rules to distinguish between books printed on blocks of wood and separate metal types.
First,
Let an
m, w,
or any other remarkable letter, be curiously examin'd both as to its length, breadth and shape, and compare it with the same letter in another word, if they vary either in similitude or size, you may be assur'd they are not metal types, since the most curious letter-cutter, writing-master, or engraver, cannot make any two letters so alike, but a nice observer will distinguish one from the other: on the contrary, in separate metal types each letter being cast in the same matrice, it is impossible there should be the least difference either in shape or size.
Secondly,
Another way is by choosing any word, the longer the better, take the length of it with the points of the compass, and compare it with the same word in another place, and if you find them both of the same length, you may depend upon their being printed with separate metal types; for as each letter is cast in the same mould, it is impossible that their length should vary: but in writing and engraving there will be a visible difference in the same word in various places.
Thirdly,
Measure the length of a page; tell the number of lines in a full one, and take the white spaces between each line, and by comparing them to any other full page in the book, if they are printed with metal types there can be no variation in any of these respects: whereas, if they were done in wood it would be as impossible for them to agree in any one instance, as it would be to engrave or write any two pages wherein there should be no visible variation in some one or more of the foremention'd particulars. It was by these methods that I distinguish'd, in the
sive
books in the Earl of
Pembroke
's
Library,
what was done on wood, and what by separate metal types.
MELCHIOR ADAMUS, and after him the learned
Malinkrot
and some others, tell us of separate wooden types cut with a knife, which were us'd by the first Printers, before the discovery of casting them into metal; but besides that this seems inconsistent with the most authentick testimonies we have quoted hitherto concerning this invention: whoever considers the vast time and trouble it would require to cut such a quantity of them as is necessary to print any moderate work, the great difficulty of making them stand exactly upright and even in line and body, how liable they would be to split, break, warp, shrink and swell with continual wetting and the weight of the press, with many more such like inconveniences and difficulties, will easily judge, not only of the absurdity of this notion, but also of the impossibility of any of those old books being printed by any such types; since it is obvious to every eye, that no one single work could have come perfect out of their hands for the reasons above-mention'd.
BEFORE I dismiss this point, I must not omit acquainting the Reader with a mistake into which
Chevillier
has been unwarily drawn, even when he took the surest method of coming at the truth, concerning one of these books in question,
viz.
the
Speculum Salutis,
he tells us,
pag.
281 and 282 of his
Origin of Printing,
that having one of them in his own possession, and having met with another in the library of the
Celestin
Monks at
Paris,
he had the curiosity to have them examined by a Printer, a Founder, and an Engraver, who judg'd them to be printed with separatemetal-types; so that those who have read his book, have thought it a sufficient ground to alter their opinion of their being done on wooden blocks. But this mistake of
Chevillier
's proceeded from his not examining the whole book, because as I shall shew anon, there were many leaves supply'd afterwards by separate metal types, one of which he had the misfortune to light upon, otherwise they must have manifestly seen the difference
I come now to give the reader an account of the other
five
books,
viz. Ars Moriendi,
the
History of the Apocalypse,
the
History of the Bible,
the
Speculum Salutis,
and the
Spiegel
or
Speculum
translated into
Low Dutch.
That these however are not all that was done upon wooden planks, is plain, because
Trithemius
tells us of the
Catholicon,
first printed upon wood,
Scaliger
speaks of a
Psalter
of the same stamp, which his grand-mother had, and other antiquaries mention several others not worth inserting here, all which are either perish'd, or are as yet undiscover'd: however I cannot omit the
Speculum,
and some others seen by
Saubert
in the
Nuremberg
library, of which he was keeper; and mention'd by him in the catalogue of that library, call'd in latin
Bibliotheca Norica,
which books were printed in
High Dutch,
and may justly be suppos'd some of
Faustus
's first
Tentamina
or essays from
ann.
1440 to 1450: but as that author has only given us the names, without any further account of them; I shall pass them by, and return to the
five
abovementioned; which are no where to be met with together, but in that noble Collection of the Right Hon. the Earl of
Pembroke:
and as no one besides my self has describ'd them all, I hope the reader will not be displeas'd, if I give him a more particular account of them, than any but a Printer could possibly have done: They are all
five
printed on a very small
Folio.
I.
ARS MORIENDI;
or,
SPECULUM MORIENTIUM.
IT is a moral treatise upon the subject of dying well, with wooden cuts suited to the taste of the Romish church; a sick man is figur'd lying in his bed with angels and devils attending him, the one to tempt, the other to strengthen him; to which end the designer has made labels from their mouths, to express the intention of each: the designs of this first book are somewhat better drawn than those of the rest; for in that age, as well as ours, there were good and bad painters or designers, but the press-work is the worst of the
five:
this induces me to think this piece to be the oldest, and its wanting the several improvements which we find in the others, does not a little confirm me in my conjecture: for
first,
it is printed with common writing ink without any gum, which is plain from its spreading it self, and soaking into the paper, so that in many places it is scarce legible; and the ink is grown withall so pale by length of time, that it doth but just show it self at the best:
secondly,
it seems to have received several degrees of improvement as the work went on, and is better printed, and with better ink, the nearer it draws to the end: the
third
circumstance that proves its priority to the rest, is, that it hath neither the capitals A, B, C,
&c.
(which are now call'd Signatures) at the bottom of the first pages of each sheet, nor any direction word at the end of each page; which is a guide to the book-binder how to place the sheets, this improvement we find in the two next books.
II.
The HISTORY of the APOCALYPSE.
THIS book, which I venture to give the second rank to, hath the advantage of being printed with better ink than the former, which makes it much more legible; it appears to have some gum dissolv'd with the ink, which was one of the first improvements that was made to the common sort of ink; it has likewise the signatures at the top of each page of the sheet: This piece contains the history of St.
John
the
Evangelist
in forty six pages, each having some figures ill cut, representing some part of that saint's life; the cuts are interspers'd with short sentences, arguments and explications, in Monkish latin prose; likewise cut in wood after an indifferent manner; the paper has the mark of the
heiffer's LABEL and horns,
which is allowed to be the mark in the paper
Faust
used.
III.
The HISTORY of the BIBLE.
THIS contains only histories out of the Old and New Testament, promiscuously blended together with wooden cutts better perform'd, tho' worse drawn, than any of the two foregoing; it has likewise the arguments and explanations of each cut, and the paper seems to be the same with that of the
Apocalypse;
it has also the improvements of ink and signatures
These were in all probability the first SIGNATURES, the 4th and 5th here have them not, nor the books with
Faust
's name. And tho' the Terence printed at
Milan
1470 has them, yet
Spira
and
Jonson
printed afterwards without; nor have they us'd them in
France
in 1468, yet in the same year they were us'd at
Oxford.
.
IV.
The SPECULUM HUMANAE SALVATIONIS.
IT is commonly called
Speculum Salutis;
or, the
Mirrour of our Salvation;
and is a comparative history of the old and new testament it is written in Monkish latin verse rhim'd. This is by far the most perfect of the two I have seen,
that
which
Dr. Mead
shew'd me wanted many leaves, but
this
only two: it consists of fifty six pages, and each page has two columns of verses, which are so well cut, that were it not for some differences in the magnitude and shape of the same letters, one might easily be induc'd to think them printed with metal types; and I believe this is the reason, that made some authors suppose them to be done with separate wooden types. I have already taken notice of the improbability of that notion.
V.
De SPIEGHEL.
THIS is only a translation of the
Speculum Salutis
into
Flemish:
it was upon this book that Dr.
Junius
and the other
dutch
writers, who have followed him, lay so great a stress; and upon whose antiquity, preferable to all others, they ground their claim to the invention of printing in favour of
Coster.
However it is very plain that the
Latin
one is prior to this, and that
this
is only a translation of
that,
because the wooden cuts are the same in both, the latin explanations at the bottom are left untranslated, and the cuts are printed with the same pale gum'd writing ink as in the
Latin
one, rather brown than black; whereas the body of this work is compos'd with separate metal types, and printed with an ink as remarkable for its blackness as any sort since made use of: it has also in several places the same mark in the paper,
viz.
the
heiffer's LABEL and horns,
acknowledg'd by Mons.
Naudé
to be the mark in
Faust
's paper. In the
Latin Speculum
a great many pages are supply'd with the same separate metal types, press-work and ink as the body of this whole
Flemish
one; and has all the appearances sufficient to convince any one, of its being done at the same time, and by the same hand; one of which
supply'd
pages of the latin
Speculum, Chevillier
happen'd to pitch upon, when he shew'd it to the Printer, Founder and Engraver before mention'd. There is one circumstance worth noting, which is, that the
Speculum salutis,
tho' cut on wood, each page consists of two distinct pieces, the LABEL piece is the draught or representation of the history, the lower piece is the history itself in two columns, and if I may venture to account for this motled work, it must be by supposing, that after they had cut the design, they might print several proof sheets, as is usual now, to see if it needed any amendment; which proof sheets of the draughts only, together with a compleat book of the latin
Speculum,
might afterwards fall into the hands of some
dutch Printer,
who got it translated into
low dutch
and printed it with separte metal types upon the same proof sheets under the designs which were before printed at the LABEL of the page; and this will evidently appear from the manifest difference of the ink, as before mention'd.
THERE remain still two points to be examin'd with relation to the
Donatus;
1. whether it be the first book printed with wooden planks; 2. whether it was done by
L. Coster
at
Harlem.
To the first there is only the testimonies of
Ulric Zel
citizen of
Cologn,
who relates what was done almost fifty years ago, and of
Mar. Accursius,
who wrote in
Italy
what he heard was done at, a still, greater distance from him. To these, who could not possibly be acquainted with every circumstance of this discovery, we may reasonably oppose the authority of
Trithemius;
for he learn'd what he tells us, not from report and uncertain tradition, but from the mouth of
Peter Schoeffer,
who related nothing but what he was an eyewitness of, or rather particularly interested in. Now
Trithemius
ascribes the invention of wooden blocks to
J. Faust;
and asserts that the
Catholicon
was the first book (of any consequence) printed in that manner; and that his next step was the more ingenious invention of separate metal types.
LET the world judge whether his testimony be not far preferable to that of the two former.
Scriverius
indeed, and after him Mr.
Beughen,
affirm the
Donatus
to have been printed
anno
1440; but give no reason for their fixing on that year rather than any other; and it is manifest from what they say before, that they only proceed upon a supposition, that this method being discovered about that time; this book (which is perhaps the least considerable of those which were printed then) might be one of the first essays of it. However let the
Catholicon,
the
Donatus
or any other, be the first book printed in
Europe
with wooden planks, yet there is no ground of boasting it to be the first in the world; since the
Chinese
practis'd that way of Printing at least 300 years before either
Faust
or
Coster
were born.
THE next consideration is, where and by whom it was printed. The
Dutch
attempt two ways of proving it was done by
Coster
at
Harlem:
the first is that of
Junius,
who pretends that it was one of the first tryals of
Coster
's metal types; but this has been so fully confuted, that they have been oblig'd to recur to another shift; which is, that
Coster
invented the engraven planks, and with these printed the
Donatus
and
Speculum Salutis;
and that from this
Faust
took the hint of inventing metal types, an improvement of the former method
Alibi enim ars, alibi ornamenta artis inventa; illa inter
Hollandos,
haec inter
Germaniae Moguntinos.—Harlemum Tipographiae
velut matrem,
Mogunt am
autem nutricem fuisse & alumnam; ibi superatum quicquid in novae rei exordiis impeditum, hic additam majorem arti speciem & facilitatem.
Boxhorn de Art. Typogr invent.
p 38, 39.
: As the latter part of this assertion has receiv'd a sufficient answer in the second chapter and elsewhere, so I need not insist long upon a confutation of the former part,
i. e.
the books themselves; since they carry no evident characteristick, nor are affirm'd with certainty by any author to have been done in
Holland.
No doubt the
Latin Speculum
is the original, and the
Dutch
only a translation; since as I observ'd before, the latin arguments under the figures are left untranslated. The learned
Saubert
likewise tells us in his
History of the
Norimbergh
library,
that he hath seen several books there printed in
high dutch
after this manner, one of which is the
Speculum
Quae ligno incisa sunt, huc non refero, v. g. libellum fabularum & similitudinum, qualis est
D. Hartlhorni
libellus
Germanicas,
itemque
Speculum Mortentium, Speculum Salutis,
& id genus alia,
Saubert. Histor. Biblioth. Norimberg.
p. 116.
. Who can therefore determine which is the most antient, or where they were printed? If the
Dutch
one could be done no where but in
Holland,
because it is in
low dutch;
by parity of reason the
high dutch
must have been printed in
Germany;
and as to the
Latin,
it will remain still undetermin'd, whether it was done in the one or the other, and nothing will be certain concerning it, except that it must have been printed before the translations. From the whole of what has been said, it is apparent, that all the proofs which the
Dutch
bring either from facts or authentick writers, confute, rather than support, their pretensions: and I hope by this time the reputation of
Faust
is sufficiently clear'd from the two fold wrong done it by those, who endeavour to deprive him of his due honour, and asperse him with the vilest accusations of treachery and theft: and that the reader not only esteems him acquitted of both, but is satisfy'd that neither
Coster
nor
Harlem
have the least share in this discovery.
BEFORE I conclude this chapter, I cannot omit a conjecture of the ingenious Mr.
Mattaire,
which will be a considerable confirmation of what has been said before. He tells us
De loco & opifice incertiora adhuc sunt omnia. Si pro
M
guntia
pronuncietur, non multum haerendum erit de opificibus, tribus scilicet antea celebratis; aut tempore quod
anno
1457, (quo primum, juxta receptam hactenus a plerisque opinionem, integrae Typographiae opus per
Johannem Fust
&
Petrum Schoeffer
elaboratum prodiit fuerit forte vetustius; opus enim minus perfectum oportet perfectiori praeivisse, sin autem cui
Argentina
plus placeat, aut (quam cur duarum malim, postea aperiam)
Harlemum; Guttenbergus,
quem quidam
Argentinam
migrasse, potior vero (de qua deinceps disseram, authoritas
Harlemi
consedisse affirmat, haec primae suae artis molitus est rudimenta; non qui em ante annum 1455, quo accidisse fertur inter ipsum
Faustumque
dissidium (quae ipsi fuit migrandi causa) neque forsan multo post 1457 quo perfectior innotuerat imprimendi ratio.
Annal. Typ
graph.
p. 17.
, that he is inclin'd to think the books beforemention'd were printed at
Harlem,
rather than at
Mentz
or
Strasburgh,
because tho'
Guttenbergh
remov'd at first to the latter, soon after the sentence pronounc'd against him by the judges of
Mentz;
yet it appears from several authors even of our own nation, that he either suspecting his safety there, and a farther prosecution from
Faust
for the money adjudg'd to him by the decree and deed mention'd in a former chapter, or upon some other reason, came afterwards to
Harlem:
in this city he is suppos'd by our author to have taught the art to
Coster,
and practis'd it with him about the year 1459. If this be admitted, which has all the air of probability to recommend it,
Coster
will be left entirely destitute of his former glory. The reader will find Mr.
Mattaire
's proofs for what he advanceth concerning
Guttenbergh
's printing at
Harlem,
in his book before quoted
Ibid a
pag 26,
ad
30.
Quae ex
Lambethano
MS. descripsit, de eo rum veritati cur dubitemus non video: ex iis itaque pauca mecum colliget lector alibi forsan non ediscenda.
1.
Johannes Guttenbergus,
quem, exorta inter ipsum &
Faustum
contentione,
Argentinam
migrasse scribit
Henricus Salmuth, Harl
mum
inde aliquando profectus est, ibique primus artem Typographicam a se inventam
n onstravit, & ipse anno 1459 exercuit: quod si admittatur, contra
Laurentium Costerum,
cui inventionis palma a
Belgis
tribuitur, manifeste faciet,
&c. ib.
p. 31.
; which I refer to, rather than to those old and scarce authors, from whom he has extracted them. I shall close this controversy of
Harlem
with the words of
Malinkrot:
Non hercle
Harlemicae
silvae spatiis, non
Batavicus
deambulationibus, non
Hollandico
otio tam laboriosae artisanxium & difficilem partum debemus; sed
Mogu
tinus
potius sudoribus
Rhenanae
industriae & difficilibus nixibus,
Germa
i
ae
assiduitatis indefessae operationi, continuae multorum annorum instantiae llum acceptum fe
e tenemur.
Typograph. cap.
8.
pag.
69.
"'Tis not the spacious woods of
Harlem,
nor the fine walks of
Holland,
nor the supineness of its inhabitants that could produce an art so difficult and laborious; but 'tis to the strenuous endeavours of the city of
Mentz,
and the assiduous and indefatigable industry of the
Rhenish
nation for many years together, that we are indebted for it."
CHAP. VII. The Pretensions of
Strasburgh
confuted.
IN the two former chapters, the falsity of the charge against
John Faust
has been so fully demonstrated, that one would have reasonably expected the ill success of this accusation, and the many learned advocates that appear'd in his defence, might have been sufficient to deter the most sanguine of mortals from a second attempt upon so great a man. Nevertheless the reader must have patience to hear him arraigned at another bar for the like crimes, committed about the same time, tho' upon another person, and at another place distant several hundred miles from the former.
FOUR years after the publication of
Boxhorn
's
Dissertatio de Typographiae inventione & inventoribus,
printed at
Leyden
1640; there started up another, who in a small treatise intitled,
Brevis de loco, tempore & authore Typographiae excursus,
pretended to prove that
Faust
stole the art of Printing from
John Mentel
at
Strasburgh.
'Tis true, this author was asham'd to set his name to it; but neither that, nor the meanness of his performance hinder'd the diligent
Malinkrot,
who was then writing his treatise
de ortu & progressu artis Typographicae
against
Junius
and his followers, from confuting it. Hereupon
James Mentel
doctor of physick at
Paris,
a man of learning, and great grand-son of
Mentel,
the first
Strasburg
Printer of that name, publish'd a book call'd
Paraenesis de vera Typographiae
igine
at
Paris anno
1650; wherein he undertook to make good the charge, which the anonymous author had laid against
Faust,
and challeng'd the glory of the invention in favour of his ancestor. Tho' no particular answer to this book has been publish'd, yet there is not one writer upon this subject, that I know of, that has not taken occasion to confute, or at least to say something to discountenance it. I should therefore esteem my self, wanting to this art and its inventor, should I omit giving a short account of this controversy, and expose the vanity of such an attempt; especially because it may be thought, that Dr.
Mentel
would not have troubled the world with it so soon after the other, unless he had had something more weighty to alledge in favour of
Strasburgh,
than the
Dutch
had for
Harlem.
I hope to propose the arguments on both sides so fairly, that the reader will easily judge of the pretensions and merit of this new competitor; and with such brevity, that he will not be tired with it, by referring still to the quotations in the margin without interruption to the story.
THE first evidence alledg'd by Dr.
Mentel,
is an old
Strasburgh
chronicle, of equal authority with the
Harlem
tradition, to this purpose
Anno millesimo quadringentesimo quadragesimo
als zum drittenmahl, &c quae Latine
sic sonant: cum e tribu Vietorum tertius in consulem esset electus Dominus
Nicholous Schantliti,
& praetura urbana fungeretur
Walterus Spiegel,
&c. eximia illa & mire utilis
Typographia Strasburgs
inventa est, ab incomparabili viro
Johanne Ment l
o
habitante in foro
Fronhoff,
in aedibus vero
Viengarten,
hoc est lustri, vulgo nuncupatis: quod divinissimum opus non celavit unum ex famulis suis, sibi dexteritate ingenii atque acumine notum,
Johannem Geasfleich
vocatum, & illum
Mogunty
e s
m,
ut abs illo in ea re juvaretur: Sed male feriatus is servus, ubi quadamtenus industriae istius fuisset conscius, nequissime cum hero se gessit.
am cum
Johanne Gu
embergio,
populare suo, pinguis census homine, ac vitae sorte aurifice, se socians; qui jam de arte quidpiam subodorabatur
(ut mer
oria cujus opera fabrica
dis ad id instrume
tis usus antea fuiss
t Mentilius)
secreta quae a patrono fuerat expiscatus, detexit. Ac sic utrique cum nova & illustria per ipsam nomina comparandi spes fo
et; nec tamen impune id
Argentorati,
ubi esset inventor possent consequi, illac egredi apud se constituerunt, ac
Moguntiam
profecti suut.
Mentel
p. 6, 7.
:
"that
anno
1440
Nich. Schantlitt
being consul,
&c.
the excellent and truly useful art of Printing was invented at
Strasburgh
by the incomparable
John Mentel,
who dwelt in the
Fronhoff
market, and at the house commonly called
Viergarten (brothel-house;)
which divine invention he communicated to a servant of his of great ingenuity and dexterity, by name
John Gensfleich,
a native of
Mentz,
that he might be assisting to him in the business. But this treacherous fellow had no sooner learn'd the mystery, but he serv'd his master a base trick, by associating himself with his counrryman
J. Guttenberg,
a wealthy silver-smith, who began to smell out something of the art (having been employed by
Mentel
to make some necessary tools;) and discovering to him the secret, which he had been intrusted with by his master. These two hoping to make themselves famous by this art, but being fearful of divulging it at
Strasburgh
where the inventor liv'd, resolv'd to remove thence, and settle at
Mentz.
"
WITH respect to this chronicle and the writer of it, we only know what our author tells us in his translation inserted at the bottom of the page, for the chronicle is written in
high dutch.
As it wants therefore some better authority for its support, Dr.
Mentel
brings, as a confirmation of it, the testimonies of the writers quoted in our third chapter, who make mention of
Guttenberg
's carrying the art from
Strasburgh
to
Mentz,
where he perfected it by the assistance of
John Faust
alias
Gensfleich;
whose words are not therefore necessary to be repeated here. In the next place he alledges an inscription, which with
Mentel
's coat of arms was put at the beginning of
Otho Brunsfield
's
Onomasticon
printed at
Strasburgh
by
John Schott anno
1543, importing
Insigne
Schottorum
familiae ab
Frederico Romanorum
III imperatore
Jeanni Mentelin
primo Typographiae inventori, ac suis concessum anno 1466. p. 104.
, that these arms of
Schott
's family had been given to
John Mentelin,
first inventor of the art of Printing, and to his posterity by the Emperor
Frederic
III.
anno
1466. After this he gives us a
latin
epigram written by
Erhard Windsberg
and inscrib'd to the three famous
Germans,
who set up the first Printing-press at
Paris.
In the first verse of this he has thought fit to change the word
Alemannia (Germany)
for these of
tu Argentina (thou Strasburgh)
as more proper for his purpose.
THE book, at the end of which are these verses, is the
Epistles of
Crates
the Cynick,
printed by
Martin Crantz
and his two partners beforemention'd
anno
1470, not at
Strasburgh,
as our author would fain insinuate to his readers, but at
Paris;
where it is still extant in the library of the
Sorbon,
and was seen among others by
Chevillier,
who has occasionally confuted
Mentel
's supposition, and expos'd his unfair quotation of the epigram, pag. 31. of his
History of Printing;
as we shall shew in its proper place.
THIS is all that I can find in
Mentel's
book, which has the appearance of argument: the rest consists chiefly in digressions, and quotations in praise of the art, and of the
German
nation; which are entirely foreign to this controversy. In short our author shews himself more desirous of appearing zealous for his ancestor's honour, than solicitous what credit his work will merit among the learned: I shall give an instance or two of this, and proceed to the confutation of his main arguments.
IN page 31, he gives us a piece of a comedy written by the famous
Swedish
poet
Nicodemus Frischlin;
but is pleas'd to overlook the lines quoted by us before at p. 19, in which he affirms,
John Faust
citizen of
Mentz
to have been the inventor of the art; tho' they are at a very small distance from the passage quoted by him; what is still more remarkable is, that
Mentel
affirms that our
Swedish
poet dedicated this dramatic piece to the senate of
Strasburgh;
which he would scarce have done, had he dreamt any thing of that city's claiming the glory of this invention against his Hero
John Faust,
or heard any thing of the charge of theft alledg'd against him by the
Strasburgers.
The other instance of his unfairness is no less considerable at
p.
67; where having suppos'd that the
Rationale Durandi
was not printed 'till after the falling out of
Faust
and
Guttenbergh,
viz.
ann.
1461, to evade the force of the real date 1459, he says with a very serious air, that he had credible information from men of great learning, both Printers and others, that it was wrong printed, and that the figure I, which is put before, should have been after the X, that instead of MCCCCLIX, it should have been MCCCCLXI: whereas Mr.
Mattaire
assures us
Vide quaeso
Mentelii
in opinione falsa obstinati, ipsiusque hominum ornatissimorum hallucinationem manifestam; annus enim illius libri exprimitur non numeralibus litteris, sed disertis verbis.
Millesime quadringentesimo quinquage
imo nono. Annal. Typograph. p.
11.
anno
. col
1.
, that the year is not printed with numeral letters, but in words at length,
one thousand four hundred fifty nine;
I can hardly suppose Dr.
Mentel
could be mistaken for want of an opportunity of consulting the book itself, seeing it is to be so easily met with in several
ibraries of
Paris,
which stand always open to the learned and curious; and I don't find he has been wanting in ransacking them to find out any thing to his purpose: tho' should even this supposition about the date be allow'd, it would not therefore follow, that no books were printed before the year 1460 with
Faust
's and
Schoeffer
's names, exclusive of
Guttenbergh
's, as Dr.
Mentel
attempts to persuade his readers; for the
Psalmorum codex
printed
ann.
1457 mentions only the names of the two former; and the latter was never printed in any book that could yet be produc'd. What is said will suffice, I hope, to give an idea of this author's sincerity, whose three principal authorities I shall now examine.
FIRST, as to the
Strasburgh
chronicle, we may reasonably be excus'd for not laying the same stress upon it, that our author doth; since the obscurity of the writer, a suspicion of his partiality for his country's honourand a difficulty of believing a person in his own cause in opposition to a great number of more credible witnesses, are obstacles almost invincible. I am therefore inclin'd to think, that the bare opposing of the chronicle of
Cologne
and
Trithemius,
who assert that the art was first brought from
Mentz
to
Strasburgh,
will be a sufficient confutation of it, tho' there were no other authorities for the one, nor arguments against the other. However we have an unexceptionable witness to produce against this chronicle,
viz.
the learned
Wimpheling,
who was not only an eminent citizen of
Strasburgh,
and almost contemporary with the discovery of the art, but is likewise quoted by Dr.
Mentel,
tho' his testimony be diametrically opposite to his purpose: the first part of the passage is set down at length in
pag.
15, wherein he attributes the whole invention to
John Guttenbergh;
and tells us that he did not perfect it 'till he had been sometime at
Mentz;
whilst
John Mentel
undertaking the same business, printed a great many volumes very neat and correct, and grew exceeding rich in a short time
Interea
Joannes Mentel
id opisicii genus incoeptans, multa volumina castigate & polite imprimendo factus est brevi opulentissimus.
Wimphel loco
tat
.
. This is all that
Wimpheling
says of
Mentel;
nor has any author, except that of this
Strasburg
chronicle, mention'd or suppos'd him to be the inventor, but only one of the first that practis'd that art at
Strasburgh:
and if the reader will recollect what most of the writers, quoted in the
third
chapter of this book, have said concerning
Guttenbergh
's leaving
Mentz
and returning to
Strasburg,
where some of them affirm him to have taught
Mentel
the art; we shall not wonder that
Wimpheling
makes him the first inventor of it, seeing he practis'd it there sometime before it was known that
Faust
had done the like at
Mentz;
and was consequently the first Printer, that
Wimpheling
might know of: nor is it reasonable to suppose that
Guttenbergh
could have been weak enough to say any thing of what had pass'd at
Mentz
between
Faust
and himself, it being so little to his credit.
MENTEL's next authority is taken from the coat of arms given to the family by the Emperor
Frederick
III; for which there is no other testimony but the first leaf of the
Onomasticon.
However supposing it to be authentick, may we not with the greatest reason oppose to it the patent or privilege granted by the Emperor
Maximilian
to
John Schoeffer,
in consideration of his being the grand-son of
John Faust
the first inventor of the art of Printing? this privilege being of much later date than the other, may be reasonably enough suppos'd a retract
tion of the former, which might have been surreptitiously obtain'd; especially considering that
Faust
has the concurrent testimonies of writers and incontestable facts, but
Mentel
only brings an old chronicle and the most precarious grounds to support his pretensions. However the authentickness of this grant is not only much question'd by the generality of writers, but has one material objection against it, which is, that the person to whom it was given, never made any mention or shew of it in all the books printed by him at
Strasburgh,
which, according to
Wimpheling
's account, were very numerous. It seems to me surprizing, that if he had really obtain'd such a noble testimony of his being the first inventor of Printing, and had been so treacherously robb'd both of the secret and the glory of it by a faithless servant, he had not made use of his Imperial Majesty's authority (whose subject he was as well as
Faust,)
to confirm the honour of the invention upon himself, and the shame of the theft upon the other. But on the contrary, there is not one book to be met with, (tho' we may reasonably think Dr.
Mentel
was not negligent in such a search,) that was printed by
John Mentel
before the year 1473, and even this was without any mention of the place where it was printed; as appears from the
Speculum morale
of
Vincentius
in folio, which is the oldest book known to bear his name: whereas
Faust
and his son-in-law put their names to their impressions almost sixteen years before that time, as is plain from the
Psalmorum Codex
printed
ann.
1457. What is still more wonderful, is, that
John Mentel
never plac'd this coat of arms in any of his books as we can find; for the oldest edition that hath it, is the
Geographical work of Ptolemy
printed by his nieces son MDXX, that is, 70 years after the invention, 64 years after the grant, and 63 after
Faust
had begun to print in his own name, even by
Mentel
's own confession.
I come now to consider the epigram, and Dr.
Mentel
's wild inferences from it, (which he grounds upon a supposition, that the
epistles,
at the end of which it is printed, were done at
Strasburgh,)
from which he would conclude, that from this city, not only the three first Printers of
Paris,
to whom they are inscrib'd, but also the most celebrated ones of
Europe
came. His words are these
Ut ita consentaneum sit assevevare, ab
ArGentorato
velut a ca pite hoc artificium primo fluxisse atquedimanasse. Hinc ad cam suosque magnam partem
Tipographos
primores illos quorum meminit
Wimphelingus Erhards Windsberg
cujusdam
epigramma,
quod habetur in calce
Epistolarum Cratetis,
ubi ubi-vis gentium (nam locus non ponitur, quanquam putem
Strasburg
at certe novellis, & artis infantiam plane redolentibus literarum characteribus impressarum,
&c. p.
15.
:
"So truly may it be affirm'd, that this art at first flow'd from
Strasburgh,
as from its fountain-head, whence it dispers'd it self abroad: to that city therefore, and to the greatest part of her first Printers mention'd by
Wimpheling,
is that epigram of
Erhard Windsbergh
directed, which is at the end of
Crates
's
Epistles;
wheresoever these are printed, (for there is no place nam'd, tho' I shou'd rather think at
Strasburgh,)
they being done with some of the first types, whose rudeness plainly shews the infancy of the art."
All this is said without any foundation, and would scarce have deserv'd to be inserted here, but that it afforded me an opportunity of shewing the reverse from the testimony of
Chevillier,
who examin'd and compar'd the the edition of
Crates
's
Epistles
with the first impressions of these three Printers of
Paris,
which are given under the first list, and found them exactly alike: they are all done upon the same paper, with the same types, ink,
&c.
and demonstrate the infancy of the art. He adds farther, that there is a greater probability that these three partners came from
Mentz
than from
Strasburgh,
tho' there is no record left of the particular place, but of
Germany
in general; because he finds a great conformity between their characters and impressions, and those of
Peter Schoeffer;
thus he tells us
p.
51 of his
History of Printing,
that the
Speculum
of
Zamora
printed by them at
Paris ann.
1475, bears a very great likeness with St.
Jerom
's
Epistles
printed at
Mentz
1470; their
Rationale Durandi
of 1475 with
Scheoffer
's
Speculum Harpianum
X
Praeceptorum;
their edition of
Utinus
's
lenten Sermons
of 1477, with the
Scrutinium Scripturarum Pauli Burgensis
printed at
Mentz
1478; from which the author reasonably concludes, that it is more likely they came from the city of
Mentz
than from that of
Strasburgh.
I shall now subjoin at the bottom of the page the epigram, both as it is printed in the genuine edition of the
Epistles,
and as
Mentel
has alter'd it
Erhardi Windsbergh epigramma ad Germanos librarios egregios, Michaelem, Martinum & Uldaricum.
Genuine Edition.
Plura licet summae dederis,
Alemannia,
laudi,
MENTEL.
Plura licet summae dederis,
tu Argentina,
laudi,
At reor hoc majus te genuisse nihil;
Quod prope divinam summa ex industria fingis
Scribendi hanc artem, multiplicans studia.
Felices igitur,
Michael Maremeque
semper
Vivite, &
Ulrice,
ho
queis opus imprimitur;
Erhardum
vestro & non dedignemini amore,
Cui fido semper pectore clausi eritis.
: I need not, I believe, point out to the reader the material difference between
Alemannia
and
tu Argentina;
the latter of which, were it authentick, would undoubtedly determine the dispute on the side of
Strasburgh:
but as the former is exactly according to the edition preserv'd in the
Sorbon
library, ever since it was printed; 'tis plain that author of the epigram, who was probably a country-man and intimate acquaintance of the three Printers, and corrected their editions, adding sometimes a copy of verses in their praise, did not design to particularise any city, but to give the honour of the art to the
German
nation in general. It is likewise probable enough, that they might not come all three from one and the same city, but perhaps each of them from a distinct one; in which case the poet must have been forc'd, either to name them all, or disobliged one or two of them, or spoil a good epigram; and therefore rather chose to compliment them under the name of
Germans
without regard to the place of their birth.
THO' I have now done with Dr.
Mentel,
yet before I close this controversy it will not be improper to observe that there are two cities more of
Germany,
which have laid claim to this invention,
viz. Ausburgh
and
Russenburgh
in
Alsace.
The first of these owes its original to a passage misunderstood in the supplement to
Polydore Vergil De rerum inventoribus,
attributed by
Irenicus
to
Gilbert Cognatus,
and printed
ann.
1604 in 16o , it runs thus:
"The art of Printing is reported to have been discover'd by the industry of
Peter Schoeffer
of
Ausburgh,
or invented by some of his relations, and cultivated by him."
'Tis plain here, that the author doth not say that the art was invented at
Ausburgh,
but that the inventor was a native of the place; in which he was certainly mistaken, seeing
Schoeffer,
who best knew the place of his own birth, declares himself in all his inscriptions a native of
Gernsheim,
a small town upon the
Rhine,
a little below
Worms.
Besides we have no books extant, which are printed before the year 1471 at
Ausburgh,
when
John Schuster
gave an edition of
Paul Orosius
's
Chronography
in
folio.
The other town,
viz. Russenburgh
is likewise said by the same
Irenicus
to have been esteem'd by some writers, the inventress of the art of Printing; and that it receiv'd its name from the noise of the many Printing-presses at work in it: but this name seems to be more antient than that art; and no book printed there has been ever produc'd, nor any author of antiquity mention'd it; so that this was only a mistake in
Cognatus,
if he was the writer of the book beforemention'd. I hope, that by this time enough has been said, to satisfy the reader, that all which hath been urg'd in favour of
Harlem, Strasburgh,
or these two last cities, is unworthy to come into competition with these noble testimonies and facts we have alleg'd on the side of
Mentz.
I shall therefore with the greatest pleasure dismiss this rough and tedious path of controversy, and resume the thread of our history.
CHAP. VIII. The Time of the Discovery of
Printing.
THE difficulty of fixing the exact time of the discovery arises from these two reasons: 1. Becaus;e the inventors made many fruitless tryals, and a great number of maculatures, before they could bring the art to any tolerable degree of perfection: 2. Because the vast expences of such a discovery oblig'd them to keep it secret as long as possible, or at least 'till they had reimburs'd themselves in some measure, by finishing the
latin bible,
which tho' a great and expensive work, was most likely to compensate their pains and cost when finish'd. This is the foundation of the disagreement between writers upon the subject; which may however be easily reconcil'd by attending to the different epocha's, from which they date the discovery. Some of them, as
Wimpheling, Palmerus, Althamerus,
&c. date it from the infancy of the invention of wooden blocks, and assign the year 1440. Others, as the author of the chronicle of
Cologn, Trithemius, Aventine,
and many more, from the invention of fusile types
anno.
1450.
Andrew Thevet, Angel Rocha,
&c. fix the discovery of the former method in 1442; whilst others place the time of the second invention in 1453 or 1454, among whom are
Apianus
and
P. Langius.
Lastly,
Philip Bergomensis
and
Peter Ramus
assign the year 1458 for the perfection of it. To accommodate this discrepancy among all these authors, it will be sufficient to say with relation to the first, that they take their date from the time in which the invention of wooden blocks was perfected, rather than from its infancy: with respect to the last, that they thought a ten years interval much too short for the transition from the infancy of the former to the perfection of the latter method, and therefore allow'd a few years more than their predecessors had done. As for those who fix the latter invention in 1458, they were such as esteem'd the first printed book to have been the
Catholicon
printed
ann.
1460, or perhaps the second impression of the
bible ann.
1462, or
Tully
's
offices an.
1466, as
Zwinger
and others suppos'd; and allow'd some years more for the invention and perfection of the art. Now 'tis plain that before the
Psalmorum Codex,
as we have hinted, there is not any book known to have been printed with an
imprimatur
at the end; and it is equally certain, that the learned knew nothing of this last book 'till the year 1669, in which
Peter Lambeck
publish'd the second part of his catalogue of the
imperial library,
where this noble monument is preserv'd; which is the reason that it is omitted in all the lists of the first printed books. 'Tis not strange therefore that these writers, for want of dates and facts, should be oblig'd to guess, as well as they could, at the time of the discovery. However we find that the chronicler of
Cologn, Serrarius, Sebast. Munster,
and others after them, well enough reconcile this diversity of opinions, by assigning the year 1440 for the former invention, and 1450 for the latter. To these if we add the authority of
Trithemius,
who certainly had the best information in this matter, from
Peter Schoeffer
a principal person in the invention, it will be evident, that about the year 1440 they began to apply themselves to cutting or engraving upon wooden blocks, after the
Chinese
manner, and printed some books with them; but that after the year 1450 they found out a more excellent way, for these are
Trithemius
's words in the famous passage quoted in
chap.
3
Post haec inventis successerunt subtiliora, inveneruntque modum fundendi formas omnium Latini alphabeti literarum, &c.
,
viz.
of casting separate metal types: this method they might have been devising and trying before that time,
i. e.
during some part of the first ten years; tho' they continued still printing after the old way, 'till they had quite perfected the new one; either to bring in a continual supply of money necessary, or perhaps to keep the world from prying into the new discovery wherein they were engag'd.
I have said nothing hitherto of the
dutch
writers, who to make the time of this invention agree with
Junius
's story of
Faust
's pretended theft, have put it back, some above ten, others twenty years: how little credit they merit in this particular is already shewn; and the reader will be still more convinc'd of it, when he sees what shifts they are reduc'd to, for want of authorities to oppose to the vast number of writers quoted on
Faust
's side, not one of whom ever thought of fixing this remarkable epocha beyond the year 1440.
THEIR first authority is the inscription set over
Laurence Coster
's door by one of the citizens of
Harlem,
which is mention'd by all the
dutch
writers, and says that he found out this art
ann.
1430: but this is of too recent a date to be of any weight.
SCRIVERIUS in his
apology against Naudé
makes the discovery two years older, and gives us a
Chronographic
verse
hIC fago cXsC VI. ptas La VreatI CVsplde for Mas.
Scriver. Apolog. pro patr. contra Neudeum.
, whose numerical letters make up the date of MCCCCXXVIII,
Boxhorn
carries it still farther back,
viz.
to the year 1420.
BUT as the two former dates were affirm'd without any foundation, this author has endeavour'd to confirm his own with something, that might bear the appearance of authority; and to reconcile it with the other two, by affirming that
Coster
began to lay the foundation of this art
ann.
1420, tho' he did not perfect it 'till ten years after. The author, upon whose testimony he would have us believe it, is one
Joseph Karro,
a
Jewish
Rabbi, who in a book intitled
Shulkan Aruch
or
Mensa instructa,
extracted by him out of another Jewish book call'd
Arbugh Thurim,
i. e.
quatuor ordines,
tells us of an old chronicle printed at
Venice A. M.
5188, which answers to our year MCCCCXXVIII. This book of
Rabbi Joseph
he owns that he could never meet with; yet he infers from what is said there, that there could be no printing at
Venice
at that time, unless
Harlem
had it some years before. I shall content my self with giving
Boxhorn
's words in the margin
Circa annum 1420 prima nobilissimae artis Typographicae fundamenta a
Laurentio Costero Harlemi
poni coepta. Quod in annum hujus saeculi vigesimum, non tricesimum, aut quadragesimum, ut fit vulgo, hanc artem periclitatam velim, suadet
Rabbi Josephus,
qui in chronico suo exemplar omnium vetustissimum
Venetiis
excusum refert anno Judaico 5188, Christi anno MCCCCXXVIII. Josephum istum diu quaesitum videre non licuit: Chronicon haud dubie illud est quod
Mensa instructa
inscribitur; liber est ex
Arba Turim
excerptus per
Rabbi Joseph Carro,
& in formam thesium & conclusionum redactus; adjectae sunt novellae glossae & observationes de jure, ritibus & consuet
dine horum temporum per
Mosem Iserles:
tertium impressus
Cracoviae
anno Christi 1594, indicante in
Bibliotheca Rabbinica
rerum & scriptorum orientalium peritissimo
Johanne Buxtorfio.
Locum hunc certe velim accuratius aspiciant, qui habent.
; especially since neither his
Rabbi
nor himself have gain'd any credit in this particular; as it would indeed be wonderful, if a
Jew
should be believ'd before the concurrent testimonies of all the learned men in
Europe.
If he wrote what
Boxhorn
quotes out of him, he either was prodigiously mistaken, or affirm'd it (as is too common with his nation) contrary to his knowledge: tho' if we should deny that he ever wrote thus, I can't see with what reason
Boxhorn
could resent it; since he neither saw the book himself, nor gives the author's name from whom he took it. However leaving him and the rest of the
Dutch
writers to search for more authentick proofs than what they have hitherto alleg'd, let us return to our own, which if we dare rely upon, as we have the greatest reason to do, it will be plain, that this art was first attempted about the year 1440, and about ten years after happily perfected by
John Faust
and
Peter Schoeffer
in the city of
Mentz;
that tho' the former imperfect method was known in
China
some hundred years before we had it, yet this latter, the only one which deserves the name of printing, was neither known nor practis'd 'till those two persons had communicated it to some of their servants, by whom it was divulg'd and dispers'd over
Europe
and even beyond it. This will appear more evident in the next and subsequent chapters.
CHAP. IX. Of the first books printed by
Faust
and
Schoeffer.
THERE has been frequent occasion of mentioning the
Catholicon,
as the first tryal of the art of Printing, according to
Trithemius
's testimony; but as it is our design to speak of those only, which are done with separate metal types, and bear some certain date or mark of the Printer; I shall suspend the account of it, 'till I come to treat of its second impression by the same
Faust
and
Schoeffer ann.
1460.
'T is certain that if only that book, which bears the oldest date, is to be esteem'd the first printed; the
book of psalms
so often mention'd will bid the fairest for the first rank. Nevertheless I can see no reason to depart so far from the testimonies of
Trithemius
and the
Chronicle
of
Cologn,
as not to allow the preference to the
Latin Bible,
which, as they tell us, was the first book, to which the pious authors of this art thought fit to consecrate their labours. In this opinion they have been follow'd by many learned and judicious writers both antient and modern; particularly
Malincrot, Chevillier, de la Caille, Paul Pater
and
Watson.
I shall therefore select the strongest of their reasons, add a few remarks of my own upon them, and leave the decision to the reader.
FIRST with respect to
Trithemius
's testimony; which, I think, is unexceptionable, seeing he affirms nothing but what he had from
Peter Schoeffer
's mouth: He plainly enough intimates, that the
Bible
was their first work, when he says that the art was found out by degrees: that after they had finish'd the discovery in speculation, and came to put it in practice, they were involv'd in many difficulties: that
A primo inventionis suae,
&c.
impressari namque b
am.
Trithem. loco su
ra citato.
soon after or from the beginning of this invention, when they went about printing the Bible,
before they had finish'd the third quaternion (or quire of four sheets,) the charges amounted already to four thousand
florins,
a prodigious sum in those days. If we duly consider these words, we cannot but conclude the
Bible
to have been the first book they engaged in. Our author indeed mentions not the year in which it was printed; but this might proceed from forgetfulness or want of information. However since such a work could not be finish'd in a short time, when the art was in its infancy, the hands but few and unacquainted with the several branches of composition, imposition, correction, distribution,
&c.
we may suppose the invention to have been perfected in speculation about the year 1450, and yet to have required some time before it could be put in practice, by reason of the difficulties arising in it; so that it will be reasonable to allow a year or two more, before the impression of the
bible
could be compleated. This may in all probability be the reason why
Trithemius,
who is always very exact in his
chronicles,
and mentions the year of any fact, when he is sure of it, rather chooses to make use of a more general expression in this case,
viz. his temporibus
about this time, when he speaks of the year 1450: if we recollect that he expresses himself in the same words in his first
Chronicle,
we shall be oblig'd either to allow a larger scope to them; or else suppose that the
Catholicon,
which was done in wood, and the
Bible
printed with metal types, were finish'd at the same time, which would be absurd.
THE
Manuscript Cologn Chronicle
tells us, that it was printed in the
Jubile
year 1450, in a large character, such as is us'd in the impressions of
Missals
or
Mass books,
which answers to our
Double Pica.
This
Chronicle
was written in
high dutch ann.
1499; the author of which acquaints us, that he had the particulars of this invention from
Ulric Zel,
an old bookseller then living at
Cologn.
As the original is not so well understood here, I shall subjoin at the bottom of the page, the whole passage in latin, as I find it translated by
Malinkrot
Ars primum inventa in
Germaniae
urbe
Moguntina
ad
Rhenum
circa annum 1440; & ab eo donec scriberetur 14
0, inventioni ejus corumque quae ad illam pertinent, opera impensa fuit; eoque anno, qui
Jubilaeus
fuit, coeptum fuit primim libros imprimere; primusque qui excuderetur liber
Liblta
fuere
Latina,
impressaque ea sunt scriptura grandiori, quali hodie
Mssilia
imprimi solent.—initium & progressum memorati artisicii ex honorabilis magistri
Ulric Zel Hanoviensis
narrantis ore cognovi, qui etiam nunc hoc anno 14
9
Coloniae
Typographum agit.
V. d. Malinkrot de arte Typog.
p. 37.
: the words are to this purpose,
"that the art of Printing was found out at
Mentz—ann.
1440: that from that time to 1450 they were employ'd in perfecting it: that they were began to print books in the
Jubile
year: and that the first that was printed was the
Latin Bible,
in a large character,
&c.
"
Here
Ulric Zel
's words are to be taken in a lax sense; for he is far from saying that any thing in this kind, much less the
bible,
was finish'd in the year 1450; but only that they began then to set about printing it: how long it was before they compleated it, or what date it bore, is what he neither doth, nor perhaps could so well inform us of. However, tho' we cannot be certain either from him, or
Trithemius,
when this noble work was perfected; yet it is manifest from their restimony, that, except some maculatures and small tryals, the
Bible
was the first considerable piece printed by
Faust.
I am not ignorant that Mr.
Mattaire
in his
Annals
has declar'd himself of the contrary opinion; but as he has not confuted any of the above-mention'd testimonies, tho' he must have read them in the authors before quoted, nor given any reason for his departing from them; I have given preference to the judgment of so many learned writers confirm'd by two such considerable testimonies, to his single opinion. I apprehend but two tolerable objections against this; the
first
is, that not one of these
bibles
is known to be extant: The
second
is, that
Faust
cannot probably be suppos'd to have begun with so large and expensive a volume, when a smaller would have been more proper for an essay, and brought him a more speedy gain. To the
first
I answer, 1. That this
bible
being so full of abbreviations,
&c.
in imitation of the old way of writing, and difficult to be read, might undergo the same fate with many other books both MS. and others, to be thrown by and destroy'd, when the fairer and more legible impressions came in vogue: 2. The learned
Saubert
in his
Oration de Bibliotheca Reipublicae Noribergensis
tells us, that he had seen no less than eight copies of them in the
Norican
library, without date, colophon, or any other mark of their being printed by
Faust.
As I have not been able to procure
Saubert
's book, I must content my self with giving the reader the passage out of
Paul Pater,
in which this is mention'd: it is as follows,
Biblia Latina,
quorum translatio
Divo Hieronymo
vulgo tribuitur, circa 1450 & sequentem
Moguntiae
in membrana impressa, quorum
Faustus
exemplar nummis uncialibus seu thaleris septingentis quinquaginta
Parisus
venum dederat, ut supra ex
Abbate Spanhemensi
narravimus, inter primordia merito numerari
Cornelius Beughen
memorat
(Iocunab. Tyopgraph. Amsterd. ann.
1688
edui)
similiter
Henricus Salmuth
alium Bibliorum codicem ibidem lucem vidisse denarrat, cui haec in fine verba erant apposita:
Praesens rati
lis Divinorum codex consummatus est per
Johannem Faust
civem
Mogunt.
&
Petrum Gernsheim.
&c. ann.
1459,
&c.
Sed errare hac parte
Salmuthum,
quod rationale illud sacrum scripturam esse putet, cum tantum breve aliquod
Guillelmi Duranti
scriptum sit, quod se quoque possidere
Bern. a Malinkrot
refert. Ne ue tamen prorsus negaverim
Biblis Latina
hoc ipso anno vulgata typis denuo fuisse, quandoquidem
Job. Saubertus
fatetur se in bibliotheca
Norica
octo exempla ria vidisse, ac subscriptionis
Fustmianae
notis caruisse haud dubie ob causam paulo ante a nobis adductam.
P Pater de German. Mirac. Lipsiae ann.
1710. pag. 75.
"The
Latin Bible,
commonly suppos'd to have been translated by St.
Jerom,
printed at
Mentz
upon vellum about 1450 or the following year, a copy of which
Faustus
sold at
Paris
for 750 crowns, as we related out of
Trithemius,
is justly reckon'd among the first beginnings of this art by
Corn. Beughen
(in his
Incunab. Typograph. Amsterd. ann.
1688.)
Henry Salmuth
likewise mentions another Bible publish'd
ann.
1459, at the end of which are these words;
This present Rationale,
&c.
was finish'd at
Mentz
by
John Faust,
&c.
but
Salmuth
is doubtless mistaken in taking this book for the Bible, of which it was only a short explanation. A copy of this
Bern. Malinkrot
tells us that he had by him. I would not however be too positive that there was not a
Latin Bible
printed in the same year, seeing
John Saubert
owns that he had seen eight copies of it in the
Norican
library, without
Faustus
's colophon, undoubtedly for the reason beforemention'd,
(viz.
in order to sell 'em for Manuscripts.)"
From this passage it appears, that there are eight bibles without
Faust
's mark preserv'd in that library, and seen by
Saubert;
tho' both he and
P. Pater
took them for the second impression, in which they are certainly mistaken: 1. Because this was printed
ann.
1462, and not
ann.
1459: 2. Because it is so far from having been printed without a
colophon,
that it has one of the fullest and plainest that
Faust
ever us'd at the end of any of his books: the reader will see it, when we come to the edition itself. But 3. 'tis not impossible but that there may be still more of these copies in some other libraries, as yet undiscover'd. The only intelligence which we had concerning these eight, is owing to
Saubert;
neither would these gentlemen have believ'd that there had been a
Psalmorum Codex
printed at
Mentz ann.
1457, tho' assur'd of it by
Trithemius
and
Zel,
had not
Peter Lambeck
the Emperor's library-keeper 28 years ago told us, that he met with it in that famous library. I have been likewise assur'd from the mouth of a gentleman of credit, that a friend of his had seen one abroad with the date of 1457, and farther that 'twas his opinion 'twould be brought to
England.
How many authors have had a notion that
Tully
's
Offices
was the first printed book? yet time has produc'd no less than four printed before it, exclusive of the
bible
now in question; and may yet discover more concerning this.
I come now to the
second
objection so much insisted upon by some;
viz.
that 'tis improbable
Faust
would begin his first essays with a volume so large and expensive, when a smaller would have answer'd his purpose much better, and brought an immediate gain. My reply is, 1. That the great expence at first consisted in purchasing such a quantity of materials as the business requir'd, and not in printing of the first book, which was inconsiderable compar'd with that; consequently a smaller volume would have been too slender a reimbursement for such great sums expended: Besides we have shewn that they took up money of
Guttenbergh
for buying of parchment,
&c.
and were not so straitned as before. 2. As
Faust
design'd to sell as many of his first printed books as he could for manuscripts, in order to make up the cost which he had been at; 'tis obvious that he must pitch upon some considerable and valuable book, before his art was discover'd, and where could he fix upon one more adapted to his purpose than this? I will not insist upon the piety of the persons so conspicuous in all their inscriptions, (tho' our age may call it superstition,) which might have a great share in determining their choice. I shall only add, that as it was by no means adviseable for him to sell any of his first essays, left they should betray his invention; so it was most prudent to make them upon the first leaves of the Bible, which if they succeeded, would in time make him ample amends; and if they did not, the loss was no greater than if they had been try'd upon a
Donatus
or a
Primer.
Besides none of our authors have affirm'd that he began to print the
bible
before he had perfected the art both in theory and practice; and made a sufficient number of maculatures and other tryals, which it was the most prudent way to burn as soon as printed off. I shall leave this discourse of the first
bible
to the reader's choice, either to close in with, or dissent from us in allowing it the first rank; and proceed now to the remainder of our propos'd list. It will be necessary however to acquaint him, altho' we have given the preference to that sacred book upon the testimonies of so many antient and modern writers, tho' it bears no date, yet in the following list I am about to give him of these first impressions of
Faust,
we chiefly inquire after such as carry either date or some other certain mark of the year in which they were printed: for as to those that do not, I shall speak of them afterwards, and shew that those authors who thought to have found out their date, have prov'd to have been in an error; which will be a sufficient reason for us not to depend upon any others of the like nature.
NEXT to the
Bible
we find
five
several impressions, which have certainly been made between the years 1457 and 1466. The first of these, which as we hinted, is omitted in all the lists of the first books that have been printed before
Lambeck
's catalogue of the
Vienna
library, is the
Psalmorum Codex
printed at
Mentz
upon Vellum
anno
1457; concerning this, what has been said already will suffice, the colophon of it is in the
fourth
chapter, p. 29.
THE
second
is the
Rationale Divinorum Officiorum,
written by
William Durand,
printed at
Mentz
upon Vellum two Years after the
Psalter,
viz.
anno
1459 by
John Faust
and
Peter de Gernsheim
or
Schoeffer; Malinkrot,
who knew nothing of the
Psalter,
reckons it the first printed Book next to the
Bible;
and tells us that he purchas'd one of them, which had formerly belong'd to a Monastery of
Franciscan
Monks, destroy'd by the civil Wars, the inscription of which is very near the same with that of the
Psalter.
This
Rationale
is likewise in the Earl of
Pembroke
's Library, where I saw it; it is beautifully printed in Folio, upon Vellum, and is a singular Beauty as to Press-work.
THE Supposition of
Malinkrot
and others that this was the first printed Book, was the reason that
Father L'Abbé
a learned
Jesuit
began his List of printed Books from the Years of its date,
viz.
1459 to 1500. and the author of the Supplement to
Bellarmin
's
Ecclesiastical
Writers makes this remark upon it, That
Anno
1459,
John Faustus
having discovered the art of Printing, first printed the Book of
Guill. Durand de Officiis Ecclesiasticis
in the city of
Mentz.
These authors were certainly in the right, seeing no book was then known of an older date: but since the second part of
Trithemius
's
Chronicle,
and the second volume of the
Imperial-library
have been publish'd, we must look some years back for the first impression, and give that rank to a more noble work.
THE
Third
is the
Catholicon,
a
Latin
vocabulary, printed at
Mentz anno
1460. the second time; for the first impression was done upon wood. This Book is likewise in the Earl of
Pembroke
's library, where I saw it, it is in a large folio, and beautifully printed. We have given the inscription of it in the fourth
chap.
p. 30, in which tho' the printer's name is not express'd, yet it was done by
Faust
and
Schoeffer,
both from the similitude of its character, paper,
&c.
with that of their other works, and because there were at that time no other printers either at
Mentz
or any where else. This
Catholicon
is a kind of
Grammar,
compil'd by
John
of
Genoa
a
Dominican Fryar anno
1286. It is divided into four parts, the last of which contains a dictionary of
Latin
words digested alphabetically. There have been several editions of it in
folio,
as
Chevillier
tells us, who saw two of them; one, very old and without date; the other printed at
Paris anno
1506. by
Jodocus Badius.
Another impression of it is done at
Lyons
by
Antony Du Ry anno
1520, and augmented by
Peter Gille. Furetiere
therefore was led into a palpable error, when he affirm'd after
Dr. Mentel
and
Father Jacob a Carmelite,
that the first printed books known in
Europe
were
Durandus de Ritibus Ecclesiae
printed
anno
1461, a bible printed
anno
1462,
St. Austin de Civitate Dei,
and
Tully
's
Offices;
seeing here are no less than four printed books before the oldest of them; besides this book
de Ritibus Ecclesiae
was not written by
William Durand,
but by
John Stephen Durant,
who was first president of the parliament of
Tholouse,
and is therefore a different book from the
Durand
's
Rationale
we are now speaking of, and of a much later date.
THE
fourth
is the second edition of the
Latin Bible
printed
anno
1462. in
folio
with the following inscription at the end
Presens hoc opus finitum ac completum & ad eusebiam Dei industria in civitate
Moguntinà
per
Johannem Fust
civem &
retrum Shoefer de Gernsheim
clericum Dioecesis ejusdem est consummatum anno incarnationis Dominicae MCCCCLX. I in vigilil Assumptionis gloriosae virginis
Mariae.
.
"This present work was finish'd and perfected for the service of God in the city of
Mentz
by
John Fust
citizen, and
Peter Schoeffer de Gernsheim
clerk of the same diocess, it was compleated in the year of our Lord
's
incarnation MCCCCLXII on the eve of the assumption of the glorious virgin
Mary.
"
I have seen one in the library of
Dr. Mead,
and another at the late Mr.
Wooodman
's bookseller, in Vellum, and
Chevillier
saw two more at
Paris
in two volumes. Of this bible
Walchius
Walchius decas fabularum generis humani printed at Strasburgh
1609
in 4to. pag.
181
relates a story, which ought to be mention'd here, as far as respects the common opinion.
Faust
went to
Paris
with some copies of it finely illuminated, where he sold one of them for 750 crowns, and another for 500; till at length he reduc'd his price to 50 and 40 crowns. The great quantity which he sold, and the exact likeness of every copy, made it suspicious that they were done by a more easy and expeditious way than that of writing; whereupon the buyers thinking themselves impos'd upon, began a prosecution which oblig'd him to fly the country, and return to
Mentz.
Thus far
Walchius,
who says nothing of
Faust
's being accus'd of magick, as some others affirm. What relates to the person of
Faust
will be best consider'd in the next chapter. As to the
bible
itself, 'tis my opinion, that the reason why the generality of authors have thought this second edition to have been that which he sold for MS. is, that they scarce knew of any other book printed before it
Mr. Le Gallois
in his treatise of the finest libraries pag. 16
. tells us that there was nothing printed before this bible of 1462, which
Faust
brought to
Paris. [quoiqui, en soit il est certain qu' on ne voit rien a'imprimé avant c
tte Bible que
Faust
apporta luy meme a Paris] Father de St. Raomuld
affirms likewise in his
Thesaur Chronolog.
pag. 324. that we have nothing printed before the year 1462: and the great
Naude,
who in his addition to the history of
Lewis
XI. says that he had seen about 15000 old books in 20 or 30 of the most celebrated libraries in and about the city of
Paris,
and hath writ a treatise
ex professo
upon this subject, in the afore-mention'd book, chap 7. pag. 268. expresses himself thus; "but we have no book printed before 1462; and pag.
89 he says that we must needs suppose them (the first printers) to have made an infinite number of proofs and maculatures, before they could justify, and get all their implements fitted together; after which they began at length to compose, not
Tully
's
Offices,
&c. but the great bible in
fol
o,
which was finish'd anno 146
, Vide
Chevillier
pag. 17.
: but for my own part I cannot suppose that
Faust
would offer a book to sale for a written one, which had such an inscription, as must infallibly discover the cheat. 'Tis urg'd, that he might print a certain number of them without this, and after the discovery, reprint the last sheet with this colophon at the end: but this is improbable upon two accounts; first, he had already printed three books with inscriptions,
viz.
the
Psalter,
the
Rationale,
and the
Catholicon;
all which import particularly
that they were not done with pen and ink or any writing tool, but by a fine new invented art of casting Letters, and printing with them.
Now since some of these must of necessity have been known in
France
long before this year; it was impossible to have deceiv'd them by any but the first impression, unless we did suppose that he kept the three former unsold and unseen; which would be most absurd to imagine. But secondly 'tis plain that his design in selling them for MSS. was to reimburse himself for the vast charges which he had been at in devising this invention, preparing all the necessary materials, making essays,
&c.
Such expences must have reduc'd him above twelve years before this to the necessity of a recruit, seeing he had perfected the new invention, and began to print with it on or soon after the year 1450. as has been fully prov'd; nor can we in any probability suppose that he should work on for twelve whole years successively and print three editions, two of which were very large, without vending them; especially since he is reported by most authors to have enrich'd himself exceedingly by this time, and consequently wanted no such strategem? If I could have obtain'd with all my endeavours any certain information of the year in which he went to
Paris,
it would have determined the dispute. However, if I may be allow'd a conjecture, since we find by the unanimous consent of writers that the art was perfected in the year 1450, and no books printed in his name till
anno
1457 as yet known:
Faust
might most probably spend these seven years in Printing, illuminating and selling his first
Bible;
after which, his new art being discover'd, he thought it in vain to keep it secret longer; and therefore in his next book gave the world an account of his method, as we find in the
Psalmorum Codex
and those that follow'd it. What confirms my conjecture is, that
Guttenburgh,
who was prosecuted by
Faust
for the moiety of the money expended, and gave a deed bearing date 1455 for the payment, pursuant to the judge's determination, instead of complying with it, escap'd to
Strasburgh,
and left his partner in the lurch, this we may reasonably suppose, reduc'd
Faust
to such streights, as oblig'd him to go to
Paris
with what books he had, in order to sell them to the best advantage. These reasons induce me to think that it was the
first,
and not the
second bible,
which
Faust
sold at such extraordinary rates: The reader is at his liberty to judge as he pleases in this matter.
THE
fifth
is the
Tully's Offices
printed at
Mentz ann.
1465; tho' some editions have a later date by one, and others by two years, all of which are printed at
Mentz,
with the same inscription in every respect, as we shall shew immediately. The Right Honourable the Earl of
Oxford
shew'd me this book; 'tis a small
4to,
and very beautifully printed, and well preserv'd. Sir
Thomas Bodley
had this in his library, which he presented to the university of
Oxford,
where it is still kept. Dr.
James
publish'd a catalogue of all Sir
Thomas
's books intitled
Catalogus Bibliothecae Bodleianae
in
4to anno
1605, in the 197 page of which book we find this
Tully
's
Offices
with the following inscription,
Ejusdem liber de Officiis,
&c.
an.
1465. About 70 years after this,
Dr. Thomas Hyde
publish'd his catalogue of all the books in the university library, printed at
Oxford
in
fol. ann.
1674, in which he gives the date of the book
pag.
162; which is the same with the former, and confirm'd by
Antony Wood
's history of that university, printed likewise
ann.
1674,
pag.
228
Immo anno Domini 1465 ut fert aliud exemplar in
Bodleiana
[bibliotheca.]
. Mr.
Beughen
mentions the same date in his list of the first editions
Moguntia
in
4to
ann. 1465, quae postmodum sunt recusa ibidem,
an.
1467 in
4to,
&
Romae
1468,
&c. Incunab. Typograph.
46.
, and tells us, that it was reprinted at
Mentz
two years after,
viz. ann.
1467, and at
Rome
1468. Father
1'Abbé
Nov. Biblioth.
MSS.
lib. septim.
pag. 353.
speaks of one which he saw in the
French
king's library dated 1466, and
Chevillier
saw another in the library of the
Mazarin-college,
with these words in red letters
Praesens
M. Tulli
clarissimum opus
Joan. Fust Moguntinus
civis, non atramento, plumali canna neque aerea, sed arte quadam perpulchra, manu
Petri de Gernsheim,
pueri mei feliciter effeci. Finitum
an.
MCCCCLXVI, quarta die mensis sebruarii.
Chevil.
p. 18.
This present noble work
Tully's Offices
was done by
John Fust
citizen of
Mentz
not with pen and ink,
&c.
but by a new art,
&c.
by the hands of my boy
Peter de Gernsheim
ann.
MCCCCLXVI
on the fourth of
February. Several eminent writers, as I have already hinted, have esteem'd this the first printed book; among whom is
Peter Ramus
or
de la Ramee,
Royal professor of Mathematicks in the university of
Paris,
who had this edition in his library, and affirm'd it to be the first work produc'd by the art of Printing
Cum primum
Typographiae
exemplum
Moguntiae
editum sit anno 1466—ut constat ex
Ciceronis Officiis,
quae primum omnium librorum typis aeneis impressa sunt: Exemplar
Officiorum
istorum habeo in membrana impressorum.
P. Ramus Schol. Mathem. lib.
2.
in this he has been follow'd by our country-man
Anth. Wood
in the book before quoted; by
Pasquier
in his
Recherches de la France,
lib. 4. ch. 4; and by several others. 'Tis very probable that the edition of 1465 and 1466 may be the same, the last sheet only reprinted; which may be easily known by comparing them together; and it were to be wish'd, that some of the Curioso's of
Oxford
would take that trouble, since they are both there, as appears from
Ant. Wood
's list.
AFTER the finishing of this book,
Faust
is suppos'd to have died, or lost his sight (as some report,) or at least to have grown so rich, that he left the business wholly to his son-in-law
Peter Schoeffer,
who then instructed his son
John
in that art. We find no more books printed in
Faust
's name, all the rest being in
Peter Schoeffer
's, some of whose inscriptions are given in the
fourth
chapter.
I have dwelt somewhat longer upon these noble relicks of our first printers, because I am sensible of the great value, which the curious and learned have for them.
I come now to those of other, but fictitious dates, which it will not be improper to say something of, in order to prevent the reader from being deceiv'd or puzzled by them.
AMONG all the apocryphal editions that are to be met within any library, exclusive of those which are suppos'd to have been printed with wooden blocks, and discours'd of already in a distinct chapter, that which bears the oldest date is the Book of Sermons
de Sanctis
by
Leonard de Utino. John Godfrey Olearius, Lutheran
minister of St.
Mary
's church at
Hall
in
Saxony,
says it is still preserv'd in the library of that church, and dated 1446, tho' there be no mention of the place where it was printed: the reader will find his account of it quoted in the margin
Leonardus de Utino,
ordin.
praedic.—
Ejus
sermonum de Sanctis
liber sub ipsa
Typographicae
artis incunabula
anno
1446 impressus, absque tamen loci mentione, habetur in bibliotheca templi
Mariani
nostri
Hall.
Confer. Dn. parentis
Halygraph.
Appendice T. t. t. 1. B. Sermones ejusdem Quadragesimales & Dominicales ann. 1479 prodierunt.
Abac. patrolog.
p. 291.
, in his book de
Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis,
publish'd under the title of
Abacus Patrologicus
in
8vo
at
Jena
1673, in which he quotes the testimony of his father
Godfrey Olearius,
who wrote the history of
Hall,
printed at
Leipsick
in
4to. ann.
1667.
Chevillier
observes very justly, that
Olearius
hath mention'd neither the size nor printer of this ancient book; and that all who have since spoken of it, rely upon his testimony: he thinks therefore that it ought to have been more nicely enquired into, since if the date be true, it entirely overturns the receiv'd opinion that this art was not perfected 'till the year 1450: the reasons of his suspecting it is, because
Utinus
liv'd in
Italy ann.
1445, according to
Possevinus,
and can hardly be suppos'd to have had such credit in
Germany,
as that his sermons should be printed after a new method scarce known to above
five
or
six
persons: he is therefore of opinion, that the book is a manuscript, or that
Olearius
has guess'd at the date, or which is most likely, that this is the date of the compiling, not of the printing of it.
MR.
Mattaire
has taken the pains to solve the greatest part of these doubts, and given the following account of it
Jam dabo tibi, lector, quod in votis habuit
Cheviliierus;
unde editio tantae vetustatis specie venerabilis testimonio novo certior fiat & notior. Vir quidam literarum peritus—dum Aquisgrani peregrinabatur ibi in
Regularium
coenobio vidit librum supra memoratum, in
fol.
ex quo descripsit haec, quae in libri ipsius fine adjiciuntur.
Expliciunt sermō es aurei de Sanctis per totum annum, quos compilavit mgr.
Leonardus de
Utino
sacre Theologie doctor, ordinis fratrum predicator. ad instanciam & complacentiam
magnifice civitatis
Utine
sis
ac nobilium virorum ejusdem MCCCCXLVI in vigilia beatissimi
patris nostri Dominici ofessoris, ad laudem & gl'am.
Dei omnipotentis & totius curie triumphantis.
Libri ipsius character impolitus & rudis; abbreviaturisque frequentibus adeo refertus, ut ejus lectio nequaquam sit, quam illorum
Moguntiae
annis 1459 & 1460 excusorum facilior.
Annal. Typogr.
p. 25.
;
"That a very curious and learned gentleman of his acquaintance met with a copy of it at
Aix la Chapelle
in a monastery of regular monks, out of which he transcrib'd the following colophon printed at the end of it, in
English
thus;
Thus end the golden sermons upon the Saints throughout the whole year, compil'd by Master
Leonard de Utino,
doctor of divinity, of the order of the fryars
Preachers, at the instance and intreaty of the magnificent city of
Utino,
and the noble citizens thereof
MCCCCXL VI,
on the eve of our blessed father Dominick confessor, to the praise and glory of almighty God, and of the whole triumphant court.
"
Mr.
Mattaire
adds, that the characters of it are very rude and ill shap'd and so full of abbreviations, that they are as difficult to read, as those printed at
Mentz ann.
1459 and 1460.
THIS makes it abundantly plain, that tho' the book carries the above-mention'd date, yet it bears testimony that the compiling and not the printing of it, is there intended; so that not only the difficulty disappears, but
Chevillier's
conjecture is manifestly supported: And Mr.
Mattaire
seems entirely of this opinion, and besides instances in a book or two which he hath, whose dates as he assures us, were those of their being compil'd; tho' the obscurity of their inscription, might possibly lead an unwary reader to take it for that of its impression: and indeed it is an unreasonable supposition, that Printing could have been brought to such a degree of perfection at that time, against the general testimony of writers: besides neither the abbreviations, nor the rudeness of the character, can be a sufficient index of their antiquity, seeing, as he observes, they continued in use among some eminent Printers even beyond the year 1500. In the next place I shall mention some editions, whose dates are certainly prov'd to be wrong. The first is the
Regula Pastoris
of Pope
Gregory;
a copy of which is in the
French
king's library, with this inscription suppos'd to be written at the end;
Tentamentum Fausti,
an essay of
John Faust ann.
1459: now it is plain from what has been said before that
Faust
was so far from making any essays at that time, that he had already printed several perfect editions, Mr.
Mattaire
gives us this account of it
p.
22. that he met with a book in
4to
in the king's library at
Paris,
without the name of either place or Printer, only with this title,
Liber Regulae pastoralis
Gregorii
papae ad
Johannem
episcopum
Ravenensem: at the beginning of which
Gabriel Naudé
had written two verses to the reader with his own hand, intimating that book to have been certainly printed by
Faust
at
Mentz,
because the mark of the paper which is the head and horns of an heifer, is an infallible criterium of
Faust
's books. And an advertisement in which he confirms his assertion, from the rudeness of the types, the want of diphthongs, and some other circumstances that favour the infancy of the art; and concludes, that
Faust
would not put his name,
&c.
to it, 'till his frequent essays had embolden'd him to make himself publick, as he did afterwards in the
Durand
's
Rationale
of 1459,
Catholicon,
&c.
MR.
Mattaire
doth indeed prove plainly enough, that the rudeness of the types, and want of dates, names,
&c.
continued some considerable time after the discovery of the art, and consequently that that could be no certain mark of its being one of
Faust
's first essays: however as nothing certain can be affirm'd concerning this book, we shall dwell no longer upon it. I have seen
Aeneas Sylvius's
letters printed by
Koelhoff
of
Lubeck,
which is certainly antedated, for this reason, several dates in the letters being ten years older than the date of the book itself. There is another of his books in
fol.
in the library of the
Sorbon,
with a false date at the end of these words,
Flores de diversis sermonibus & epistolis
B. Bernardi
per me
Joan. Koelhoff
de
Lubeck
coloniensem civem impressi an.
MCCCC,
feliciter finiunt:
for 'tis plain the art was not so much as thought of at that time, nor perfected 'till 50 years after: but what demonstrates the falseness of the date is, that this
John Koelhoff
was scarce born then, since he printed the works of
N. Gerson
in 4
vol.
in
fol.
at
Cologn ann.
1483, which are of the same make and character as the
Flores
abovemention'd, as
Chevillier p.
10 and 11 observes, who therefore thinks that the following numbers LXXXII were omitted at the end of MCCCC. The same author mentions two or three editions more of the same nature, the last of which is the
Manipulus Curatorum
of
Guy Mout Rocher
with the following uncommon date at the end
Completus
Parisiis
anno Domini millesimo CCCC vicesimo tertio, amen.
Chevil.
p. 11.
Printed at
Paris
in the year one thousand
CCCC
and twenty three, amen:
'tis plain that the art was not brought to
Paris
'till the year 1470, as shall be shown in its place; so that the last C must have been taken up by the balls, or lost some other way. Upon the whole it may be esteem'd a general rule that all dates before the year 1450 are false; and this is corroborated with the suffrage of all learned writers upon this subject. In the mean time as it is not reasonable to imagine, that
Faust
and
Schoeffer
could be altogether idle from the year 1452, in which they are suppos'd to have finish'd their first
Bible,
to 1457, in which they publish'd the
Psalter,
(unless we can suppose that
Faust
's law-suit with
Guttenbergh,
and his journey and stay in
France,
could take him up
five
whole years, and that his ingenious son did not venture upon any work by himself;) if time and industry should, as we may reasonably hope it may, discover any more of those old and valuable monuments of the infancy of the art; provided such impressions bear either a certain date or mark of their being done at
Mentz,
and by our
Protodaedali
before the dispersion of their servants, or even after that time; I doubt not but the learned will allow them a proper rank in the lists, which shall be publish'd hereafter.
CHAP. X. Remarkable Occurrences between the year 1450, and the Divulgation of the
Art.
THO' I propos'd to avoid all unnecessary repetitions, yet this chapter being design'd as a short recapitulation of the history of the first
twelve
years, the thread of which has been unavoidably interrupted by controversy; and to introduce some material occurrences, which could not properly be inserted in any other chapter, or such as may have escap'd the readers memory; I find the impossibility of joyning these notable events together, without interspersing them with most of those already touched upon: and this has render'd an apology before hand highly necessary.
I begin with the year 1450, in which 'tis agreed by most authors, that the art was perfected in theory and practice, the inventors having prepar'd their tools and materials, and made a great number of essays; thinking they might with safety attempt some considerable volume: Their next care was to carry on the business without danger of being discover'd: to this end they admitted as few servants as possible into any part of the secret, and such only upon whose sidelity they might depend, engaging them to the greatest secrecy by an oath. This being done they allotted to them their several provinces; but conceal'd every branch of Letterfounding and composing. If my authority be required, since all our accounts relating to these beginnings are so obscure and imperfect; I answer, that this may reasonably be infer'd from a remarkable passage out of the learned
Hen. Pantaleon,
a physician of
Basil,
part of which I have already quoted in a former chapter, as far as it related to
Faust
and
Schoeffer
's being the authors of this art; the remainder of it is as follows
Erat enim ars illa primo abscondita & pauculis manifestata; litteras enim in sacculis clausis secum in Officinae ferebant, ac dum abeunt, auferebant; donec temporis successu ars aucta atque plurimum illustrata fuit.
Do illustribus German.
part. 2. pag. 397.
:
"This art was at the first kept very secret and communicated to but very few; for they
(Faust
and
Schoeffer)
tyed up the types in bags, which they brought into the work-room, and took away when they went out, 'till at length in process of time the business increasing caus'd the Art to be divulg'd."
All the authors quoted by us agree with
Pantaleon
about their keeping the Art with all imaginable secrecy, but scarce any have inform'd us of this circumstance, of their carrying their types with them to and out of the work-room; which would have been a vain precaution, had they intrusted any but themselves in the compositor's part. However it is evident that the whole secret did not consist therein; the cutting the Punches, sinking them into the Matrices, making the Moulds and casting the Letters, might be still a secret to any one that had been intrusted so far as to go through all the branches of the business of Printing; and he must have been a person of a surprizing genius who could have found out the mystery of Letter-founding by barely seeing the letters, therefore the keeping that part to themselves was making it a greater secret than all the oaths they could bind them with.
THE next remarkable occurrence is that of their admitting
John Guttenbergh
a wealthy goldsmith into partnership with them, as it is related by the last nam'd author, by
Salmuth,
and others quoted in the
third
chapter. This gentleman finding his neighbour
Faust
engag'd in a new and advantagious invention, which he wanted money to carry on, and attracted by a prospect of gain, offer'd his purse and assistance upon good terms to
Faust;
who gladly accepted the proposal. But
Guttenbergh
pursuing his own private rather than the common interest, and having attain'd some insight into the art, began to object that
Faust
had converted some of the money to his own uses, and refus'd the payment of his dividend of the charges; 'till
Faust
had obtain'd a decree, which oblig'd him to pay his moiety of what the plaintiff should swear had been expended upon the common fund: this he evaded by giving a bond payable some time after, and escaping to
Strasburgh
his native city, before it was due. But he first took care to learn as much of the art, as he could, to furnish himself with Printing-tools, and to draw off some of
Faust
's servants with him. At
Strasburgh
he communicated to
John Mentel
or
Mentelin
the secret, and his design of setting up a Printing-house there: however neither he nor his workmen were so throughly instructed in the business, but they were oblig'd to demur a considerable time before they could perfect every thing for the work, and to make many tryals in order to attain the right method; which is evident from this, that there is no book extant with
Mentel
's name 'till the year 1473, and not at all with
Guttenbergh
's; for it is scarce probable, that if they had printed any considerable volumes before that time, they should all have perish'd without being so much as taken notice of by any author, and especially by their learned townsman
Wimpheling:
whilst there remain so many of
Faust
's in the writings and in the hands of the learned and curious. During this time
Faust
finding himself impos'd upon by
Guttenbergh,
and disappointed of the money expected, and wanting either will o
power to sue him in that city where he fled, form'd a strategem to raise himself a fresh supply, which succeeded according to his wish; for he went to
Paris
with some of his finest vellum
bibles;
one of which was sold to the king for 750 crowns, and is still to be seen in the royal library at
Paris,
a master-piece in that kind: another was bought by the Archbishop of
Paris
for 300 crowns: but as people were unwilling to give so exorbitant a price, he offer'd some of the last for 50 crowns and less, in hopes to have dispos'd of them all before he was discover'd. It is not indeed to be suppos'd, that they were all equal in the ornamental part; yet the beauty of the work, the elegancy of the flower-pieces, initial letters,
&c.
the variety of the finest colours intermix'd with gold and silver, with which they were exquisitely variegated, made the purchasers fond of shewing them to their acquaintance; as every one thought the whole world could not produce such another. 'Tis reported that the Archbishop thinking his
bible
worth his majesty's seeing, carried it to him; who view'd it with surprize, and in return shew'd his own: upon a stricter examination and comparing 'em together, they found that the ornaments were not exactly the same; but as to the other part suppos'd to be written, they observ'd such a conformity in the number of pages, lines, words, and even the letters, as soon convinc'd them that they were done by some other method than transcribing: besides two such
bibles
were the work of a man's life-time to transcribe; and upon enquiry he was found to have sold a much greater number. Hereupon orders was given to apprehend
Faustus,
and prosecute him as a
Conjurer:
I should have been apt to think this charge too absurd to gain belief, except among the vulgar; and that it was only conniv'd at, in hopes it would terrify him to a discovery of his art, were it not for a passage which I have met with in Mr.
Maichel
's history of the
Paris
libraries, wherein he mentions a strange problem publish'd by Father
Bouhours,
a learned Jesuit
—Whether it be possible that
German
should be a wit?
Mr.
Maichel
justly takes the part of his country-men, and proves them much wiser for the invention of Printing, than those stupid
Paris
doctors, who rather believ'd it an effect of
Magick,
than of human wit or invention.
De la Caille
relates that he fled to
Mentz,
and suspecting his safety there, departed to
Strasburgh,
where he taught
John Mentel
or
Mentelin
his Art: but there is not the least probability for this assertion, since he could not be safer at one place than at another; and with respect to
Mentel,
it is much more probable tha
he learn'd the invention from
Guttenbergh,
than from
Faust
who perhaps was never at
Strasburgh,
unless he pass'd thro' it in his journey to and from
France.
HOWEVER, the parliament of
Paris
thought fit to make an arrest in favour of him, and to discharge him from all further prosecution, in consideration of his noble invention; and as I am credibly inform'd, a salary was paid by that crown to
Faust
's descendants for many years after, as a reward for his sufferings and merit: this was the end and success of that expedition, and prov'd at length very advantagious to him; and made some amends for the melancholy hours of his confinement, and the terrors of an approaching death.
FAUST discharg'd thus with honour and a large supply of money, return'd to
Mentz,
where being inform'd that his quondam partner
Guttenbergh
was endeavouring, with the assistance of
Mentel,
to set up a printing-house at
Strasburgh,
and to challenge to himself the whole glory of the invention; he began to consider, that it was not only in vain, but even dangerous to conceal himself and his art any longer from the world; and 'tis probable, resolv'd at last to make both as publick as possibly he could in all the editions, which came from his press, 'till at least,
ann.
1466 or 1467, in which he is suppos'd to have reprinted the last leaf of
Tully
's
Offices,
the last book known to be printed by him. During the interval between 1457, and the taking of
Mentz ann.
1462,
Faust
meeting with prodigious encouragement, was oblig'd to increase the number of his workmen, and open more of the art to them, than he had done 'till then. Some of these having attain'd a sufficient insight into the mystery, were induc'd to go somewhere else, and set up for themselves; to which they were encourag'd, both by the example of those who went away with
Guttenbergh,
and probably by invitations from other places, which were desirous of having the Art brought to them.
Pantaleon
tells us, that some of those who signaliz'd themselves the first in
Italy,
were of that number; and indeed if we consider how soon they began to print in that kingdom, especially
Rome, Venice, &c.
and make a just allowance for preparing the great apparatus of a Printing-house, with their first essays, before they came to work off those volumes, which are of the oldest date, some of them pretty large; we cannot but think that they left
Mentz
long before it was taken.
Faust
however had a sufficient number of servants left to finish his last editions, which are mention'd before; after this we hear no more of him 'till the year 1471, wherein
Peter Schoeffer
and one
Henlif
a bookseller gave a book to a monastery, in order to obtain the prayers of it for
Faust
's soul: by which it was apparent he was dead before that time, or perhaps before 1470, because
Schoeffer
in that year printed St.
Jerom
's
Epistles
in his own name, without any mention of his master
Faust.
HERE therefore I am oblig'd to conclude the history of that
illustrious man,
tho' I should have been vastly more satisfy'd in communicating other particulars of his life and death, could I have found 'em in the writers of those times. But
Germany
is not the only ungrateful country that has neglected such as have best deserv'd of her; for the following books will furnish us with instances of this in other parts of the world. I shall only observe, that as it is the property of false desert to be solicitous for panegyricks and monumental records, whilst true and intrinsick merit is silent, and equally contemns both; so whilst the
Dutch
bestow the highest encomiums upon a
suppositious and imaginary inventor:
the
Germans
have been so regardless of a
true
and
real
one, as to leave it entirely to his own works to transmit his praises to posterity. If
Faust
had died before the sacking of
Mentz,
we might have had grounds to suppose, that some monument had been erected to his memory by his fellow-citizens, and destroy'd by the conqueror; but as he surviv'd those times at least
six
or
seven
years, and carry'd on and improv'd the Art during that interval, 'tis impossible to entertain so favourable an opinion of the
Moguntines.
However his books and the art which he left us, will more effectually and universally proclaim and perpetuate his name and memory, than any monumental inscriptions,
&c.
and endear both to the learned and curious, as long as the Art or the world itself shall endure.
THERE is one occurrence worthy to be mention'd, which I omitted in this chapter, not so much out of forgetfulness or neglect, since it is an instance of
Faust
's gratitude and generosity, as because it is not easy to fix the time of it, nor so likely to have happen'd within the compass of these
ten
years, as of some of the former,
viz.
between 1440 and 1450. That is, his giving his only daughter in marriage to his servant
Peter Schoeffer,
admitting him into partnership, and procuring him the freedom of the city of
Mentz,
as a reward for his services, and the improvements which he made to the Art; such as the invention of punches, matrices, metal-types; and, as some report, Printer's ink: if these discoveries are owing to him,
Faust
made him as ample amends as he could possibly. I wish
Schoeffer
had been so grateful to his generous master, as to have transmitted to us a fuller account of his life and character, than what we enjoy; or if he perform'd this, that time had not depriv'd us of so valuable a monument; the want of which obliges me, much against my will, to bring this chapter and history to a conclusion, and rest satisfy'd with what we have.
CHAP. XI. The Conclusion with an Account of the antient Method of
Printing.
I AM now come to the close of the first book of this history, which I have endeavour'd to inrich with collections from dead and living authors, and every thing valuable that I could procure upon this subject, from many of the most curious libraries. The next book will open a large and pleasant scene. In the mean time I cannot conclude this better, than by giving a short summary of the whole, and digesting it into distinct periods, that the reader may, as it were at one view, see the whole progress of the Art, and fix it more easily in his memory; and by closing it with an account of the old way of printing us'd during the time of
Faust,
his son-in-law,
&c.
1. THIS Art was devis'd a considerable time before any thing done that way appear'd.
2. 'TIS not improbable that the first hints of engraving upon woodenblocks might come from the
Chineses,
who practis'd it above 300 years before it was thought of in
Europe.
3. THE attempts to imitate it began about the year 1440, and not before.
4. THE new and more perfect method of Printing with fusile-types did not succeed it 'till 10 years after,
viz.
1450.
5. THIS new invention was discover'd by
John Faust
in the city of
Mentz;
in the perfecting of which
Peter Schoeffer
assisted him very much, and was amply rewarded by his master.
JOHN GUTTENBERGH had no other share or merit in this discovery, than by promoting it with supplies of money from time to time, and that not from a principle of a publick spirit, but for his own interest, which made him drop both the Art and Artist when he found it less gainful than he expected.
6. THIS invention was kept with all imaginable secrecy by these three parties, 'till
Guttenbergh,
upon a difference between them, took some of their servants with him to
Strasburgh,
where he began to practise it, and to teach it to
John Mentel:
The person in whose favour the
Strasburgh
pretensions were afterwards started.
7. THIS contention not happening 'till the year 1455, they had already printed the
latin bible,
and perhaps privately dispos'd of some number of the copies, seeing their dispute was about stating their accounts, and balancing the charges and profits of the business.
8. WHETHER their first separate types were of wood, or lead, or any other metal; they ventur'd to print their first essays but on one side of the page, 'till they had found out a better ink than the common sort which they then us'd.
9. IT is probable from this circumstance, that their first improvement upon common ink, to prevent its spreading, was only by charging it with a proportionable quantity of some watery gum; such as gum arabick, mastick,
&c.
which tho' it remedied that defect, would not suffer the paper to be printed but upon one side: but either
Schoeffer
or his master having found out the way of making it with oyl, they then printed on both sides.
10. THEY did not begin to put their names and inscriptions at the end of their books, as we can yet find, 'till the year 1457: this they continued to do 'till
Faust
either dyed or left off the business.
11. GUTTENBERGH's name was never joyn'd with theirs, nor put to of the books which he printed after he abandon'd
Faust.
12. SOME others of
Faust
's servants forsook him before the taking of
Mentz,
and settled some at
Cologn,
others in
Italy.
13. THE greatest dispersion of them was, when that noble city was taken and plunder'd by Archbishop
Adolph, ann.
1462; so that the Art became universally known throughout
Europe.
THERE remains now only to give the reader an idea of the first way of Printing, and of what is most peculiar to it; which, tho' a subject well known by the curious, may not be unacceptable to several persons, to whose hands this work may chance to fall.
1. WITH respect to their forms, they were generally either large or small
folio's,
or at least
quarto's:
the lesser sizes were not in use.
2. THE leaves were without running-title, direction-word, number of pages, or divisions into paragraphs.
3. THE character itself was a rude old
Gothic
mix'd with
Secretary,
cast on purpose to imitate the hand-writing of those times; the words were printed so close to one another, that it was difficult and tedious even to those who were us'd to MSS. and to this method; and often lead the inattentive reader into mistakes.
4. THEIR orthography was various and often arbitrary; and as for the diphthongs ae and oe, they were not at all careful about them.
5. THEY had very frequent abbreviations, which in time grew so numerous and difficult to be understood, that there was a necessity of writing a book to teach the manner of reading them.
6. THEIR periods were distinguish'd by no other points than the double and single one,
i. e.
the
colon
and
full stop;
just after the same manner as the reading
psalms,
in our
Common prayer-books
are pointed; all other punctuations being of much later invention.
7. THEY us'd no great letters to begin a sentence or proper name of men or places.
8. THEY left blanks for the places of titles, initial letters, and other ornaments, in order to have them supply'd by the illuminators, whose ingenious art, tho' in vogue before and at that time, yet did not long survive the masterly improvements made by the printers in this branch of their Art. Those ornaments were exquisitely fine, and curiously variegated with the most beautiful colours, and even with gold and silver; the margins likewise were frequently charged with variety of figures of saints, birds, beasts, monsters, flowers &c. which had sometimes relation to the contents of the page, tho' mostly none at all: these embellishments were very costly; but for those that could not afford a round price, there were others done after a more ordinary manner and at much cheaper rates.
9. THE names of the printer, place, &c. were either wholly neglected or put at the end of the book, not without some pious ejaculation or doxology.
10. THE date was likewise omitted or involv'd in some crampt circumstantial period, or else printed either at full length, or by numerical letters, and sometimes partly one and partly the other, thus;
one thousand
CCCC and
sixty,
&c. but all of them at the end of the book.
11. THERE was no variety of characters, no intermixture of
Roman
and
Italick;
which were of later invention; but their pages were continued in a
Gothick
letter of the same size throughout.
12. THEIR
Rubricks
which were very frequent and added no small beauty to the pages, were sometimes done by the same hands as the initial letters.
13. WHENEVER they met with any
Greek,
they either left a blank for it, to be afterwards fill'd up by writing if the passage was long; or if short, consisting only of three or four words, they got it cut on wood, tho' after such a rude and ill-shap'd manner, that it required some pause to be read.
14. THE quotations of the places out of which they were taken, were very often neglected both in Manuscripts and printed books, which caus'd the curious no small trouble to find them out.
15. THEY had seldom dedicatory or prefatory epistles; and when they began afterwards to retail them in their impressions, they generally plac'd 'em at the end of the work; a piece of justice as much neglected, as wanting in our age.
16. THEY collected no
table
of
contents,
no
index
nor
summary,
(which are indubitably a great help to the reader,) nor any
errata's
at the end; for what faults were in their editions were rather owing to the manuscripts which they printed after, than to the carelesness of the Printer.
17. THEY printed but few copies at once, for 200 or 300 were then esteem'd a large impression; tho' upon the encouragements receiv'd from the learned, they increas'd their numbers in proportion.
18. LASTLY, If I may be allow'd this article, they were not solicitous to obtain
privileges
and
patents
for the sole printing of any particular volume, tho' towards the later end of
Faust's
time several of his servants set up Printing-houses, and were ambitious to excel their master: How soon after those privileges began, appears from that granted by the Emperor to
John Schoeffer, Faust's
grandson
ann.
1519, for the sole printing
T. Livius,
and to prohibit any other to reprint those books which had come from his press: and as this had been granted upon the account of his being the grandson of the first inventor of the Art; so several Popes and Princes gave like patents to their first Printers as a mark of their favour.
I shall here mention something concerning their way of Book-binding, an account of which we find in
Scaliger
Scaligeriana, Hag. edit. in 8vo.
p. 173.
, who tells us, that his grandmother had a printed Psalter, the cover of which was two inches thick; in the inside was a kind of cupboard, wherein was a small silver crucifix, and behind it the name of
Berenica Codronia de la Scala.
This book seems to have been printed with wood, but probably bound like the rest.
AS to the prices of their books, I cannot find any thing particular except what I have before quoted out of
Campanus's
dedication to the Pope; from which it may be infer'd, that in his time at
Rome
they were sold for about one fifth part of what the MSS. had done. To this I shall add an instance of the gift bequeath'd by
P. Schoeffer,
and
Conrad Henlif
of the same profession, to a library of monks, which will enable us to guess at the great rate they still were sold for.
La Caille
relates it out of the annals of the abby of St.
Victor
at
Paris,
and it is as follows
Anniversarium honorabilium virorum
Petri Schoeffer
&
Conr
di He
lf,
ac
Joan. Fust,
civium de
Moguntia,
impressorum, necnon uxorum, filiorum, parentum, amicorum & benefactorum; qui
Petrus
&
Conradus
dederunt nobis
Epistolas beati Hieronymi
impressas in Pergameno, excepta tamen summa duodecim scutorum auri quam praefati impressores receperunt per manus Domini
Joannis
Abbatis hujus ecclesiae,
kalend. Novemb.
ann.
1471.
De la Caille,
pag. 14.
;
"The anniversary (office for the souls), of the honourable
Peter Schoeffer, Conr. Henlif
and
John Faust
citizens and Printers in the city of
Mentz,
as also for the souls of their wives, parents, children, friends and benefactors; which said
P. Schoeffer
and
C. Henlif
have given us the book of St.
Jerom's Epistles
printed upon vellum
(in two vol. fol. ann.
1470,) excepting nevertheless the sum of twelve golden crowns, which the aforesaid Printers receiv'd from our Lord
John Abbot
of this church
Oct.
29, 1471."
HENCE 'tis plain that the
twelve crowns
(which in those days were more than equivalent to as many
pounds
now) were but part of the price or value of the said book; and that the other part, whatever proportion it bore to this, was remitted to them in consideration of this anniversary office, to which there us'd to be no price fix'd, tho' the least for it was generally
five
or
six crowns.
I conclude this chapter with an observation of Mons.
de la Monoye
concerning the phrase of
Libri editi,
which I hope the curious will be pleas'd with: he tells us, that this phrase was us'd before the invention of Printing, and signified only books publish'd and dispers'd abroad in some considerable number, in opposition to those that were writ fair to be set up in libraries, which were call'd
Libri scripti.
This observation he proves from a passage out of
Philelphus,
who speaking of his ten books of
latin odes,
expresses himself as follows;
Carminum libri editi quinque, versuum quinque millibus; nam alteri quinque qui tantundem versus complectentur, partim scripti sunt non editi, partim ne scripti quidem,
i. e.
five books of the latin odes are already publish'd, containing
5000
verses; the other five, which will contain the same number, are partly written not publish'd, and partly still unwritten:
he observes further, that the first
five
books of odes were not sent to the press 'till the year 1497, when they were printed in
4to.
at
Brescia:
besides the same
Philelphus
tells his reader in one of his epistles written
ann.
1453, that he design'd to publish all the ten books in that year,
Libros decem hoc anno edere institui,
which could not be understood of Printing, seeing tho' the art was perfected about this time, yet it was still kept secret 'till
four
years after, when
Faust
put his first colophon to the Psalter. Whether this observation be as certain as it is curious, I shall leave to the judgment of my readers.
CHAP. XI. An Account of the first printed
Bibles
before the year 1501.
AS those authors who have wrote any thing fully upon the subject of P
inting, have given their readers an account of the first Bi
es,
have been printed, from the discovery of the Art to the year 15
or even beyond: I thought our
English
readers would not be displeas'd to have a short abstract given them of those antient and valuable monuments of the art; and I can't but think it will be more acceptable to have them all in one view, than dispers'd, as they would be, were I to give them under their respective Printers, who liv'd at a vast distance of time and place from one another; especially considering that some famous cities, and even universities, as that of
Louvain,
have not printed so much as one single Bible in all the interval between the year 1450 and 1500, and even beyond; whereas others, for instance, that of
Nurembergh
has produc'd at least 13 in that time: I shall place them according to the years in which they were printed, and add such farther particulars concerning them, as I have been able to meet with in those authors, who have given us an account of them; and such as my own observations have enabled me to collect from those noble libraries I have formerly mention'd.
BY this the reader will be sufficiently appris'd, that I intend to speak only of those which bear any certain date; but as for those, which are either printed without date, or with a disputed one, I shall just say so much of them, as will let him see how little they are to be rely'd on, and what reasons I have to pass them by: I have, I think, already ventur'd to give the reader a rule how to judge of such works,
viz.
if their dates are before the year 1450, they must be suppos'd to have been wrong printed, either designedly, or by mistake: the reader will find proofs sufficient of the former in our next book, and the later is too well known to require any: however in this later respect I shall give him an instance or two of it, because it will be a kind of a key to rectify any other that may hereafter fall in his way.
WE meet with an account of a
German
Bible, still kept in the library of the city of
Ausburgh,
affirm'd by
Hottinger,
who saw it there, to have been printed with fusile types
ann.
1448, but with this caveat however,
ni fallor, if I am not mistaken,
as writing at some distance of time and place: other authors have given it that of 1449, but as either of them preceded the time of the invention,
Malinkrot
tells us, that
Martin Zeiler
thought it 'twas only a manuscript version made
ann.
1449: but Mr.
Beugben
doth not scruple to tell us in the preliminary discourse to his
Incunabula Typographiae,
that they only misplac'd the two last figures of the date, and printed 1449 instead of 1494.
Chevillier
mentions two more out of
Lipenius,
whose dates are demonstrably false, the one is a Bible printed at
Paris ann.
1443, and the other at
Lyons ann.
1446: whereas it is certain, that Printing was not brought to
Paris
'till
twenty seven
years after the date of the first,
viz. ann.
1470, nor to
Lyons
'till
six
or
seven
years after that: the same may be said of another printed at
Basil,
and affirm'd, by two booksellers of
Geneva
in the catalogue of their books, to bear date 1459, since 'tis plain that that city did not receive the Art 'till about 1475: if the reader therefore will take this rule with him, to examine the time in which the Art was brought to any place, which he will find in the following Book, he will easily rectify any wrong date that may come in his way, and as for those, which do not mention the place or Printer's name, he may safely rank them amongst the apocryphal ones, and them which have no date at all, but as the former have been taken notice of by all our annalists, I shall be obliged so far as I am able to ascertain their respective dates, as we go along.
1. BEFORE I come to speak of those, which bear a certain and indisputable date, I must not omit the
first
printed by
Faust
and
Schoeffer
about 1450 or soon after, and mention'd by
Trithemius,
the
Colognian Chronicle,
and some other authors, as the first considerable work printed with fusile types by those two
Protodaedali.
I have already given the reasons of its being printed without date or colophon, which would have betrayed the discovery of their new Art, and prevented
Faust
's selling it for MS: but this however ought by no means to hinder us from giving it the first rank, seeing the fact is so undeniably attested. It is pity they have been long ago, either destroy'd, or buried in some private libraries, where the most diligent searches have not as yet been able to find them out: perhaps its being printed so like MS, may be one reason why they are still lookt upon as such by the owners, if any such there be; for which reason I am still willing to hope, that time may discover and bring some of them to light, and that what has been said in this history, and by authors of a much higher character, will spur up some curious persons to make a more diligent search after so valuable a monument; 'till when, no farther account can be expected of it than what we have already given.
2. THE next is that, which I have ventur'd, after other authors, to call the second impression of the Bible, printed at
Mentz
by the same worthy inventors
ann.
1462, and which is consequently the most antient we know extant in any library; we have already given some account of it in a former chapter
p.
31, and of the colophon printed at the end of it, which we need not therefore repeat here: as there are several copies of it here in
London
where I have seen them, and elsewhere in
England,
we need not go to any foreign authors for an account of it: it is printed in
fol.
as indeed all their other works were. For tho' I have follow'd
Peter Lambeck
's notion of the Psalters being printed in
4to,
because its size may be very much like that of a
quarto,
yet if I may here venture to give my judgment of a book I have not seen, I think I have sufficient grounds to believe that the first Printers had their paper made of all sizes; and that the
five books
printed on Blocks of Wood, already mention'd to be in the Earl of
Pembroke
's library, would appear to any one like
quarto's,
were it not that the signatures shew the contrary.
THE next impression we meet with, is one which Mr.
Mattaire
gives us upon the authority of a learned friend of his, who desires to have his name conceal'd, and the want of whose date is supply'd by a colophon of three
latin
verses importing, that it was printed in the
third
year of
Lewis
XI. reign,
i. e. ann.
1464 by the three
German
partners, who brought the Art to
Paris,
tho' there be no mention made of the place where it was printed, vid.
Annal. Typogr.
p. 41, and 60. I am persuaded that Mr.
Mattaire's
friend was mistaken in the first verse, and I should not have given it a rank here, nor even mention'd it, were it not to prevent the reader's being puzzled with this account of it under the year 1464; or his supposing me guilty of an omission: but as
Chevillier
gives us the same colophon printed at the end of the first
Paris
Bible by the same three partners, with this variation however from the former; that in the first verse, instead of
Semi lustrum,
it has
tribus lustris,
that is instead of the
third,
it imports the
thirteenth
year of that king's reign: we may easily suppose, that it was the first
Paris
Bible of 1475, and that this unknown gentleman might possibly be mistaken: however the book being in
Queen's-college
library, in
Cambridge
it may be easily consulted.
3. The next impression therefore to that of
Mentz
1462, is that of
Ausburgh,
[in latin
Augusta Vindelicorum]
printed by
John Bemler ann.
1466 in latin
fol.
It is mention'd by
Martin Crusius, Melchior Adamus,
and after them by
Malinkrot; Chevillier
seems indeed to think their testimony insufficient to ascertain so old a date, but I cannot see any reason for it, seeing it is four years more recent than the taking of the city of
Mentz,
and the dispersion of
Faust's
servants; besides the city of
Ausburgh
was so near
Mentz,
and so considerable withal, that it is no way improbable, but some one of them might go and settle there even sooner than the year 1466.
4. The
latin
Bible
fol.
printed at
Reutlingen [Reutlingae]
a small town in
Germany
in the dutchy of
Wirtembergh ann.
1469, mention'd by
Hallevordius,
Father
le Long, De la Caille, Chevillier
and others; but more particularly by
John Saubert
in his catalogue of the
Norican
or
Nurembergh
library, where he saw it: the Printer of it was
John de Averbach,
we have nothing else extant of him at least with his name.
5. The
latin
Bible
fol.
printed about 1471
Mar.
15. at
Rome
by
Conrard Sweynbeym
and
Arnold Pannariz
[or
Pararaiz
as I have seen it printed in one of their books] who were the first Printers that settled in that city: it has a preface, and at the end four
latin
distichs in praise of those two
Germans,
and a small work or history of
Aristeas,
and is translated by
Matthias Palmerius:
the Printers tell Pope
Sextus
IV, in the lists which they gave him of their works, that they had printed 575 copies of it: concerning this Bible
Spondaeus
gives us the following account,
we have,
says he,
the Bible printed at
Rome
in two very large volumes [ingentibus voluminibus] ann.
1471
in the house of the
Maximis
by two
Germans
named
Conrard Sweynheym
and
Arnold Pannartz.
6. The
Italian
Bible translated by
Nicholaus Malherbis
(in Italian
Malermi)
a
Venetian
abbot of the order of the
Calmaldules,
printed at
Venice ann.
1471
Calend. Aug.
in
fol.
by
Vindelin de Spire,
who with his brother
John,
was the first who brought the Art of Printing unto that city.
Chevillier
tells us, he has seen it in the library of the
Mazarine-college
at
Paris
in two volumes, and that tho' the
imprimatur
doth not mention the Printer, yet it is easy to guess at him by the
Italian
verses, which
Squazafica
has put to that edition.
7. Mr.
Mattaire
mentions another
fol. Italian
Bible printed in the same year 1571, of
Malhermi's
translation, without Printer or places name. Father
le Long
is the author he has taken it from.
8. The
latin
Bible reprinted at
Mentz
by
Peter Schoeffer ann.
1472, on the eve of St.
Matthias
the apostle
fol.
the learned
Walton
(editor of our
English
edition of the
Polyglot)
thought this the first impression of the Bible, and seem'd doubtful of what some authors had affirm'd, that they had seen some more antient editions that that; how much he was mistaken the reader may judge by the foregoing ones: this Bible has a colophon at the end, not unlike those us'd by his master and himself, in the former edition and some other of their works.
9. Mr.
Mattaire
(after Father
le Long,)
mentions a
latin
impression
ann.
1473 without Printer or places name.
Annal. Typogr.
p. 100.
10. The
latin
Bible
fol.
printed at
Paris
by
Ulric Gering, Martin Crantz,
and
Michael Friburger,
the first who set up a press in that city. This Bible, which
Chevillier
has seen in the library of the
Celestin
monks, and has given us the colophon of; importing its being printed in the 13th year of
Lewis
XI. reign,
i. e. ann.
1475, is the same which we suppose Mr.
Mattaire's
friend did inform him to have been printed in the 3d year of that monarch,
i. e. ann.
1464: we need not therefore repeat here, what we said just before under that head; Mr.
Mattaire
however places this under the year 1476.
11. The
latin
Bible printed at
Nuremberg
in the same year 1475 in
fol.
by
Anthony Koburger
or
Coburger
first Printer of that city; in which library
J. Saubert
tells us, they have a copy still extant, we have another in the publick library at
Oxford.
12. Another
latin
Bible without Printer or places name, printed also
ann.
1475.
fol. Mattaire
p. 110.
13. The Bible in
Italian
printed by
James de Rubeis,
alias
des Rouges,
at
Pignerol
in
Piedmont, ann.
1475,
fol.
idem.
14.—in
latin quarto,
printed at
Placentia
by
John de Ferratis Cremonese ann.
1475.
15.—in
low dutch, fol.
at
Cologn ann.
1475, without Printer's name,
idem.
16.—in
latin
printed in
fol. ann.
1476 at
Venice,
by
Nicholas Jenson
in
Gothick
character, a copy of which is still to be seen in the library of the
Celestin
monks at
Paris.
17.—printed at
Venice
by
Francis Hailbrun
and
Nicholas de Frankford
partners,
ann.
1476
fol. Chevillier
seems doubtful, whether this and the last are not the same edition under different partners names; but Mr.
Mattaire
and father
Orlandi
give them as two different editions.
18. The Bible in
latin
with canons and concordances
fol.
printed at
Nurembergh
by
Anthony Koburger ann.
1476.
Orlandi
is the first author that has mention'd it: but doth not tell us where he saw it or how he came by the knowledge of it.
19.
—ead.
printed at
Naples, ann.
1476,
fol.
by
Matthias Moravus de Olomuntz;
the colophon of which has some lines in commendation of the Printer.
20.
—ead.
printed at
Nurembergh
by
Anthony Koburger ann.
1477,
fol.
it has the arguments and references like that printed by the same Printer
ann.
1476.
21.
—ead. fol.
printed by
Bernard Richel
citizen of
Basil, ann.
1477, without places name.
22.—in
Italian
by
Malhermi fol.
printed at
Venice
by
Anthony de Bononia, ann.
1477.
23.
—ead.
printed at
Venice
by
Gabriel de Piero,
a native of
Treviso, ann.
1477,
fol.
24.—in
high dutch, fol.
by
Anthony Sorgius
at
Ausburgh,
1477.
25.
—ead.
1477, without Printers name.
26.—in
low dutch, fol.
at
Delph
1477.
27.
—ead.
in
quarto,
1477.
28.—in
latin
with
Gothick
character,
fol.
at
Venice
by
Leonard Wild
for
Francis de Hailbrun
and
Nicholas de Franckford,
1478.
29.
—ead.
in
Gothick, fol.
by
Theodoric de Reynsberg
and
Reynald de Novimagio, fol.
1478.
30.
—ead.
with the arguments and references of
Menardus Monachus, fol.
printed at
Nurembergh
by
Anthony Coburger,
1478.
31.
—ead.
in Gothic
fol.
at
Venice
by
Nic. Jenson,
1479.
32.
—ead.
with arguments and concordance
fol.
by
Anthony Coburger
at
Nurembergh,
1479.
33.
—ead. fol.
at
Lyons
by
Perrin de Lathomi de Lotharingis,
1479.
34.
—ead. fol.
without Printer's name at
Cologn
1479.
35.—in
low dutch, fol.
at
Goude
in
Holland
by
Gerard Leeu,
1479.
36. The Bible in
latin
with the apostils of
Nic. de Lyra, fol.
by
John de Cologn
and
John Manthen,
1480; the place is not mention'd, but these two printed at
Venice
from 1471 to 1481, if not beyond.
Orland.
37.
—ead. quarto
at
Venice
for
Octavian Scot,
1480. by
Francis Halibrun.
38.—in
High Dutch
at
Ausburgh,
2 vol.
fol.
by
Ant. Sergius
citizen of it, 1480.
39.—in
Latin fol.
by
Anthony Coburger,
at
Nuremberg
1480.
40.
—ead.
with summaries and references
fol.
by
John Zeiner
of
Reutlingen
at Ulms, 1480.
41.
—ead.
with apostils of
N. de Lyra
7 vol.
fol. Cologn,
1480 without printers name.
42.
—ead.
with
Gothic
character, by
Leonard Wild
of
Ratisbon, fol.
at
Venice
1481.
43.
—ead.
with postills of
N. de Lyra
by
John de Cologn, Nic. Jenson,
and partners
fol.
1481; no place nam'd, but they printed at
Venice.
44.
—ead.
in
fol.
by
Conrard Lentorius
at
Nurembergh,
1481.
45.—in
Italian,
by
Malermi fol.
printed at
Venice
for
Octavian Scot,
1481.
46.—in
latin quarto
at
Venice
by
Francis Renner de Hailbrun,
1482.
47.
—ead.
by
Reynhard
of
Strasburg,
and
Nichol. Philipi de Gernsheym fol.
at
Strasburg
[Argentoratum] 1482.
48.—by
Ant. Coburger
at
Nuremberg,
1483.
49.—in
quarto
by
Francis Renner de Hailbrun
at
Venice,
1483.
50.—in
fol.
by
John,
sirnam'd the Great,
Herbort, German
at
Venice,
1483.
51.—in
high dutch
by
Ant. Coburger
at
Nuremberg,
1483.
52.
—ead.
in
fol.
at
Ausburg
1483 without printers name.
53.—in
latin fol.
by
John Zainer de Reutlingen. Ausburg
1484.
54.
—ead.
by
Ant. Coburger fol.
at
Nuremberg,
1484.
55.
—ead.
in
quarto
by
John,
sirnam'd the Great,
Herboxt
of
Selgenstat
at
Venice,
1484.
56. The Bible in
Latin fol.
at
Nuremberg
without Printer's name 1484.
57.—in
Italian fol.
at
Venice
by
Andrea de Pattasichis de Catharo,
1484.
58.—in
high Dutch
at
Lubeck
by
Stephen Arnold,
1484.
59.
—ead.
at
Stratzburg
no printers name, 1485.
60.—in
Latin
at
Antwerp fol.
by
Nicholas Kester,
1487.
61.
—ead.
in
quarto Venice
1487, without Printer's name.
62.
—ead.
in
fol. Basil,
1487,
id.
63.
—ead.
in
fol.
with
Lyra
's apostils, 5 vol.
fol.
no Printer's name but known to be printed by
Ant. Coburger, Nuremberg,
1487.
64.—in
French fol.
by
Antony Verard, Paris,
1487.
65.—in
high Dutch fol. Ausburg
1487. no Printer's name.
66.—in
Hebrew
with points,
fol.
by
Abraham Ben Rabb. Hhajim
at
Soncino,
1488.
67.—in
Latin, fol.
at
Venice
for
Octavian Scot,
1489.
68.
—ead.
in
Gothic
character,
fol.
revis'd by
Stephen Parisetti
and printed by
James Malieti,
no place's name, 1490.
69.—in
high Dutch,
4to,
Ausburgh,
1490, no Printer's name.
70.
—ead.
4to, at
Nurembergh,
1490; no Printer's name, but suppos'd to be printed by
A. Coburger.
71.—in
Latin, fol.
at
Venice
by
Simon de Gara,
1491.
72.
—ead.
at
Basil,
4to, 1491; no Printer's name.
73.
—ead.
at
Venice,
4to, 1491,
id.
74.
—ead.
at
Basil
by
John Froben,
8vo, in a small letter, 1491.
75.
—ead.
with
Lyra
's apostils, 4
vol. fol. Stratzburg,
1492.
76.
—ead.
cum glossa ordinaria
vol.
6.
fol. Nurembergh
by
Anthony Coburger,
1493.
77.—in
high Dutch
by
Stephen Arndes, fol.
at
Lubeck,
1493.
78.
—ead. Gothic
character, 4to, at
Venice,
by
Fr. Renner de Hailbrun,
1494.
79.—in
Italian, folio,
by
John Rosso,
1494;
Venice.
80.—in
Latin
4to, at
Venice
by
Simon Bevilaqua
citizen of
Pavia,
1494.
81.—in
Hebrew,
8vo, by
Gerson Ben Moses
of
Soncino
at
Brixia,
1494
82. The Bible in
Hebrew, 4to
and
8vo,
at
Pisauro,
1494; without Printer's name.
83.—in
Latin
by
Matthew Hus German, fol.
1494; no place's name, but we find him printing at
Lyons
three years before this.
84.—in
high Dutch
4to, at
Ausburg,
1494; no Printer's name.
85.—in
Latin
with
Ord. Gloss.
and
Lyra
's apostils,
fol.
by
Paganino de Paganinis,
1495.
86.
—ead. Gothic
character, by
John Froben de Hamelburgh,
8vo
Basil
1495.
87.
—ead.
4to, by
Jacob
and
Angelus Brittans
at
Brescia,
1496.
88.
—ead.
with
Ord. Gloss.
and
de Lyra
's apostils, 6
vol. fol.
at
Nuremberg,
1496; by
Ant. Coburger.
89.
—ead.
corrected by
Angelus de Monte Ulmi
8vo, printed by
Jerom de Paganinis
at
Venice,
1497.
90.
—ead.
in
Gothic
character with summaries,
&c.
by
Franc. Fradin
and
John Pivard
4to, 1497; no place's name.
91.
—ead. fol.
at
Cologn
1497; without Printer's name.
92.
—ead.
at
Strasburgh,
ditto.
93.
—ead.
with
Lyra
's apostils 6
vol. fol. Basil
1498; no Printer's name.
94.
—ead.
by
Simon Bevilaqua
4to,
Venice
1498.
95.
—ead.
4to, by
John Pivard
1500; no places name.
96.
—ead.
by
Simon Vostre, fol. Paris
1500.
97.
—ead. fol.
at
Nuremberg
1500; no Printer's name.
98.
—ead.
by
John Froben, Basil
1500.
99.
—ead.
8vo,
Lyons
1500.
I have purposedly omitted some less considerable ones, which are either without Printer or places name, or both; because such were only the wretched performances of a few, who made it their business to reprint the editions of some of the most famous Printers of
Europe,
whether of the Bible, or of any other considerable work; and to vend them underhand for the right ones: this was an abuse which began very early to be complain'd of; for no sooner had a
Froben, Badius, Aldus
or any other great Printer publish'd a work, which had cost him infinite pains to correct, as well as great sums of money to purchase the best manuscripts, but they pyrated them in such a shameful and incorrect manner, that they could afford to sell them for less than half the price. And as there wanted not sordid persons to encourage this vile practice, and to prefer those maim'd performances to the more correct ones, if they could but save money by them; it often prov'd that the sale of a valuable edition was hinder'd, to the great loss and discouragement of the Printer, whilst the bad ones went off with ease: this occasion'd them to complain of the abuse, in their prefaces to their works, and to appeal to the learned against such practices; some of whom (in particular
Erasmus)
did not fail to write very sharply against those enemies to learning, who were at length come up to such a degree of impudence, as to counterfeit the names, marks and rebus's of the famous Printers, of which we shall have occasion to give an account hereafter. In the mean time, all their complaints and efforts proving ineffectual towards the suppressing such pyracies; they were forc'd to have recourse to the higher powers, and to employ the assistance of their learned patrons, to obtain them patents and privileges for the sole printing of those works, upon which they had bestow'd so much pains and cost: but this more properly belongs to the next book to which I am now hastening.
BOOK II. The History of the Dispersion, Progress and Improvements of PRINTING, from 1462 to 1520.
The INTRODUCTION.
HITHERTO we have seen the
Art of Printing
kept with the utmost secrecy by its inventors, and confin'd to the city of
Mentz,
till the fatal year of its being taken plunder'd and depriv'd of all its former rights and franchises, as we have hinted already: which occasion'd the dispersion of the greatest part of
Faust's
servants whom we must suppose by that time to have been very numerous: these seeing the deplorable condition to which that noble city was reduc'd, and the difficulty of carrying on the business any longer with that freedom and encouragement they had till then enjoy'd; and being perhaps inclin'd enough of themselves to leave their masters, to go settle in some of the most famous cities of
Europe,
where they were sure to gain, not only wealth and honour, but the friendship of the learned, immediately dispersed themselves and settled, some in the neighbouring cities of
Cologn
and
Ausburgh,
others went to
Rome, Venice, Paris, &c.
where they soon met with all the encouragement they could wish: this happen'd, as we have hinted in the former book in the year 1462. So that
Faust
and
Schoeffer,
had happily conceal'd the art from the rest of the world, at least the space of
twelve
years from the time of its being perfected: we must, however, except one of his servants
viz. Nic. Jenson,
who if the date of his first book be true and genuine, must have given his master the slip before that fatal period, since we find this book finished at
Venice an.
1461 with great advantage and improvement; we shall have occasion to enquire further into this man and his work, in the sequel of this book: however, if we except this one single work, we don't find any footsteps of the infant art, being carry'd out of its nurse's arms duing those twelve years.
BUT now we must consider it in a different view, dispersing it self over divers nations, patroniz'd by Popes and Kings, and esteem'd a divine blessing to mankind. It seems now to have left the city of
Mentz,
where it yet shines there brighter than ever; and at the same instant discovers it self at
Rome, Venice, Oxford
and
Paris;
and in a space shorter than can be imagin'd, becomes conspicuous over all
Europe.
As there is so great a number and variety of events and remarkable occurrences, which happen'd in several cities of
Europe,
at the same time, or immediately after one another, with respect to the first printers who settled there, the improvements made by them, and the encouragement they receiv'd; it will be absolutely impossible to dispose them in such an order, as may give the reader at once a full view of them all, without interrupting the series, either with respect to time or place. Thus, for instance, while we shew the transactions at
Rome,
during the
two
or three first years,
Venice, Paris, Oxford, Cologn, Milan, &c.
will open new scenes to our view, attracting our eyes towards them, and oblige us to break the thread of one to begin with that of another; which continual diversions would rather confound than instruct the reader, and render the history confus'd and tedious. Our best annalists and historians being sensible of this, have follow'd a better method. Father
Orlandi
in particular, the latest that has wrote upon this subject, hath taken that of
De la Caille;
who proceeds with every city by it self, from the time it is suppos'd to have receiv'd the art, to the end of the century, according to their fairest claim to priority in point of time; and then goes on with the next in order. This method I have chose, and given under the head of each city the names, character and merit, of each printer that has wrought there, from the time of its receiving the art to the end of the year 1500; and pointed out the excellencies of those who have been eminent in this art, either by the beauty of their types, the elegance and correctness of their works, the number of their editions, or any improvements which they made. By this means, I hope the reader will clearly see the early progress of printing in every place; if not at one view, yet at least in such an order as more easily to form an idea, not only of the printers and cities wherein they resided, but likewise of the most considerable patrons for wealth, learning, &c. of that time, to whose character and merit, I have not failed to do justice throughout this whole work.
I propos'd at first to have clos'd this history with the fifteenth century; but when I came to consider that the most eminent printers, to whom we owe many important improvements of this art, such as
Aldus
at
Venice, Amerbach
and
Froben
at
Basil, Badius
at
Lyons
and
Paris,
with many others, did not begin to appear upon this stage, till almost the close of it: and that their merit was not discover'd till the beginning of the next; I thought it an unpardonable injustice to them and my readers, to curtail their history by too scrupulously adhering to my propos'd epocha; and therefore have chosen to continue this history
twenty
years longer,
i. e.
to 1520; and sometimes made an excursion beyond that time, when ever any of those excellent masters have outliv'd it. This has afforded me another agreeable opportunity,
viz.
of mentioning some others who did not enter the province of printing till after the fifteenth century.
ANOTHER motive which induc'd me to continue this history 20 years longer, was, that I found all the improvements that had been made to the art, were made by that time
i. e.
by the year 1520 at least; the foundation of them was so far lay'd before that year, that whatever has been done since, either with relation to the beauty of letter, elegancy of impression, variety of types, printing in different languages, especially in the eastern ones, in different columns, correctness and the like, all these and many more, had already been carry'd on to such a perfection before this time, that it admitted but of small improvements to be made to it afterwards. I have therefore thought it a much better period to close this history with, than that of 1500 where
Orlandi
concludes his; this has given me an opportunity of mentioning not only the improvements themselves, but likewise those glorious printers to whom we owe them. However, as it would swell this book too much to insert the names of all the printers, that appear'd within those 20 years, they being too numerous, and a great many of them, deserving rather to be remember'd with shame than honour: I have resolv'd to speak only of those who signaliz'd themselves, either for some improvements they made to the art, the beauty and correctness of their editions, or any other merit they have been conspicuous for: it is for that reason I have chosen to speak of them in a chapter by it self, after I have clos'd the 15th century, to which I shall also add in another chapter, an account of the abuses which crept into the art from its promulgation to 1520, that there may be nothing wanting to make this history as compleat and instructing as possible.
IT will be necessary to acquaint the reader that tho' we have follow'd the method of the best annalists, in settling the priority of every city, according to the date of the oldest extant work, that was printed there, which is certainly the surest way and least liable to mistakes; yet it is more than probable that they might receive the art much sooner: seeing some time must reasonably be allow'd for setting up a printing-house, and furnishing it with the necessary apparatus, which in the infancy of the art was more difficult to procure, for want of proper workmen acquainted with all the branches of such a tedious work, for which less than a year or two could scarce suffice: and because we are not absolutely sure that those editions, which we give for their first, were really so: Mr.
Mattaire,
who has taken such pains to search the best libraries of
London, Oxford, Paris,
&c. for those old monuments, that he thought he had exhausted that subject, has nevertheless post dated the claim and rank of several cities by some years; if
Orlandi
may be credited, who afterwards rectify'd them by the discovery of some older editions; and who can tell what time may produce, that may wholly invert our present order: thus for instance some of the historians quoted in the last book, tell us that
Strasburgh, Cologn, Francford,
&c. receiv'd the art before any others; yet as we have none of their works extant, but such as were printed some years after, we have been oblig'd to give them a lower rank, and place them after
Rome, Paris, Venice,
&c. The reader may easily remember that
Guttenbergh
left
Mentz,
and settled at
Strasburgh
some years before the taking of the former,
i. e.
before
ann.
1462; and that he taught
John Mentel
the Art in the latter: yet we meet with no edition done there of older date than 1471,
viz.
the
Decretum Gratiani
printed by
Henry Egestein.
Tho'
Cologn
receiv'd some of
Faust's
fugitive servants soon after his rupture with
Guttenbergh,
yet the oldest edition there, as yet known, is the works of Pope
Leo
I, printed 1470. What became of those impressions before that time, is scarce worth our enquiring, since the best of those which have been since publish'd, are far inferior to those done in
Italy, France,
&c. in beauty of character, elegancy of composition, correctness and choice of MSS to print after; while themselves proved indolent enough to neglect those improvements even after they had been made in other countries.
HOWEVER 'tis probable they might have sufficient business in printing small books of devotion, lives of saints, and legends; which, according to the tast of those times, and of that nation in particular, were eagerly bought up and thumb'd over, 'till scarce a leaf was left; while the men of learning and politeness were more curious in laying up such only as were a credit not only to the author and Printer, but to the Art it self. But however that be, I hope what I have said will sufficiently convince the reader, how cautious we should be in fixing the epocha's, and consequently the rank and claims of every city, in this respect; since we know not but the next diligent searcher may find matter enough to give this order a new turn.
I have shown in the close of the last book to what a degree of perfection the Art of Printing was advanc'd even before the year 1467, and given there some account of that noble edition of
Nich. Jenson,
which is suppos'd to be done
ann.
1461, with the encomium which Mr.
Mattaire,
to whom we are beholden for the first account of it, about
eight
years ago, gives to that master-piece of the Art, since which I saw it at the Earl of
Pembroke
's. What seems strange in that Printer, is, that from the time of this date 1461 to 1471, not one of his impressions is to be met with; so that neither their beauty, nor the esteem which they merited among the curious, have been able to preserve them, unless they are still latent in some libraries, 'till some accident brings them to light, as happen'd to the
Decor Puellarum.
'Tis unreasonable to suppose that a man, who could, in so short a time improve the Art, to a degree equal to the best Printers of the next age, and publish'd so many excellent volumes from 1470 to 1480, should have continued idle for
nine
or
ten
years.
FOR this reason many learned persons are of opinion that the date of the book is wrong printed, and that one of the X's was either carelessly or wilfully omitted, or taken up by the balls: but Mr.
Mattaire
will by no means allow this supposition, and gives his reasons against it. But tho' I am partly of his opinion, yet there are two reasons that induce me to differ from father
Orlandi,
in allowing the preference to
Venice
before these last mention'd cities: the first is that this impression of the
Decor Puellarum,
doth not mention the place where it was done, and therefore might as well have been printed in any other place as at
Venice;
our annalists give no other reason for its being done there rather than any where else, but that
Jenson
is found, ten years after the date of it, flourishing in that city for the space of another ten years; but how to fill the chasm of the first ten is what they are at a great loss, as we shall see by and by. My second reason is that had this book been really printed at
Venice, ann.
1461, it would have been absurd for the two
Spires,
who did not settle th
e till about
ann.
1468, to
ve taken upon them in their first colophon
the title of the first persons who taught the city of
Venice
the art of printing, or if they had, I doubt not but
Jenson
would have taken care to have confuted such an assumption in some of his own works, which he never did: allowing therefore the date of this work to be genuine, yet it would be too presumptive to build the claim of that city upon a book, which for ought appears was not printed there.
I have ven ur'd to say so much concerning this impression, in this introduction, because of its being dated one year before the time our second book begins; so that it could not so properly be brought into the book itself, without antedating of it by that one year for the sake of one impression. Before Mr
Mattaire
gave us an account of it in his
Annal. Typogr.
most authors gave the city of
Rome
the preference, to that of
Venice
by at least 4 or 5 years; and with respect to the latter the two
Spires
were allow'd to have been the first Printers there, according to the verses that are at the end of their first works: this impression therefore, doth at most prove
Jenson
to have began to print some where, before those two brothers were settled at
Venice.
What discoveries may be made hereafter, which may perhaps invert the present order, is what I am not concern'd about at present: my business is to settle it now according to the best light I have been able to get. I hope the reader will excuse me, if the respect which I bear to those noble cities, who gave the first encouragement to this infant Art, hath made me somewhat prolix, and what he may perhaps call over curious in settling this point of precedency; for since it may be so easily settled and adjusted from authentic records, it would have been an unpardonable omission in me to have neglected it; seeing every one of those cities do still value themselves upon their rank, and have taken all possible pains to find out all the old monuments that would both support and advance their respective claims.
I know that some annalists, in order to fill up the chasm of
nine
years, have suppos'd that
Jenson
went from
Venice
to
Paris,
where he taught the Art of Printing, and set up some presses, and instructed several, who became eminent Printers. But this is improbable on many accounts; 1. Because there are none of his works done at
Paris;
2. Because his character is much finer than any us'd in
France
by the first Printers there; 3. Because he would have met with such encouragement there, especially considering it was his native country, that there had been no occasion to return to
Venice; lastly,
because, if he had taught so many skilful workmen in the Art, of which himself was then by far the greatest master, it would have been unnecessary to send for the three partners out of
Germany,
who did not however come to that city 'till about the year 1469, that is,
six
or
seven
years after his suppos'd coming thither. To this we may add, that upon this supposition the Art must have been brought to
Paris,
several years sooner than the most authentick records, and the best writers allow, which seems as improbable; as it is difficult to assign a place where
Jenson
printed this work. From all which, allowing the date of the
Decor Puellarum,
as no place is mention'd where it was printed, we are oblig'd for the reasons before mention'd to give the preference to
Rome.
CHAP. I. The City of
Mentz,
Monastery of
Subiaco,
and the City of
Ausburgh.
§. 1.
Faust
and
Schoeffer
continue to print at
Mentz,
after the Dispersion of most of their Servants, and the taking of that City.
IF those cities which gave the earliest invitations and encouragements to the Art of Printing, do so justly merit to be recorded in their respective ranks, that of
Mentz
certainly deserves to be placed at the head of them, upon two accounts; 1. because it was the mother and inventress of it; and 2. because it still continued to promote and cherish it, after it had been reduc'd to a foreign yoke. In the first book we consider'd her in the former view, whilst she was the only one in the world, that engross'd both the Art and Artists to herself: but the conqueror's sword was the occasion of its being dispers'd through the most eminent cities of
Europe:
'till this time the best of
Faust's
servants being tyed by an oath of secrecy, and perhaps by some more powerful engagement, had not dar'd to forsake their master; and if some few had ventur'd to break through their engagements, yet were they still so imperfectly acquainted with the Art, that they never perform'd any work that could abide the test of time, if we except
N. Jenson
's: but now as the city was depriv'd of its freedom and privileges, it abolish'd the difference between master and servant, citizen and foreigner; they began to look upon themselves as free from all former ties, and at liberty to accept of the invitations which they receiv'd from
England, Italy, France,
&c. so that in the space of very few years, there was scarce a metropolis or considerable city, where there was not one or more Printing-houses set up: several monasteries likewise began to entertain those fugitives very early, as we shall show anon; and wherever any of those workmen chanc'd to settle themselves, they did not fail of meeting with all the assistance and encouragement, which the most eminent men either for power or learning could give them. However as they cannot be suppos'd to have been all men of equal capacity and industry, so we need not wonder if they did not signalize themselves every where alike; but whilst one sort of them did in a short space improve the Art to a very considerable degree, others of a more sluggish nature, contented themselves with going on in their old way, and some of them even from bad to worse.
WE need not doubt but that
Faust
and
Schoeffer,
during this sad interval, were as much courted by other nations to leave
Mentz,
and betake themselves to a place of greater tranquillity, and in a more flourishing state: but their love to their native city, which had favour'd them so much in its prosperity, prevail'd upon them to continue there, and to carry on their business, as before. This is apparent from the list of their works, given in the first book; and the edition of the great
Bible
which they printed in this very year, with that of
Tully
's
Offices three
years after, gives ground to suppose, that the merit of this invention procur'd them some particular regard and privilege from Archbishop
Adolph,
as soon as it became known to him; which might induce them to go on with the business, as they had done formerly: however if they printed nothing between the year 1462 and 1465, (as we don't as yet find that they did) we may reasonably suppose, that the confusion in which the city then was, might obstruct it for that time, since we don't find such a length of time between any of their other works: the truth is, we have very few or no particulars concerning them, except what we have given in the first book, wherein I endeavour'd as well as I could to trace
Faust
's history to the end of his life. All that we can add concerning
Peter Schoeffer,
is, that he continued printing several considerable volumes 'till the year 1479, which he then subscrib'd with his own name, and to some of which (towards the latter end of his life) he added his coat of arms, which might in all probability have been given to him either by the Archbishop or some crown'd head: accordingly we find these words added to his colophons,
Suis consignando scutis,
that they were mark'd with his own arms. He left a son
John Schoeffer,
who became likewise an excellent Printer at
Mentz;
but he must in all likelihood have been very young when his father dy'd, seeing we find nothing printed by him 'till
ann.
1503, when he acquainted his readers in the colophons to his first impressions, that he was the son of
Peter Schoeffer
and grandson to
J. Faust, &c.
the first inventors of the Art; and that himself was an excellent master of it, and an eminent citizen
(primarius civis)
of the metropolis of
Mentz,
but as this is beyond my propos'd epocha, I shall say no more of him.
I don't find any other Printer in the city of
Mentz,
during
Peter Schoeffer
's life: about 1480, we meet with one single work of no great consequence done there by one
Erhard Rewick,
and between the year 1470 and 1500, there are about
fifteen
impressions printed there without any Printer's name; and therefore are suppos'd to have been done by some of
Faust
's servants, who dared not put their names to them, whilst
Schoeffer
and his son liv'd.
THO' I do not design to swell the following book with a list of the works done in every city, it having been done by the indefatigable Mr.
Mattaire
and father
Orlandi,
but only to give my readers an account of the most eminent Printers, that have signaliz'd themselves in any of them, with the names and dates of the less considerable ones; yet I hope the reader will forgive me, if my respect for
P. Schoeffer,
whose works are so much valued by the curious, as well for their antiquity, as for their elegance, correctness, and those ornaments, which he still caus'd the illuminators to bestow on them to the last, induces me to subjoin a list of them; they are as follows, with their colophons.
1. The edition of
Tho. Aquinas
's
Secunda secundae,
printed in
fol. ann.
1467, with an inscription at the end to this purpose
Hoc opus praeclarum
Secunda secundae
alma in Urbe
Moguntina
inclitae nationis
Germanicae,
quam Dei clementia alti ingenii lumine donoque gratuito caeteris terrarum nationibus praeferre illustrareque dignatus est, artificiola quadam adinventione imprimendi seu characterizandi absque ulla calami exaratione sic effigiatum, & ad eusebiam Dei industria est consummatum per
Petrum Schoiffer de Gernsheim.
Anno Domini M CCCC LX VII. Die sexto mensis
Martii.
;
"This noble work intitled
Secunda secundae
was finish'd in the famous city of
Mentz
in
Germany
(which nation the divine goodness hath vouchsaf'd to signalize with superior gifts to all other nations of the earth,) by a new invented Art of Printing,
&c.
without the help of any writing instrument,
&c.
for the service of God, by
Peter Schoiffer de Gernsheim,
ann. Dom.
1467, on the
sixth
day of
March.
"
In this he hath alter'd one letter of his sirname,
viz.
the first
e
into an
i,
in the next he chang'd the
i
into a
y,
according to Mr.
Mattaire
's list; who likewise justly censures his
latin syntax
in writing
Dei clementia dignatus est;
tho' this hinders not his being a correct Printer, as well as tolerable good clerk for those times.
2. THE next is the
Institutiones Juris Imper. Justinian. cum Glossa,
in
fol.
ann. 1468. The colophon is much to the same purpose with the former, in which he is very liberal of his incense to
Mentz
and the whole
German
nation. It is superfluous to give a translation of it; but the original may be seen in the margin
Praesens Institutionum praeclarum opus alma in urbe
Moguntina
inclitae nationis
Germanica;
quam Dei clementia tam alti ingenii lumine donoque gratuito caeteris orbis nationibus praeferre illustrareque dignatus est; non atramento omni, non plumali canna neque aerea, sed artificiosa quadam ad inventione imprimendi seu characterizandi sic effigiatum, & ad eusebiam Dei industrie est consummatum per
Petrum Schoyffer de Gernsheim,
anno Dominicae Incarnationis MCCCCLXVIII. 24 die Mensis
Maii.
; tho'
Schoeffer's
inscriptions in the following impressions are somewhat shorter, yet we shall likewise take the liberty of abridging them to avoid repetition.
3. ST
Jerom's Epistles
with an introduction in 2
vol. fol.
printed upon vellum
ann.
1470. In this he styles himself that famous person
Peter Schoiffer
Epistolare beati
Ieronymi
cum introductorio per
virum famatum in hac Arte Petrum Schoiffer,
&c. At the end of the introdution are these two verses address'd to the Saint;
Nunc memoris memor esto tui,
Ieronyme,
sancte,
Ne pereat, Christo veniam pro crimine dante.
At the end of the book are the six verses quoted before at
pag.
33, which begin thus;
Jam decet ut nostris concordent,
&c.
, the colophon of it has been given in another place; and this is the book, part of the price of which, as we said before, was remitted by him to the monks of St
Victor,
in order to procure their prayers for
Faust
and himself. Cardinal
Brissonet,
abbot of St
Germain
in the fields near
Paris,
gave another copy of it to the library of that monastery; and a
third
was presented by
Arthur de Montauban
archbishop of
Bourdeaux
to the library of the
Celestins
at
Paris,
of which order he had been formerly. These are all still extant in the libraries abovemention'd.
4. VALERII MAXIMI
dictorum factorumque memorabilium libri
X. in
fol. ann.
1471, in the noble city of
Mentz
upon the
Rhine
by
Peter Schoeffer de Gernsheim,
master of the Art of Printing
In nobili urbe
Moguntina Rheni—
per
Petrum Schoeffer de Gernsheim
artis impressoriae magistrum, viii
Cal. Jul.
.
5. THE
Latin bible
reprinted
ann.
1472 by
Peter Schoeffer
with the same colophon as the former
Bible
of 1462. It was finish'd on the eve of St.
Matthew
the apostle.
6. THE
Corpus Canonicum
without the Printer's name,
ann.
1472,
fol.
THE
Catholicon
reprinted
ann.
1472 with the same colophon as the former; and finish'd on St.
Matthew
's eve. These three last being finish'd about the same time, show that
Schoeffer
had already more than one press at work.
7. ST.
Austin
's book
De civitate Dei
in
fol.
with the commentaries of
Thomas de Valois
and
Nicholas Thevet,
printed
ann.
1473, at the end whereof are the following words in
latin,
Igitur
Aurelii Augustini,
civitatis orthodoxae sideris prae
gidi,
de civitate Dei
opus praeclarissimum, binis sacrae paginae professoribus eximiis id commentantibus, rubri
is tabulaque discretum, celsa in urbe
Moguntin
partium
Alemanniae,
non calami per phrasim, characterum autem apicibus artificiose elementatum, ad laudem
T
initatis individuae, civitatis Dei praesidio,
operose est consummatum per
Petrum Schoiffer de Gernsheim
die V mensis
September
MCCCCLXXIII.
viz.
"This most excellent work of
the city of God
written by
Aurelius Augustine,
the bright star of the orthodox city, with the commentaries of two learned professors of divinity, distinguish'd with rubricks and a
table
of
contents,
was with great labour finish'd in the famous city of
Mentz
in
Germany,
not with a writing instrument, but by an artificial disposition of the figures of letters, to the glory of the undivided trinity, and by the aid of the city of God, by
Peter Schoiffer de Gernsheim,
on the
fifth
day of
September,
1473."
HENRICI HARP or
Harpian. Ord. Min. Fr. Speculum aureum decem praeceptorum Dei,
by
Peter Schoiffer,
&c. in
fol.
The colophon is almost the same with that of the
Secunda
of
Tho. Aquinas.
It was finish'd on the
fourth
of the ides of
September ann.
1474.
9. S. BERNARDI
Clarevallensis Abbatis sermones,
fol.
ann.
1475
In nobili urbe
Moguntini Petrus Scheysser de Gernsheim
suis consignando scutis consummavit, die xiv
p
st.
MCCCCLXXV.
. Here
Schoeffer
began to put his mark, rebus, or coat of arms to his impressions.
10. JUSTINIANI
Institutiones cum notis Accursii,
fol.
ann.
1476,
Schoeffer
dedicated this work to Pope
Sixtus
IV, to the Emperor
Frederic,
and to the Archbishop of
Mentz
Sanctiss. in
Christo
P. ac Dom. D.
Sixto
Pap. IV. invictissimo Dom. D.
Frederico
Roman. Imperat. semper
August
generoso Dom.
Diethero de Bemburg
electo & confirmato
Moguntino
in nobili urbe
Moguntia Rheni
impressoriae artis inventrice elimatriceque prima, praesens Institutionum opus praeclarum
Pet. Schoeffer de Gernshiem
suis consignan
o scutis, omnipotente favente Deo, consummavit. 10 kal.
Jun.
MCCCCLXXVI.
.
11. DECISIONES
Rotae Romanae,
in
fol. ann.
1477. The original of the colophon may be seen in the margin
Gravi labore, maximisque impensis,
Romanam
post impressionem, opus iterum emendatum antiquarum novarumque decisionum suis cum additionibus Dominorum de
Rota,
in civitate
Moguntia
artis impressoriae inventrice & elimatrice prima,
Petrus Schoiffer de Gernsheim
suis consignando scutis a te magistra feliciter finivit, prid. Non
Jan.
MCCCCLXXVII.
.
12. JOHAN.
de Turre-cremata ord. praedic. Card.
exposition of the
psalms,
in
fol.
by
Peter Schoiffer
at
Mentz,
1478.
13. PAUL.
de S. Maria
Bishop of
Burgos
's
Scrutinium scripturarum, fol. ann.
1478. This work is inscrib'd to the same Archbishop of
Mentz
R in Christo
Pat.
D D.
Diethero
Archipraesule
Moguntino,
in nobili civitate
Moguntia
domicilio
Minervae
firmissimo,
Petrus Schoeffer de Gernsheim
arte magistra suis consignando scutis feliciter finivit, ad VII Idus
Januarius.
MCCCCLXXVIII.
.
14. THE book of
Decretals
in
fol.
at
Mentz
by
P. Schoiffer,
1479.
THIS is the last book that is known to have been printed by him, who is therefore suppos'd to have dy'd about this time.
WE have now done with the city of
Mentz;
whose fame in this respect seems to have been intirely confin'd to
Faust
's family, and that no further than to his grandson
John Schoeffer;
seeing nothing considerable was ever printed there by any other person, except the travels of
Bernard Bredembach
Dean of
Mentz,
into the
Holy-land ann.
1486, by one
Erhard Rewick
a native of
Utrecht,
whom we have just mention'd. 'Tis now time to come to those places, which show'd the earliest specimens of this Art; and to give the best account we have of them.
§. 2. The MONASTERY of SUBIACO.
THE next place, that we know of, which signaliz'd it self in the Art of Printing, is the monastery of
Subiaco,
in
latin Monasterum Sublacense,
in the territories of
Campania,
in the kingdom of
Naples,
and subject to the Pope; the monks of which are of the
Benedictin
order, and very rich, having the lordship of no less than fourteen castles. Here the Art was introduc'd so soon, that in the year 1465, there was publish'd an edition of
Lactantius
's
Institutions
in
fol.
so correct and elegant, and in such a beautiful
Roman
character, that nothing seems wanting but the name of the Printer. What is still more surprizing is, that
Lactantius
's quotations from the
Greek
authors are printed in a very neat
Greek
letter, and extremely like that which the first Printers of
Rome, Conrard Sweynheym
and
Arnold Pannartz,
became noted for. This induc'd father
Orlandi
to think it was one of the first essays, which those two
Germans
made in that convent, before they went to
Rome;
but this can by no means be allow'd, because tho' the character be like theirs, yet it appears by the
eight
first impressions, which they printed at
Rome;
that they had no
Greek
alphabet 'till
four
or
five
years after the date of this impression, as we shall see in the next chapter: the following colophon is at the end of it.
In the year of our Lord MCCCCLXV, and the second year of the pontificate of Pope
Paul II.
in the XIII indiction, and on the last day but one of the month of
October,
in the venerable monastery of
Subiaco.
THIS scarce and curious edition is mention'd by
Montfaucon
in his
Diarium Italicum
p. 255,
& seq.
who hath given it an earlier date,
viz.
1461; but the mistake arises from the last figure's being imperfectly printed. We know nothing of any other impression, which came from that Monastery's press.
§. 3. The CITY of AUSBURGH.
THE next is the city of
Ausburgh
[in
latin Augusta,]
one of the most opulent of the imperial cities in
Germany;
in which the learned
John Bemler
set up a Printing-press, about the year 1466. The only two books, that are known to be printed by him, are the
Latin Bible
in
fol.
with this inscription
—
er
Joh. Bemler,
Augustae Vindelic. ann.
1466; and his
translation of
Joh. Nach
's summa praecipuorum capitum fidei christianae,
out of
Latin
into
high Dutch,
printed
ann.
1472. Whether he printed any books during that six years interval, or was employed wholly in translating this last work, is difficult to determine, as well as whether he publish'd any thing after 1472. However there were
five
other eminent persons in that city, who, tho' they did not begin so soon as he, yet printed divers learned works; most of them, being either citizens or natives of
Ausburgh,
might in all probability learn the Art from him.
As we have little or nothing particular concerning them except their impressions, we shall content our selves with giving their names, character, and the time in which they printed, as far as we can discover it by their known works.
AFTER the above nam'd
John Bemler
came.
2. JOHN SHUSLER citizen of
Ausburgh,
a very good Printer, but whose works reach only from
ann.
1471 to 1472.
3. GONTER ZAINER
de Reutlingen,
who printed from
ann.
1471 to 1484, we have but
eight
of his impressions.
4. ANT. SORGIUS citizen of
Ausburgh
from 1477 to 1487, we have but
four
of his editions.
5. ERHARD RALDOLT of
Ausburgh,
who after having printed some works at
Venice,
with his partner
Bernard Pictor,
'till the year 1485 or beyond, return'd to his own native city, and there set up a press about or before the year 1488, and continu'd printing 'till 1490, if not beyond: however he was a very diligent Printer for those times, seeing he printed in that short space
seven
books in
latin.
6. THE
last
we find in this city, is
John Schensperger,
who printed a chronical work in
Latin,
with cutts
fol. ann.
1497; but whether any besides that, is not as yet known.
WE find likewise two or three
Dutch
books printed here without Printer's name, and of no great consequence.
CHAP. II. 1. The first
Printers
at
Rome
; their Patrons and Correctors; Books printed by them, &c. their Petition to the Pope. 2. The City of
Tours,
1467. 3. The Town of
Reutlingen,
1469.
SOON after
Ausburgh
had receiv'd the Art of Printing, it was brought to
Rome
by two Germans,
Conrard Sweynheim
and
Arnold Pannarts;
who set up a printing-house there
anno
1466, the second year of the pontificate of
Paul
II. under the patronage of
John Andreas
Bishop of
Aleria,
who was the Popes library-keeper, justly fam'd for his learning and generosity. These printers assisted with that prelates purse, did immediately prepare an elegant, round,
Roman
character, and a sufficient quantity of the finest paper; they invented likewise such variety of spaces, as kept a beautiful distance between the words, and made their impressions appear with the greatest neatness and exactness. Their margins were broad, and not only added a grace to the pages, but rendered them likewise convenient for the writing of notes,
&c.
and their ink was so excellent, that it still looks as fresh as if newly printed. In short, they were persons who valu'd their credit, and the honour of pleasing their patron more than riches; and spar'd neither cost nor labour, in order to make their impressions as beautiful and correct, as possible; which any one that has seen them, will own with pleasure.
I doubt not but the great acquaintance amongst the learned, which their noble patron's friendship procur'd them, might be a great means of their improving the art to such a degree; seeing such persons were best able to discover the faults and inconveniences of the first printed books, which these
Germans
might more easily rectify when they became acquainted with them. These two partners settled themselves in the house of
Peter
and
Francis de Maximis,
brothers and Roman knights; where the Bishop of
Aleria
not only furnish'd them with the most valuable manuscripts, out of the
Vatican
and other libraties, but also prepar'd them himself, corrected their proofs, and prefix'd prefaces and dedications to their works, in order to recommend them the more to the learned world. This laborious task was follow'd by him with such application, that he scarce allow'd himself time to sleep. What a value this great Bishop had both for the art and these two great masters of it, appears from his dedication to Pope
Paul
II. prefix'd to the edition of St.
Jerom
's
Epistles,
which I shall now give the
English
reader a translation of.
"It was, says he, in your days, that among many other divine favours this blessing was bestow'd on the Christian world, that every poor scholar can purchase for himself a library for a small sum,—that those volumes, which heretofore could scarce be bought for an hundred crowns, may now be procur'd for less than twenty, very well printed, and free from those faults with which manuscripts us'd to abound.—for such is the art of our printers and letter-makers, that no antient or modern discovery is comparable to it. Surely the
German
nation deserves our highest esteem, for the invention of the most useful arts. The wish of the noble and divine Cardinal
Cusa,
is now—in your time accomplish'd, who earnestly desir'd that this sacred art, which then seem'd rising in
Germany,
might be brought to
Rome.
Your Pontificate, (glorious in every respect,) will be as immortal as learning it self. In which this art was brought and laid at your Holiness's feet.—It is my chief aim in this epistle to let posterity know, that the art of printing and type-making was brought to
Rome
under
Paul
II. This blessing was certainly confer'd on us by our heavenly Shepherd, that a book is now purchas'd for less than a binding formerly. Receive then, great, generous and glorious Pontif, the first volume of St.
Jerom,
graciously,—and take the excellent masters of this art,
Conrard Sweynheym
and
Arnold Pannarts, Germans,
under your protection,
&c.
"
THUS were these two printers caress'd and encourag'd by most of the men of letters and fortune at
Rome,
and even by the Pope himself, who frequently visited their Printing-house, and examin'd with admiration every branch of this new art; which seem'd design'd to recover learning, and restore that city to its antient lustre. This excited them to approve themselves worthy of all that esteem, which was shew'd them, by publishing a vast number of elegant impressions, some of which were so large that they could not be done without great labor and charges, as will be evident from the list of their works, which they presented to the Pope, of which we shall give an account in its proper place.
WHAT their first impression was, whether
Cicero
's
Familiar Epistles,
or St.
Austin
's book
de Civitate Dei,
is what authors can by no means agree about; that the former was printed at
Rome ann.
1467, with a latin epigram, at the end of which their names are at full length; and on the following year, a new edition of St.
Austin
's book
Anno igitur eodem 1468, opus
Augustini de Civitate Dei
eruditissimum;
Epistolas Hieronymi
disertissimas, cum luminibus orationis tum viribus argumentorum instructas vulgaverunt.—Anno superiore
Tullianas
dederant
Epistolas,
hoc dant
Hieronymianas,
&c.
Annal. Typograph.
p. 44.
is plain beyond contradiction: the dispute therefore seems to be about an edition of it, older by a year; in which the Printer, without either naming himself, or the place in which it was done, contents himself with this colophon in
latin,
MCCCCLXVII,
in the third year of Pope
Paul II,
&c.
from which last words, and the likeness of the character with the
Lactantius
printed at
Subiaco,
and their first impressions at
Rome;
they venture to affirm it to have been printed by them, without deciding whether at
Rome
or any where else.
Orlandi,
the last writer upon the subject, speaks of it as follows,
p.
67
Egli e ancora certissimo che il primo Libro, il quale usci dalle stampe di
Roma,
e sempre stato creduto dagli autori il Sant.
Agostino de c
vitate Deo.
il quale se bene non addita il luogo, ove stampato, ne il nome degl' Impressori, tutta volta e di carettere tondo
Romano,
stampato nel anno terzo di papa
Paolo
II, e nel millesimo. 1467, come si legge in detto libro.
Orleand. origin. della Stamp.
pag. 67.
.
"It is certain that the first work, that came out of their press has been universally believ'd by authors to be St.
Austin
's book
de civitate Dei;
and tho' it mentions neither the name of the place or of the Printer, yet being printed in a round Roman character, and in the
third
year of
Paul
II.
ann.
1467, as may be seen at the end of the said book;"
it cannot but have been done by them; but I think I have two material objections against it: the
first
is, that if they had printed it at
Rome,
they would not have omitted it in their list to the Pope; and if at
Subiaco
or any where else, I cannot see how they could print the
Cicero
at
Rome
in the same year.
Secondly,
tho' the likeness of the character seems to carry some proof, and inclin'd him to believe the edition of
Subiaco
to have been also done by them; yet it is evident by what we hinted in the introduction, that they were so far from being furnish'd with a
Greek
alphabet, that their first works have all the
greek
done upon wood in a very inelegant manner; and that whenever the quotation was above
three
or
four
words, they left a blank space to be fill'd afterwards with the pen; whereas this of
Lactantius
has all the
greek
quotations printed in a beautiful cast letter: and therefore tho' we may allow this edition and that disputed one of St.
Austin
's, to have been done by the same hand, yet it is plain it could not be done by those two
Germans.
If we can believe them, they'll tell us, that they began their first tryal with a less considerable work,
viz. Donatus
's
grammar,
of which they printed only 300 copies: this is plain, both by their putting it at the head of their list, and by their prefacing it with the words
—unde imprimendi initium sumpsimus,
after which they went on with
Concerning these two editions the letter on which they were printed, gave names to two sizes of
Printing-letter; viz.
from
Cicero
's Epistles, that siz'd Letter has been call'd
Cicero
ever since in
Italy, France,
and
Germany,
and answers to our
Pica; Holland
alone calls it
Medi
an:
the other is from St.
Austin
's book, which is call'd
Augustin
in several parts of
Europe,
but with us
English;
but this I shall treat of more largely in the second volume.
Cicero's Epistles,
and the rest of their works without mentioning any edition of St.
Austin
's before the year 1468: the epigram which we mention'd before, to be at the end of both these editions is as follows,
Hoc
Conradus
opus
Sweynheim
ordine miro
Arnoldusque
simul
Pannartz
una oede colendi
Gente Theotonica
Romae
expediere sodales
In domo
Petri de Maximis.
I have already hinted their method of managing the
Greek
quotations, which they follow'd in the first volumes they printed, that is 'till the middle of the year 1469: perhaps were they forc'd to it for want of workmen to cut the
Greek
alphabet; but at length, notwithstanding the neglect of that tongue might have excus'd them from the labour and expence of procuring setts of punches and matrices for Printing in that language, and the difficulty of finding workmen fit for such a task, they surmounted every obstacle of this nature, and form'd a compleat
Greek
alphabet, which they us'd in the edition of
Aulus Gellius.
Concerning this edition the Bishop of
Aleria
speaks thus;
"However, this prov'd a very arduous task at first;—for a great part of the
Latin
was corrupted thro' the negligence of the transcribers; and a much greater part of the
Greek
deprav'd, maim'd, and mutilated. Even that, which remain'd entire, was scarce understood by
Latin
scholars, by reason of their ignorance in
Greek.
Some attempts have been made by persons skill'd in both tongues, to restore this jewell to its former lustre; but they, either discourag'd by the difficulty, or diverted by other affairs, desisted from the undertaking."
Thus writes that learned prelate, who by the assistance of
Theodore Gaza,
a man of great abilities and universal learning, perform'd this admirable work, rectify'd the
Latin
text, and render'd the
Greek
intelligible. This edition was printed
ann.
1469 in a fine character, with the arguments to each book done in red by the illuminators. The quotations, which are long and more frequent, than in any other author, are printed in a fair
Greek
character, considering this kind of printing was but in its infancy; and what is extremely remarkable, they were so correctly printed, that, as we are assur'd by Mr.
Mattaire,
in two whole pages, which contain'd seventy six lines of a considerable length, there were but
fourteen
faults of impression. The place, mention'd by that author, may be seen in
pag.
46 of his
Annales Typogr▪
where he has set down those places, which were wrong printed, in order to convince the world, by the smallness of their number, of the accuracy and diligence of those two Printers.
HE tells us likewise that their
Greek
character was somewhat large, round and even, without accents, ligatures, abbreviations, or any thing that might perplex the reader, except only that sometimes two or more words were join'd together without any space between them; and that the periods had either no full stop, or one in the wrong place; so that a person, not us'd to MSS. was doubtful where the sense ended. To this edition was prefix'd a dedicatory Epistle of the Bishop of
Aleria
to the Pope, wherein he acknowledges the kindness of his Holiness and the Cardinal of
Ostia,
in supplying him with money in his greatest exigencies; and promises to proceed with the utmost industry in furnishing the learned world with new productions from the press. At the end of the book is a copy of verses, suppos'd to be written by the same prelate, in praise of that edition, which are elegant for those times, the reader may find them at length in Mr.
Mattaire's Annals
p. 47. I shall only give a
latin
octastich, which was printed at the end of several of their impressions, in commendation of the printers; wherein the poet apologizes for the harshness of their
German
names, offensive without doubt to an
Italian
ear. They are inserted particularly in the first edition of St.
Jerom
's
Epistles,
and the great work of
Nich. de Lyra
entitled
Glossa ordinaria in universam Bibliam,
5 vol.
fol.
and in several others. The reader will find them in the margin
Aspicis illustres, lector, quicunque libellos,
Si cupis artificum nomina nosse, lege.
Alpera ridebis cognomina Teutona forsan:
Mitiger ars Musis inscia verba virum.
Conradus Sweynheim, Arnoldus, Pannartzque
magistri.
Romae
impresserunt talia multa simul,
Petrus
cum fratre
Francisco Maximus,
ambo
Huic operiaptatam contribuere domum.
. Thus they continued printing without intermission mission for seven years, whilst their patron procur'd 'em all possible assistance, and overlook'd their impressions. This is manifest from the editions of
Tully,
St.
Jerom, Livy, Lucan,
the works of St.
Leo, Ovid, Nicholas de Lyra,
and especially of
Pliny,
with many more; in which the Bishop acquaints the world with the pains, taken by himself and his constant assistant
Theod. Gaza,
in correcting the originals, and presiding over the editions
—Juvit mirifice vir summae eruditionis ac sapientiae
Theodorus
meus
Gaza,
atque ita quidem, ut absque illo nec, pene dixerim, mundus hoc munus fuerit impleturus.
Epist. Dedic. ad Pap
Paul. II. prefix'd to
Pliny.
. For this reason Dr.
Mentel,
mention'd in our first book, affirms him to have been corrector of
Sweynheim's
press, and
Campanus
Bishop of
Teramo,
who was
Ulric Han's
patron, to have perform'd the same office in his
Joannes Andreas
praesul
Aleriensis,
qui in ipsorum libraria taberna
esse non dedignatus est; ut nec
Campanus
in
Uldaric. Mentel. de vera Typograph. origin.
p. 11.
. This is likewise asserted by
Naudé
in his supplement to the history of
Lewis
XI
Rome
fut une des premieres ou la presse roula par le moyen d'un
Uldaricus Gallus,
qui dona sujet a l'eveque
Jo. Campanus,
lequel se rendit correcteur de son imprimere de composer cette epigramme a sa louange, que raporte Faernus.
Addit.
ad Hist.
Lud.
XI, p. 297.
, and divers other writers. But it is questionable whether those excellent persons can properly be call'd correctors, or rather do not deserve the title of authors or editors.
HOWEVER, there is an eminent passage in this Epistle of the Bishop's before
Pliny's
works, which as it demonstrates his care and diligence in his province, ought not to be omitted.
"It was, says he
Irenaeus Lugdunensis
episcopus; item
Justinus
ex philosopho martyr; item cum divo
Hieronymo Eusebius Caesariensis
seram posteritatem adjurarunt, ut eorum descripturi opera conserrent diligenter exemplaria, solerti studio emendarent: idem ego tum in caeteris libris, tum maxime in
Plinto
ut fiat, vehementer obsecro, obtestor, atque adjuro, ne ad priora menda & tenebras inextricabiles tanti sudoris opus relabatur.
, the earnest request of
Ireneus
Bp. of
Lyons;
and of
Justin,
who of a philosopher became a martyr, and likewise of St.
Jerom
and
Eusebius
of
Cesarea,
to the latest posterity, that those, who were to transcribe their works, would diligently compare the copies of them, and carefully correct them: the same request I make now, both with respect to other books, and in particular to
Pliny,
lest that work, which cost so much labour and study, (for he spent above nine whole years in it) should again sink into its former errors and inextricable darkness."
HITHER TO we have seen the flourishing state of this press, which in the space of six or seven years at most,
viz.
from
ann.
1467 to 1472, oblig'd the world with no less than twelve thousand four hundred and seventy five volumes, in eight and twenty editions, some of them very large, and all beautiful and correct; so that if their vast labours and cost had met with suitable success, they must have rais'd a prodigious estate. But, whatever be the cause, 'tis certain that the greatest part of this library remain'd still in their hands for want of buyers; which reduc'd them to the most necessitous circumstances. Father
Orlandi
endeavours to account for this ill-success, by supposing that their impressions, being in Roman character, were dislik'd in those days, because the learned had been so accustom'd to the old Gothick, as not to approve of this new, tho' preferable one. This conjecture seems the more probable upon two accounts; 1. Because several eminent printers were oblig'd to comply with the tast of the age, and use the old character, resembling that of MSS. 2. Most of the first Printers of
Paris, Venice, Rome,
&c. who began with the Roman, were forc'd by degrees to resume the old Gothick, which continu'd till almost the middle of the next century, and prov'd the ruin of many valuable impressions in divers parts of
Europe.
However that be, our two
Germans
under these pressing exigencies had recourse to their great patron, who immediately drew up a petition in their names and behalf to Pope
Xystus
IV, subjoin'd to the fifth volume of
Nich. de Lyra
's
Gloss.
and presented on the 20th of
March
1472. In this he represents their great merit and misery in the most pathetick terms imaginable; gives a catalogue of all the volumes printed by them, the greatest part of which was still unsold; prays his Holiness to consider their deplorable case; and declares their readiness to deliver up the unsold books either to him, or to whomsoever he should command, for their present subsistance. The Bishop, to shew that he was sensibly touch'd with their misfortune, prefaceth the petition in his own name, and requests the Pope to hear the just complaint of his worthy and industrious Printers; and afterwards exposes their circumstances in their own words. As this curious piece has never yet, that I know of, been translated into
English;
I presume the reader will be pleas'd to see it, with the promis'd list of their works, both which they printed with the works
N. de Lyra; Chevillier
tells us he saw it at the beginning of
Tome
5. of that great work. It is as follows,
"
JO. AND.
ad
XYST. IV.
—Ut digneris misericorditer occurrere, servuli tuae sanctitatis
Conradus Swyenheim
&
Arnoldus Panna
impressores nostri ac utilissimae hujus fictoriae artis primi in
Ital
opifices implorant.—Vox impressorum sub tanto chartarum fasce laborantium, &, nisi tualiberalitas opituletur, deficientium ista est.—Nos de
Germanis
primi, tanti commodi artem in
Romanam
curiam tuam multo sudore & impensa decessoris tui tempestate deveximus. Nos opifices librarios caeteros, ut idem auderent, nostro exemplo incitavimus—Indicem si perlegeris impressorum a nobis operum, miraberis—vel chartas huic librorum copiae potuisse vel lineamenta sufficere—Impressi sunt nostro studio libri, qui in subjectis suo ordine tibi recensebuntur.
1. Donatus pro puerulis, ut inde principium dicendi sumamus, unde imprimendi initium sumpsimus,
without date.
CCC.
2. Lactantii Firm. Institutionum divinarum lib. vii.
Anno
1468
DCC XXV.
3. M. Tull. Cicer. Epistolae familiares
1467
DL.
4. M. T. Cicer. Epistolae ad Atticum
1470
CC LXXV.
5. Roderic episcop Zamorensis Speculum vitae humanae
1468
CCC.
6. D. August. de civitate Dei
1468
DCCC XXV.
7. D. Hieronymi epistolae, vol. II
1468
M C.
8. M. T. Cicero de oratore cum caeteris,
without date
D L.
9. M. T. Cicer. pars libelli de philosophia
1471
D L.
10. L. Apuleius Platonicus cum Alcinoo
1469
CC LXXV.
11. Auli Gellii noctium Atticarum lib.
1469
CC LXXV.
12. C. Caesaris Commentaria
1469
CC LXXV.
13. Divi Platonis defensio,
without date
CCC.
14. P. Virgil. Maron opera omnia,
without date
D L.
15. T. Livius Patavinus cum Epitome decadum,
without date
CC LXXV.
16. Strabonis Geographia,
without date
CC LXXV.
17. M. Annaeus Lucanus
1466
CC LXXV.
18. C. Plinii Veronens. Natur. histor
1470
CC C.
19. C. Suetonius Tranquillus de xii Caesar.
1470
CC LXXV.
20. Div. Leonis Pap. sermones
1470
CCLXXV.
21. M. Fab Quintilian. Institution. Oratoriar.
1470
CC LXXV.
22. D. Thom. Aquin. Continuum catenae aureae,
without date
D L.
23. D. Cypriani Epistolae
1471
CC LXXV.
24. Biblia cum Opusculo Aristeae
1471
D L.
25. Silius Italicus cum Calphurnio & Hesiodo
1471
CC LXXV.
26. M. T. Orationes cum invectivis in Verrem,
&c.
1471
CC LXXV.
27. P. Ovid. Nason. opera omnia, 2 vol.
1471
D L
28. Nichol. de Lyra. Glossa in tot. Bibl. 5 vol.1471
1472
M C.
JO. ANDR. to XYSTUS IV.
—Your Holiness's humble petitioners
Conrard Sweynheim
and
Arnold Pannartz,
our printers and the first artificers, who practis'd this most useful invention in
Italy,
implore your assistance.—This is the voice of those printers, who labour under such a load of printed volumes, that they must sink under it, unless timely reliev'd by you.—We were the first of the
Germans,
who introduc'd this excellent art, with vast labour and cost, into your territories, in the time of your predecessor; and encourag'd, by our example, other printers to do the same. If you peruse the catalogue of the works printed by us, you will admire how and where we could procure a sufficient quantity of paper, or even rags, for such a number of volumes.—The books, done by us, are subjoin'd in the following order."
THE list of those books consisting entirely of
Latin,
I have put them with the original of the petition in the margin, and have added the date of the year wherein each was printed, as far as it could be procur'd, there being none in the catalogue. The order of time is not observ'd, but only the number of copies of each. We may likewise infer what book were then most esteem'd, not upon the account of their authors, but of their usefulness, by the proportionate number printed of them. The petition thus proceeds.
"THE total of these volumes amounts to twelve thousand four hundred seventy five, a prodigious heap, and intolerable to us, your Holiness's printers, by reason of those unsold.—We are no longer able to bear the great expence of house-keeping for want of buyers; of which there cannot be a more flagrant proof, than that our house, otherwise spatious enough, is full of
Quire-books,
but void of every necessary of life:—we are ready, if your goodness shall judge it
Horum omnium voluminum summa—efficit codices duodecies mille
uadringentos septuaginta quinque; acervum quidem ingentem, & nobis impressoribus tuis qua parte restat, intolerabilem—ingens sumptus ad victum necessarius, cessantib
s emptoribus ferri amplius a nobis nequit; & ementes non esse nullum est gravius testimonium, quam quod domus nostra satis magna plena est quinternionum, inanis rerum necessariarum—parati sumus pro clementiae tuae arbitrio de nostra merce
i. e.
de impressis quinternionibus nostris tibi tot tradere, quot volue
is, & quibus volueris.—Tua incredibilis mansuetudo subveniat nobis de aliquo officio, unde possimus nos & nostros alere. Impensa est facta in solius
Nicolai de Lyra
a nobis voluminibus tanta, ut amplius nihil nobis supersit ad vivendum. Si venderemus opera nostra, non solum a pietate tua nihil peteremus, sed ultro in praesentium temporum articulo, in quo te plurimum egere non nescimus, ipsi nostra offerremus; faciemusque quo
iens tuo adjumento fortuna nobiscum usa esse videbitur fronte sereniore Interea, Pater Sancte, adjuvent nos miserationes tuae, quia pauperes facti sumus nimis—xx
Mart
s
CCCCLXXII, Pontificatus tui Clementissimi anno primo.
meet, to deliver up as much of our wares,
i. e.
print
d sheets, as you please, to your self, or to whom you shall order.—We therefore beseech your great Clemency to bestow some place upon us, whereby we may be enabled to maintain our selves and families. The impression of
Nicol. de Lyra
's works hath prov'd so chargeable, that we have nothing left to live upon. Could we sell our books, we should be so far from desiring any thing at your hands, that on the contrary we should willingly contribute of our own to you, whose exigencies at this juncture we are well acquainted with; and this shall readily be perform'd, whenever fortune, by your assistance, shall smile upon us. In the mean time, let your Holiness pity and help us, whose necessity is so exceeding great.
—March
xx,
ann.
MCCCCLXXII, and in the first year of your most gracious pontificate."
THUS were these indigent persons oblig'd to expose their misery to the world; with what success, I cannot learn: tho' it is evident from their printing a considerable time after, as shall be shewn, that some method must have been taken to extricate them from those wretched circumstances.
Sweynheim
indeed publish'd nothing after the year 1473, and for that reason is suppos'd by some to have dy'd about that time; yet his partner
Pannartz
continu'd printing till
ann.
1476, in a smaller character than what was us'd by him in company with the former. It will not perhaps be amiss to remark that the word
quinternio
in the petition, translated by us
Quire-books,
signifies a quire of five sheets so impos'd, that they are put into one another by the book-binder, and the
first
sheet contains the
first
and
last
of the 10 leaves, the
second
the 2d and 9th,
&c.
this method oblig'd 'em to compose
twenty
whole pages of matter, before they work'd it off at press; and requir'd a prodigious quantity of letter to every Font. All the editions of these two partners as yet known, from their first settlement at
Rome, ann.
1467 to 1473 in which
Sweynheim
is thought to have dy'd, are 40 in number, all folio's and in
latin;
some of them pretty considerable, such were their Bible of 1471 mention'd in the former book in two large volumes, and
Nicol. de Lyra
in five larger ones; the works of Pope
Leo
sirnam'd the Great,
&c.
As for those which
Pannartz
printed afterwards by himself, we have not been able to discover above six, all
latin
folio's, but none so considerable as the three last named: he began to use the
Registrum Chartarum
(which is the signatures plac'd at the end of the book thus, A B C D,
&c.
and so on for as many sheets as the book contains) in his edition of
Herodotus
translated by
Laurent. Valla,
and printed
ann.
1475; his latter works are done in a very elegant character; the last of which is the
Quaestiones de Veritate
of
Thom-Aquinas.
It must be observ'd that many of these editions are printed without date, and sometimes without their names, but most of them have one or the other of the Epigrams mention'd before
viz. Hoc Conradus opus
&c. or
Aspicis illustres,
&c. but oftener the latter.
THESE are all the particulars I could meet with concerning these two Printers. The next in rank is,
ULDRIC HAN ann.
MCCCCLXVIII.
ULDRIC HAN is commonly call'd in
Latin, Gallus,
in
Italian Gallo,
and in
French Coq,
which signifies a
Cock;
for every writer upon this subject, has thought fit to translate his name into that language in which he wrote. This Printer came and set up a Printing-press at
Rome
within a very short space after
Sweynheim
and
Pannartz.
He was a person so accomplish'd in his art, that several nations have claim'd him, and in particular the
Germans
and
French.
These latter grounded their pretences upon the following authority.
Anthony Campanus
bishop of
Terumo,
the most distinguish'd poet and orator of his time, perform'd the same office to him, which the bishop of
Aleria
did to the two
Germans, viz.
of preparing and correcting his copies, revising his editions, and writing epistles and commendatory verses upon them. He observing that
Han
had latiniz'd his name, and subscrib'd one or two of his impressions
Uldaricus Gallus,
particularly the edition of the universal history of
Rodoricus Santius
a
Spaniard,
whom Pope
Paul
II made governour of the castle of St
Angelo
and bishop of
Palentino,
took occasion to mistake his name willfully, (for he could not possibly be ignorant of his being a
German,)
and to represent him as a
Frenchman,
not so much out of respect to that nation above the
Germans,
as for the sake of a pun in his epigram, which you will find in the margin
Anser
Ta
p
i
custos Jovis unde quo
n
is
Constreperes,
decidit▪
.
Uldricus Gallus:
ne quem poscantur in usum.
ocui
pennis nil opus esse tuis.
. The witticism consists chiefly in this, that the
Gauls
or
French
being discover'd by the noise of the geese one night in their attempt to surprize the
Roman
Capitol, a countryman of theirs had found out a way to be reveng'd of them, by teaching the world an art of writing without the help of their quills. These verses are annex'd to an edition of
T. Livy
by
U. Han
without date, and quoted by several authors.
MICH. FERNUS in his life of that Bishop tells us, that he learn'd this epigram of a
Turk,
whom he met with in a journey to the Pope's territories; and who gave him account of his conversion to the christian religion, and his early love of eloquence, which induc'd him to leave
Turky
and come to
Rome,
to see the famous
Paul
II. and
Campanus,
whose works he had carefully collected; and amongst other things recited this epigram. However, 'tis evident that he was a
German
by his adding the name of his country to that of
Gallus
in several of his editions. Thus, in that of
Cicero de Oratore, ann.
1468. he calls himself
Ulricum Gallum de Wienâ;
in St
Austin de civitate Dei ann.
1474,
Ulricum Gallum Almanum;
in some others
Ulricum Gallum de Bienna
&
de Ingolstat. Wimpheling
undertook to prove him a
German
against
Fernus,
who in his life of
Campanus
chang'd
Gallus
into
Gallicus
to make him an absolute
Frenchman,
and ascrib'd this mistake to his having translated his name into
latin;
which, as
Hermolaus Barbarus
asserts, ought never to be done. But in this he did no more than what was frequent among the
Germans
and others, who to soften the harshness of their sirnames, either alter'd or latiniz'd them; so
Fust
chang'd his into
Faustus, Schoeffer
into
Opilio, Leichtenstein
into
Levi lapis, des Rouges
into
de Rubeis,
and the learned
Stephens
into
Stephanus;
which custom still prevails in foreign parts: and the famous Mons.
le Clerc
of
Amsterdam,
stiles himself
Joan. Clericus
in all his
latin
works. To return to
Ulric IIan.
THE time of his first coming to
Rome
is not easily determin'd. Some affirm that he was settled there before
Sweynheim
and
Pannartz,
as
Wimpheling, Mons. Naude,
and Dr.
Mentel;
but this seems improbable upon two accounts. 1. Because we have no edition of his so ancient as those of the two last nam'd; 2. Because the Bp. of
Aleria,
who was the editor of all the first impressions of these, determines in their favour; and his testimony is of much greater weight in this case, than that of those writers. He attributes
the honour to
Sweynheim,
&c. of having founded the first Printing-house at
Rome,
and brought the Art from
Germany,
in the preceding Popes reign, and by their example encourag'd others to do the like;
as he speaks in the petition to
Xystus
IV, above quoted. Now
Xystus
's predecessor was
Paul
II, who was advanc'd to that dignity in
August
1464; and in his days they came to
Rome.
If
Campanus,
the patron of
Ulric,
had known of his settling there before them, he would certainly have contradicted the Bp. of
Aleria,
and maintain'd the priority to the man, who, under his protection, prov'd so indefatigable in his business, that himself was engag'd night and day in revising his works
Cum
Uldricus
quidam
Gall
qui formas in urbein literarias nuper intulisset, illum interquiescere assiduis emen ationibus non permitteret, remque literariam ex magnis dissicultatibus inopiaque ad ingentem ubertatem gloriosissimo illo & divino opificio evocaret,
&c. Fern. in Vita Campani.
. The merit of this Printer appears from his fine impressions, and the choice that his patron made of him to publish those works, which he had procur'd and corrected with the utmost application, as well as from the praises, which he gives him in his prefatory epistles and verses. We find by the list of his books, that he frequently neglected the date of the impression and his own name. The former defect is supplied, as far as possible, from some material circumstances, either in the epistles affix'd to them, or elsewhere in the book; and the latter by a diligent comparing of one edition with another; for there is some peculiar difference between the characters of the first Printers, by which a nice observer may judge of the author.
THUS Mr.
Mattaire
remarks that the types of
Con. Sweynheim
and
Arn. Pannartz,
were easily known by their having a long
s
at the end of words, the
i
without a point, and no diphthongs: those of
Nic. Jenson
were much more round and neat, with the diphthongs, ae and oe; whereas
Jo. Spires
made use of e for ae, and
Ulric Han
uses a single
e
instead of a diphthong.
ABOUT 1473,
Han
took
Simon Nicolai de Luca
into partnership with him till the end of the year 1474, after which he printed by himself till 1476. There was also a brother of his, call'd
Lupus Han,
whose name stands alone in some of those impressions, which are nevertheless allow'd to be
Ulric's
by reason of the likeness of the character
&c.
and added to the list of his works by the two latest annalists, Mr.
Maittaire
and Father
Orlandi.
He affected to put at the end of some of his editions, the colophon of
John Faust
and
Peter Schoeffer. Non atramento, plumali calamo,
&c.
i. e.
that it was not done with pen, ink, or any other writing instrument,
&c.
ANN. 1473 he began to print a register in two columns at the end of his
Virgil:
all his other editions, as yet known, are 21 in number, the first of which is
Cicero de Oratore
in 3 books
ann.
1468, the last
Til
Livy
in
Italian
1476: this last is in three volumes
fol.
the 2d of which has an error in its date, where they have printed 1460 instead of 1476. This work has not indeed his name, but those who have seen it make no doubt but it was printed by him.
THE two
Germans
had reason to tell the Pope in their petition, that their example had encourag'd many more Printers to come and settle at
Rome,
seeing we find no less than
thirteen,
who practis'd the same Art there between 1470 and 1490, besides the brother of
Uldric Han,
and his partner
Simon de Luca;
and
eight
or
nine
of whom were actually settled there within a few years after the two former; but as we have nothing left particularly concerning them, except their names and their works, we shall just mention them as they came in course of time.
4. GEORGE LAVFR
de Herbipoli
1470
alias Wortsburg,
he wrought in the Monastery of St.
Eusebius
at
Rome,
as we find by an epigram of eight verses in
latin
rhyme written, as is suppos'd, by his corrector
Celestine Pulverinus;
and printed at the end of his edition of
Tractatus de Institutione simplicium Confessorum, ann.
1472; he had a partner some space of the time,
viz. Leonard Pelugi;
we have but
five
editions of his; the
first
is that of St.
Chrysostom
's homilies, translated into
latin
by
Fr. Aretine, sol. ann.
1470; the
last
is
Durandi Speculum, ann.
1479; he had another corrector nam'd
Pomponius.
5. ADAM ROT 1471, he us'd likewise
Faust
's colophon, and in the first of the two editions we have of him, styles himself
Clericus Metens. Dioces.
his last edi
ion is dated 1474.
6. JOHN PHILIP
de Lignamine
1472, he was a native of
Messina
and a
Sicilian
knight, and intimate with Pope
Sixtus
IV, to whom he inscrib'd a book of his writing,
De unoquoque Cibo & Potu utili homini & nocivo, & eorum primis qualitalibus. Malinkrot
mentions him
pag.
84 upon the authority of
Simler,
which last affirms him to have printed the following works at
Rome, viz. Quintilian, Suetonius,
the works of St.
Leo, Lactantius,
St.
Ambrose, Tully's Offices, Laur. Valla
's
Elegantiae,
and
Horatii opuscula:
but we find none of these editions in the list of his works, but only four less considerable ones, the
three
first in
Italian,
and the last,
Eusebius
's history translated into
Latin
by
Rufinus,
and printed
ann.
1476.
7. STEPHEN PLANCK of
Padua
1472, we have
eight
editions of his, the last of which is dated 1497.
8. GEORGE SACHEL
de Reichenhalt,
1474; his last edition of
three
is dated 1477.
9. JOHN REYNARD
de Eningen,
1475; we have but one edition of his printed at
Rome, ann.
1475, 14 years after which, we find him printing at
Strasburgh.
10. JOHN
de Nicolao Haneymar de Openheim, 1475,
11. JOHN SCHUSENER
de Bopardia,
1475,
we have but two editions of theirs, both dated 1475.
12. JOHN TIBULL
de Amidanis Cremonese,
1475; the two editions we have of his bear the same date.
13. EUCHARIUS SILBER OF WIRTZBURGH, 1475.
THIS
Silber,
alias
Franck,
a
German
and native of
Wirtzburgh,
signaliz'd himself at
Rome
by the fineness of his letter, which were of the
Venetian
sort. He set up his Printing-house in
Campo di Fiore;
and not only translated his name
Silber [Silver]
into
latin,
but likewise into
greek;
so that some of his editions are subscrib'd
Achirion
and
Argyrion,
others
Argenteus,
added to that of
Franck.
The works we have of his are
twenty one
in number, from
ann.
1475 to 1500: however he continued printing there many years after, but either the greatest part of these last have been lost, or else he printed but little, since we meet only with two editions of his from 1500 to 1509, in Mr.
Mattaire
's annals.
HIS correctors were
Michael Fern
sirnam'd
Archipoeta, Bartholomeus Salicetus,
and
Ludovicus Regii;
the first of whom collected with prodigious industry all bishop
Campanus
's works, which he caus'd to be printed in two different places within
six
months of each other,
viz.
at
Venice
and
Rome,
in the order in which he had digested them. These impressions were printed so incorrectly, that he was oblig'd to insert an
Errata
in
Silber
's edition; wherein he expresses a vast deal of indignation, that a work, in which he had labour'd so much, should yet be publish'd so full of faults; and gives it the following title,
Vis ex stulto demens, idemque ex demente insanus fieri? Libros
Romae
primus imprime, Corruptorum recognitio.
After this he proceeds to the
Errata,
with an acknowledgement of his own errors, and endeavours to clear the Printers of others. He shows the care which he had taken to render the edition correct; but that his efforts were frustrated by the carelessness of the Printers, who, being tir'd with a days labour, correct their proofs imperfectly, and frequently neglect or omit the author's corrections.
IN the sequel of this history we shall have occasion to mention some
Errata's
of a much greater length than the foregoing, which
Fern
complains so loudly of, tho' this contain'd four large pages in
fol.
The two last Printers in this city before 1500 are:
14. SIMON
de Nicolo
of
Luca
1478, who had been sometime partner to the fam'd
Uldric Han,
and of whom we have but one edition. And,
15. PETER
de Turre, ann.
1490, in which year he printed
Ptolemy
's
Cosmography
in a large
folio
with maps and cutts, and in a beautiful character,
[Orland.
p. 79.] which is all that we have of his. We find about twenty more editions without Printer's names; however the reader will easily see by this list of Printers, and the scarcity of their works, that the Art began to dwindle very much before the close of the century; and if he consults Mr.
Mattaire
upon the next, he will find it still much thinner of both; but whether for want of encouragement, or what other cause, is not my business to enquire.
§. 2. The City of
Tours,
1467.
TOURS is an Archiepiscopal city of
France;
in which we meet with but one book printed. This, 'tho done in an old
Gothick
character, (which was not as yet us'd in any place but
Mentz)
is so elegant, that it may be esteem'd a master-piece of that kind. 'Tis to be regretted, that the Printer of such an excellent work should be unknown. The impression was done in the Archbishop's palace; but if the reader upon that account, shall expect it to be a piece of devotion, he will be vastly mistaken; for it is not unusual with ecclesiasticks of the most elevated stations in that church, to have a greater relish for gallantry than religion. The book is the loves of
Camillus
and
Emilia;
to which is subjoin'd another upon the same subject, translated from
Boccacio
by
Aretin,
and is inscrib'd as follows.
FRANCISCI FLORII
Florentini
de Amore
Camilli
&
Aemiliae
liber,
expletus est Turonis, editus in domo Guillelmi Archiepiscopi Turonensis, anno millesimo quadringentesimo sexagesimo septimo, pridie calendas Januarii,
4to. De duobus Amantibus Libellus in latinum, ex
Boccacio,
transfiguratus per
Leonardum Aretinum.
This book is join'd to the former, and printed in the same character and form.
THE following book was printed in the same city a long time after▪
viz.
La vie & miracles de monseigneur St.
Martin
translatee de Latin en Francois:
imprimee par Mathieu Lateron, fol. 7me de May, Tours.
1496.
N. B.
Tho' we design to treat in a distinct book of the introduction and progress of Printing in
England;
yet it is not amiss to remark here, that
Oxford
comes next in course to the city of
Tours,
according to our premis'd criterion of the oldest editions; for the most ancient impression printed in that university, is St.
Jerome's
exposition of the apostles creed 4to, bearing date
ann. 1468, a copy of which is now in the Earl of
Pembroke
's library.
§. 3. The Town of
Reutlingen,
1469.
THIS town of
Reutlingen,
and the city of
Venice
are next; the former of which being nearer to
Mentz,
may so far be allow'd the first rank: It is a small town in the dutchy of
Wirtembergh,
in which
John de Averbach
set up a Printing-house
ann.
1466, and publish'd the two following editions;
1. BIBLIA Latina,
fol.
per
Johannem de Averbach,
1469.
2. ALVARI Pelagii Hispani ordin. min. summa de planctu ecclesiae Christianae,
Reutlingae.
1474.
THIS is a very scarce book, and has not the Printer's name, but is nevertheless suppos'd to have been printed by
Averbach:
It is in
fol.
and the next edition of it was printed at
Ulm
ann. 1473. This
John Averbach
must not be confounded with the learned
J. Amerbach
of
Basil,
of whom we shall speak in its proper place.
CHAP. III. The City of
Venice, 1469;
the Names, Character, &c. of the Printers who flourish'd in this City from
ann. 1469,
to
Aldus Manutius
's Time,
1494
AS the city of
Venice
has excelled all others, not only in the number of workmen and editions, but likewise in the goodness and excellency of them, I shall be forc'd to divide it into two chapters; in the first of which I shall speak of those Printers who flourish'd from its first settlement there by
John
and
Vindelin de Spira,
to the time of the great
Aldus Manutius,
whose merit alone will very well deserve to be spoken of in a chapter by it self, tho' there were no others to bear him company in it.
WITH respect to those first Printers, 'twill be superfluous to repeat here what I have said, in the introduction of this book, concerning
Nich. Jenson,
and the reasons for suspending my judgment concerning his edition of 1461, and allowing the priority to the foregoing cities before that of
Venice.
There will be further occasion of speaking of that Printer, when we shall come to thoseother works of his, printed between the years 1470 and 1480. In the mean time I beg leave to remind the reader of the remark upon this head, which we just hinted in the introduction,
viz.
that the verses at the end of the first impression by
John
and
Windelin
of
Spire ann.
1469, evidently prove them to have been the first who brought the Art to that city. The reader will find them in the margin
Primus in Adriaca formis impressit aenis
Urbe libros
Spira
genitus de stirpe
Johannes.
In reliquis sit quanta, vides, spes, lector, habenda,
Quam labor hic primus calami superaverit artem. MCCCCLXVIIII.
. Mr.
Mattaire
who hath a particular regard for his countryman
Jenson,
and first discover'd to the world the edition in dispute, very justly intimates, that there was such an emulation among the first Printers, that they made no scruple of claiming the priority from each other, right or wrong; either by false dates, as we hinted before, or by pompous verses annex'd to their works; from which he infers a probability that these two brothers might do so: whereas
Jenson,
in his opinion was too modest, to have been guilty of such a piece of arrogance. For my part I can't see any necessity of accusing either side of such a fault, seeing they never charg'd each other with it; besides
Jenson
in all probability printed his book somewhere else, and therefore might indeed be too modest when he came to
Venice,
to challenge the priority from them as to that place in particular. However, as to the point of modesty, I own I am at a loss to what side to give it, seeing all the first impressions, both of
Jenson
and of the two brothers, are back'd with epigrams equally magnificent, and I don't see where there would have been the least immodesty in either to have ascertain'd a just claim, against an unjust assuming rival. Let me add, that (if there was any wilfull mistake on either side, which I think there was not) it is more probable
Jenson
should have committed it, than the two brothers; because he might easily, if there was occasion, excuse it by making his date pass for an error of impression; whereas the two
Germans
publish'd themselves, in words at length and in the plainest terms, the first Printers at
Venice,
and so left no room for evasion. I shall therefore begin with them, who were not inferior to
Jenson
himself.
JOHN and VINDELINE of SPIRE, 1469.
THEY were natives of
Germany,
but whether of the city of
Spire,
whose name they bear, or whether that was only their sirname, I cannot determine; for tho' some of the epigrams annex'd to their books seem to imply the former, yet it is difficult to affirm certainly that it was not a poetical licence, which, in this case, might have been more excusable than that of
Campanus
upon
Ulric Han,
mention'd in the preceding chapter. However, 'tis plain that many of the
German
Printers had no other sirnames than those of the places wherein they were born.
THESE two brothers soon surpass'd all their predecessors in the beauty and neatness of their characters, and the elegance of their impressions, which to this time render them admir'd and esteem'd by the curious, above all other ancient editions.
Venice
by this gain'd so much reputation for the fineness of her types, that some eminent Printers at
Rome
and elsewhere either furnish'd themselves with setts of them, or endeavour'd to imitate them, acquainting their readers in their next impressions, that they were printed
characteribus Venetianis,
with
Venetian
types.
Chevillier
indeed thinks this to have been an imposition upon the world; nor can it be denied but that some of them pretended this, in order to recommend their own wretched performances. But this demonstrates the superior merit of that city, and the laudable emulation of her Printers, not only to excell those of other places, but even one another. And indeed these two brothers with
John de Cologn
and
N. Jenson,
seem to have brought the Art to its utmost perfection, because none of the most famous Printers which succeeded till our time, such as
Vascosan,
the
Stephens
's, &c. have surpass'd them in this respect; as well as because this, like other arts, seem'd obnoxious to a certain fatality and decline, when carried to a particular height, as it happen'd in the space of
six
or
seven
years after their first settlement at
Venice.
What I mean is, that they should so unaccountably suffer themselves to be carry'd away by the degenerate taste of that age, and change their beautiful Roman character, for the old, obsolete and disagreeable Gothick, which they began to print with about the year 1477.
THE
Spires
had the two following learned men for their correctors,
viz. Christopher Berardus
of
Pisauro,
and
George Alexandrinus; John,
the elder brother, is reported to be the first who put the direction-word at the end of the page, and that upon good grounds, since no book, to our knowledge, before his
Tacitus,
hath it; the singular use of which is too obvious to want explanation. He liv'd no longer than to the year 1470, and was succeeded in the whole business by
Windelin,
who manag'd it with great applause by himself 'till 1472, in which year he took
John de Cologn
into partnership with him. We find but one book,
viz. Plautus,
printed by them joyntly; so that it is probable each of them return'd soon after to his separate press. This
Windelin
was so highly esteem'd as a Printer even by his own countrymen, (a thing very uncommon!) that he was twice invited into
Germany
by some eminent counsellors at law of that nation, to print there the following considerable volumes,
viz.
1.
Bartholi commentarium juridicum,
which he perform'd
ann.
1471, without the name of the place, adding only two verses inserted in the margin
Hos
Windelinus
clara virtute magister Transcripsit; celeri formula pressa pede.
Mait
aire Annal. Typogr
p. 94, sub not. (b)
; and 2. The commentaries upon the five books of
Decretals
of
Nic. Tudeschi
of
Sicily,
sirnam'd
Abbas Panormitanus, ann.
1474
Vita Orlandi
pag. 19.
; he printed likewise in
Germany,
about the same time, the first edition of the
Tractatus Tractatuum
sive
Oceanus Juris
15 vol.
fol.
But as he had engag'd himself, presently after his brother's death, not to leave
Venice,
(as appears by the verses at the end of St.
Austin de civitate Dei, ann.
1470
Qui docuit
Venetos
exscribi posse
Johannes
Mense fere trino centena volumina
Plini,
Et totidem magni
Ciceronis Spira
libellos;
Coeperat
Aureli,
subita sed morte peremptus
Non potuit coeptum
Venetis
finite volumen.
Vindelinus
adest ejusdem frater, & arte
Non minor:
Adriacaque
morabitur urbe.
begun, but not finish'd by his brother,) he return'd thither, and continued printing with prodigious honour till the year 1477, wherein he began to fall in with the Gothick character beforemention'd. In this he was followed by all the rest, and even by the celebrated
Nic. Jenson,
tho' this last still preserv'd the beauty and neatness of his forms, which the others very much degenerated from. About this time
Windelin
probably dy'd, because we meet with no impression of his that bears a date later than 1477. Such was the esteem the learned had of this excellent Printer, that of
twenty eight
impressions we have extant of his, above
twenty
of them have a
latin
epigram at the end in praise of him; some of which are of a considerable length, and most of them by different hands. The first edition is that of
Cicero
's
Epistolae familiares, ann.
1469; the last we know of with a date, is
Dante
's
Poems, ann.
1477; some of his editions are without date.
3. NICHOLAS JENSON, JANSON or GENSON, 1470.
NICH. JENSON is allow'd by the generality of writers to have been a Frenchman; and as he was one of the first of that nation, who was eminent in this Art, all his countrymen have been more than ordinarily lavish of their praises on him; so that whoever reads some of their encomiums, would be apt to think him the only Printer of merit in that age, and that there had never been any edition worth their consideration, 'till it came out of his press; and this they did, even before they so much as dreamt of that early master-piece of his, the
Decor Puellarum:
we need not therefore wonder at Mr.
Mattaire,
if we find him so highly pleas'd at the discovery of this singular work; for it must be own'd, that unless we will dispute the date of it, the highest encomiums must fall short of his merit; since it will plainly follow, that he was not only the earliest by some years, who improv'd the Art, but likewise who brought it to its greatest perfection, with respect to the fineness of his Roman characters, and elegancy of composition. Whereas were the supposition of those, who think it antedated by
ten
years, to be allow'd, it will be manifest that there had already been several eminent Printers at
Rome, Venice,
and elsewhere before him, who introduc'd that noble and elegant character; and that tho' his should be allow'd to be somewhat finer than those of his predecessors, yet would his merit be inferior to theirs, and his improvement upon them be but small in comparison of that, which they made upon the old
Moguntine
types. However that be, I acknowledge with the greatest freedom and sincerity, that he was an excellent master of the Art, and his impressions as beautiful, and, for the last
ten
years space, wherein he follow'd the business, as numerous as any of his contemporaries.
Polydore Vergil
highly commends him for having so wonderfully improv'd the Art of Printing, and
Sabellicus
owns, that he and his partner
John de Cologn,
excell'd all the Printers of their time, in the richness and elegancy of their impressions
Sed omnium maxime opibus & eleganti literarum forma multum caeteros antecelluerunt
Nicholates Jenson
&
Johannes Coloniensis: Sabellic.
Enead. 10. l 6.
. The learned
Omnibonus Leonicenus,
who prepar'd copies for him, and corrected some of his editions, hath, in an epistle to the bishop of
Belluno,
left us an excellent character of him, prefix'd to his
Quintilian anno
1471
Accedebant justae preces magistri Nicolai Jenson Gallici, alterius, ut vere dicam, Daedali, qui librariae artis mirabilis inventor, non ut scribantur calamo libri, sed vesuti gemma imprimantur, ac prope sigillo, primus omnium ingeniose monstravit: ut huic viro, qui de re literaria tam bene meruit, nemo sit qui non favere debeat. Idcirco non difficulter impetravit, ut non solum hoc opus, verum etiam utramque Ciceronis artem corrigerem.
. wherein he extols his types, and mentions him as a second
Daedalus,
and as one to whom the greatest share of this invention was due.
THE learned therefore are very justly surpriz'd, that so excellent a master and so great an ornament to the Art of Printing should be the first who brought the Gothic character to
Venice,
in which he printed his bibles, divinity, and law-books. This method was follow'd by all his brethren, both in that city, and in several others of
Europe;
tho' it must be own'd that he far surpass'd the rest even in that respect, and show'd a more exact taste and judgment; for his Gothic types had all the beauty and elegancy, which they were capable of, and may be still read with pleasure and admiration.
I don't find that he had any other corrector besides
Omnibon. Leonicenus
above-mention'd, if we except
Franciscus Colutia Verzinensis,
who in his dedication prefix'd to the work of
Palladius de Agricultura,
of which he was the editor, tells
Jenson
to whom he dedicates it, that it was at his desire that he had undertaken to correct that work. By this it seems as if
Jenson
was the first printer who had any of his impressions dedicated to himself. Most of his works, like those of the two
German
brothers, have a
latin
epigram at the end in praise of him; but, what is remarkable, not one of them speaks of him as the first
Venetian
Printer, which circumstance alone would be sufficient to justify us for postponing him to them. We meet with four of his editions printed in one year,
viz.
1470, which shews him to have been a very diligent work-man. And in the space of ten years, we have thirty-nine of them, still extant; exclusive of the
Decor Puellarum,
besides those which may have been lost, or are still undiscover'd. The first edition printed by him in
Gothic
character, is St
Austin
's book
de Civitate Dei, anno
1475. the two last of his works are dated 1481.
4. CHRISTOPHER WALDARFER of RATISBON, 1470.
CONCERNING this Printer we know little, except that we have four of his editions still extant corrected by
Ludovicus Carbo
or
Carbone:
the
third
of which
viz. Servius Comment.
on
Virgil
fol.
anno
1471, has an epigram of
four latin
distichs in his praise, by which we may guess that he printed a great many more works than these
four,
especially
Classicks.
The last of them,
viz. Pliny's Epistles,
hath neither the name of the Printer nor place; but by a dedication prefix'd to it by the said
Carbo
to
Borso
duke of
Modena,
one may conclude it to have been done by
Waldarfer.
He remov'd from
Venice
soon after, and set up a Printing-house at
Milan,
where we shall find him, when we come to that place.
5, 6. JOHN de COLOGN, & JOHN MANTHEN de GERETZEN. 1471.
THESE two
Germans
came and settled at
Venice,
soon after the two
Spires,
and were equal to any of their contemporaries, in the beauty of their Roman types, the fineness of their paper, and elegance and correctness of their works. But they likewise gave into the Gothic way of printing; and it is observable that
Venice
and
Lyons
have produc'd more of those impressions, than almost all
Italy
and
France
together. Whether these Printers were more modest than their brethren, is uncertain; but, however, in the list of their editions, we meet with none of those pompous epigrams and panegyricks upon themselves, so frequently us'd at that time. They took
Nic. Jenson
into partnership with them, towards the later part of their printing.
John de Cologn
is affirm'd by some to have invented the
Registrum Chartarum
about
anno
1475; but it is obvious to the reader, from the catalogue of
Uldric Han
's works at
Rome,
that the latter us'd it at least two years before him.
THERE is one thing remarkable in one of their colophons, at the end of their editions of
Valerius Maximus, fol. anno.
1474; and which, for that reason, I have subjoyn'd in the margin
Venetiis impressoribus expositus fuit per
Joh. de Cologn. Agrippin.
ac
Joh. Manthen de Gherretsteim,
MCCCCLXXIV, qui una fideliter viventes, eosdem impressores ad hoc duxerunt.
: that they were rather book-sellers than Printers: because they acquaint the readers in it, that they had given this work to be printed by men hir'd for that purpose. We shall meet with many more in the sequel of this history, who follow'd their example.
HOWEVER it must be own'd, that all the works that came out of their press, or were printed for them, are an honour to them: the last list of their editions according to father
Orlandi
amounts to 28, from
ann.
1471 to 1481.
As we know little or nothing concerning the following ones, besides their names and their works; we shall just mention them in their rank, according to the date of the works we have of them.
7. ANTONY BOLOGNESE, or
Antonio de Bartolomeo, de Bolonia,
1472. we have
five
editions of his from 1472, to 1486.
8. LEONARD ACHATES of
Basil,
1472. 1 edition.
9. GABRIEL
de Pietro
of
Treviso,
1473. 6 edit. to 1478.
10. FRANCIS
de Hailbrun
1473. 3 edit. to 1475.
11. NICOL.
de Francford
1473. 3 edit. to 1475.
12. BARTOLOMEW CREMONESE, 1473. 3 edit. to 1475.
13. JAMES
des Rouges
1474.
THIS was his true name, he being a
Frenchman,
tho' in his
latin
editions he writes himself
Jacobus Rubeus
or
de Rubeis;
and in his
Italian
ones
di Rossi
and
Rossi:
He was justly esteem'd one of the best Printers in his time. 'Tis affirm'd by some that he assisted
Nic. Jenson
in improving his Roman characters; but this is improbable, because it doth not appear, that he came to
Venice
'till two or three years, at least, after the other had publish'd some of his fine editions. However, the beauty of his letter, and the fineness of his impressions are incomparable; particularly the two histories of
Florence
in
Italian,
one written by
Leonard de Arezo,
and the other by
Poggius,
are accounted master-pieces in that kind. At length he left
Venice,
and settled at
Pignerol
in
Piedmont,
where he printed an
Italian Bible,
the satyrs of
Juvenal,
and some other work, which we shall speak of in its proper place. There is one thing more to enhance his merit, which is, that he comply'd not with the degenerate taste of those times, in introducing the Gothic characters into his Printing-house; his impressions from
anno
1474 to 1476, are ten in number.
14. CHRISTOPHER ARNOLD: we have but two editions of his from 1474 to 1478.
15. ANDREAS JACOBI of
Cathara;
5 editions from 1476 to 1482.
16. MARC.
de Conti
and 1 edit. 1476.
17. GERARD ALEXANDER 1 edit. 1476.
18. BERNARD PICTOR 5 edit. from 1476 to 1477.
19. ERHARD RALDOLT of
Ausburg, 5 edit. from 1476 to 1477.
20. GERARD
de Flandria,
1 edit. 1477.
21. JAMES LUNES E
de Fivizano,
2 edit. 1477.
22. PHILIP PETRI or
de Petro, Venetian,
13 edit. from 1477 to 1482.
23. GUERIN
the young,
1 edit. 1477.
24. ANDREAS
de Patasichis
8 edit. from 1478 to 1488.
25. BONINO
de Boninis
8 edit. from 1478 to 1488.
26. MARTIN SARACEN, 3 edit. from 1478 to 1488.
27. LEONARD WILD
de Ratisbon,
3 edit. from 1478 to 1481.
28. FRANC. RENNER
de Hailbrun,
5 edit. from 1478 to 1494.
29. THEODORIC
de Reynsberg
2 edit. 1478,
30. REYNALD
de Novimagio
2 edit. 1478,
31. GEORGE WALCH
German,
1 edit. 1479.
32. NICHOLAS GERARDENGO, 2 edit. from 1479 to 1480.
REYNALD
de Novimagio
by himself, 7 edit. from 1479 to 1494.
ERHARD RALDOLT by himself, 13 edit. from 1480 to 1485, after this he went to his own city
Ausburgh,
and set up his press there, as we have said under that head.
33. PETER PIASII 11 edit. from 1480 to 1495.
34. BARTHOL. BLAVII 11 edit. from 1480 to 1495.
35. ANDREA TORRESANI
de Azola
11 edit. from 1480 to 1495.
36. JOHN LUCILIUS SANTRITER 3 edit. 1480 to 1489
37. FRANCIS THEODORE3 edit. 1480 to 1489
38. OCTAVIAN SCOT was a nobleman of the city of
Mons,
who set up some presses at
Venice
at his own charge, and printed a great number of curious editions, all which are marked with O. S. M. his chief corrector was
Maurice de Hibernia,
or of
Ireland,
a Franciscan monk, who was afterwards made bishop of
Triamo:
all the editions we have of
Octavian Scot
are 39, from
ann.
1480 to 1498.
THE chief workmen he employ'd to print for him are the three following.
39. CHRISTOPHER PENSI,
40. BENNET LOCATELLUS,
41. BARTHOLOMEW ZANI.
THE last of these did likewise print for himself, and we have 15 editions of his printed with his own name, from 1487 to 1500.
42. JOHN
de Forlivio
and these two printed 26 edit. from 1481 to 1500.
43. GREGORY
de Gregoriis
26 edit. from 1481 to 1500.
44. LUCAS
de Dominico, Venetian,
5. edit. from 1481 to 1482.
45. BAPTISTA
de Tortis,
18 edit. from 1481 to 1498.
46. THOMAS of
Alexandria
and partners, 6 edit. from 1481 to 1486.
47. ANTONY
dalla Strada Cremonese,
10 edit. from 1481 to 1488.
48. MATHEW CAPCASA of
Parma,
10 edit. from 1481 to 1495.
49. ANTONY PAP 1 edit. 1482.
50. BERNARDIN MORENI
de Lecho
1 edit. 1482.
51. PETER LOSLEIN
German,
he was both partner and corrector to
Bernard Pictor
and
Erhard Raldolt
at
Venice,
we have two editions printed with his name both 1483.
52. BERNARDIN BENATIO, or
de Benateis,
12 edit. from 1483 to 1498.
53. PETER MAUFER a Frenchman 1 edit. 1483.
54. NICHOL. de
Contengo
of
Ferrara
1 edit. 1483.
MAUFER was a very good Printer, but mov'd often from place to place; he began first to work at
Padua,
then went to
Verona,
and afterwards came to
Venice:
where we find but one single edition done by him.
55. HERMAN LITCHENSTEIN in
latin Levilapis;
this was another unsettled workman, he wrought at
Vincenza, Treviso,
and now at
Venice;
where we have 5 edit. of his, from 1483 to 1494.
56. ANDREA BONETTI
de Pavia,
3 edit. from 1484 to 1486.
57. PEREGRIN PASQUALI 12 edit. from 1484 to 1494
58. DIONIS BERTOCH, or
de Bertochis
of
Bolonin
12 edit. from 1484 to 1494
59. PAGANINUS
de Paganinis,
7 edit. from 1485 to 1498.
60. BERNARD STAGNINO
de Trino,
5 edit. from 1485 to 1498.
61. ANTONY RACTIBOVIUS, 1 edit. 1485.
62. ALEXANDER CRETENSIS, he was a native of
Crete,
the only work we have of him, is a
Greek Psalter
4to
ann.
1486, with a
latin
colophon, in which he styles himself,
Filius sapientissimi & celeberrimi Domini
Georgii Presbyteri.
63. WILLIAM
de Trino
sirnam'd
Anima mia,
5 edit. from 1486 to 1491.
64. BERNARD RIZZI
de Novara,
10 edit. from 1486 to 1492, it is to be observ'd, that his five first,
i. e.
from 1486 to 1489, are subscrib'd only
Bernard de Novara,
and the five last
Bern. Rizzi de Novara,
which has made some authors question whether they were not two different Printers: his corrector was
Dominic Canali.
65. LEONICUS CRETENSIS, of him we have only
Homer
's
Batrachomuomachia,
or battle of the frogs and mice in
greek, cum graecis scholiis
4to,
ann.
1486.
66. PETER CREMONESE sirnam'd
Veronese,
2 edit. from 1486 to 1490.
67. JOHN ROUGES
alias Rubeus, Rossi,
9 edit. from 1486 to 1499.
68. JOHN HAMMAN
de Landoja
4 edit. from 1487 to 1500.
69. JOHN EMERICH
de Udenhem
4 edit. from 1487 to 1500.
70. HANIBAL
de Parma,
1 edit. 1487.
71. THEODOR. RAGAZONI
alias de Ragazonibus,
6 edit. from 1488 to 1500.
72. BERNARDINE
de Choris Cremonese,
9 edit. from 1488 to 1492.
73. GEORGE ARRIVABENUS of
Mantua,
4 edit. from 1488 to 1492.
74. CHRISTOPHER
de Pensis de Mandello,
11 edit. from 1489 to 1500.
75. BERNARDINE
de Renatis,
1 edit. 1490.
76. JAMES PAGANINI of
Brescia,
1 edit. 1490.
77. PHILIP PINCIUS
de Caneto,
this was a very diligent as well as excellent Printer: he continu'd printing 'till after the year 1510 with great applause: his corrector was the learned
Bennet Brugnoli,
a man very well versed in the
greek
and
latin
tongues; his works from 1490 to 1500 are 24 in number.
78. THOMAS
de Blancis
of
Alexandria,
1 edit. 1491.
79. SIMON
de Gara,
only a
latin
bible, 1491.
80. LAZARUS
de Siviliano,
2 edit. from 1491 to 1492.
81. MANFRED.
de Montferrat,
2 edit. from 1491 to 1492.
82. MAXIMUS
de Butricis
of
Pavia,
1 edit. 1491.
83. FRANCIS GERARDENGO of
Pavia,
1 edit. 1492.
84. JOHN
de Cereto de Tridino
sirnam'd
Tacuino,
23 edit. from 1492 to 1500.
85. BARTHOL. VENETUS
de Ragazzonibus,
1 edit. 1492.
86. SIMÓN BEVILAQUA citizen of
Pavia,
21 edit. from 1492 to 1500; he wrought also at
Pavia,
as we shall see when we come to that city.
87. JOHN PETER
de Querengis,
5 edit. from 1492 to 1498.
88. DAMIAN
de Milan,
2 edit. from 1493 to 1494.
89. MARTIN
de Rovado de Lazaronibus,
1 edit. 1493.
90. JEROM
de Paganinis,
2 edit. 1493 to 1497.
91. JOHN RAGAZZO 1 edit. 1494.
92. JOHN MARIA 1 edit. 1494.
93. PERRIN LATHOMI, 1 edit. 1494, besides a Bible he printed at
Lyons,
1479.
94. BERNARDINE VITATIS of
Venice,
14 edit. from 1494 to 1500.
CHAP. IV.
Aldus Pius Manutius Romanus
a
Venetian
Printer, and the Inventor of Italick Letters; his Life, Character and
Greek
Editions, with an Account of the other Printers at
Venice,
till the Year 1500.
ALDUS MANUTIUS, the most eminent Printer of the fifteenth century, was born
anno
1445, when Printing was yet in its intancy; who as he grew up, became such an admirer of this new Art, that tho' his education, learning and genius might have justly excited him to greater employments, yet he chose to devote his whole time and study to the cultivating and improving all the branches of it. This design he perform'd with such indefatigable application and vast cha
ges, that his whole ambition seem'd to be confin'd to this province and the advancement of learning
Omnem enim vitam decrevimus ad hominum utilitatem consumere—nam etsi quietam ac tranquillam agere vitam possumus, negotiosam tamen eligimus & plenam laboribus.
Ald. p
afat.
d Lascar. Creten.
. After he had receiv'd the rudiments of Grammar, under
Gaspar
of
Verona,
he apply'd himself to the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues under the great
Baptista Guarini
of
Verona;
and in a short time made such a progress in these languages, as not only to surpass his fellow students, but even to rival his master himself. Thus he continued furnishing his mind with every part of literature, in order to fit himself for that business, of which he was afterwards to become the ornament. The war breaking out in
Italy,
and the city of
Ferrara
being besieged, he removed from thence to
Mirandula,
where he became acquainted with the great
Picus
of that name, a prince of the brightest genius that age had produc'd, and one of the greatest l
vers of learning, and of learned men, who not only receiv'd him with open arms, but procur'd him the acquaintance of many learned men, by whose conversation and correspondence,
Aldus
receiv'd no small advantage toward the acquiring that great knowledge of the
Greek
and
Latin
Tongues, which he became afterwards so famous for. In the 45th year of his age,
anno
1490, he began to prepare the necessary
apparatus
of a Printinghouse, wherein he spent
four
years, and consequently did not begin Printing till about
anno
1494. During this interval he observ'd with regret to what degree the abbreviations, us'd by all the former Printers every where, were multiply'd; so that they became unintelligible, without some key to direct the reader, an instance of which is given in the margin
This curious example of the abbreviations, us'd in those times, is extracted from
Okam
's logick, folio verso, leaf 121, as follows;
Sĩ hic ε̃ fα̃l s̃ m q̃d
d simplr̃ α̃ e p̃ducibile a deo g̃ α̃ ε̃ & s lr̃ hic a ñ ε̃ g̃ a α̃ ε̃ p̃ducibile a deo &c. which words printed at full length, will run thus;
Sicut hic est fallacia secundum quid ad simpliciter, A est producibile a deo. Ergo A est, & sim liter hic. A non est, ergo non est producibile a deo.
Vide Chevil p. 110.
These abbreviations were grown in time so numerous and universal, that books were oblig'd to be publish'd to teach the method of reading and understanding them.
. Upon this, he consider'd a method to remedy this inconvenience, and set them quite aside in his editions. But because the printing the words at length would enlarge the volumes a fourth part, (for there was scarce one word in five that was not abridg'd) and encrease the price; he resolv'd likewise to remedy that. To which end he invented the
Italick
character, call'd from him
Aldine,
or
Cursivus
and
Cancellarius,
from its resemblance to hand-writing; which by-its figure and closeness, gain'd as much upon the round Roman, as the abbreviations did, and reduc'd the volume to near an exact bulk, thereby rendering them absolutely useless. This is the main, tho' not the sole advantage, which he propos'd by this new character; for the world has since found its extraordinary usefulness in many other respects; which being obvious to every person, I shall not particularise here, but mention only the agreeableness of a mixture of Roman and Italick. However, it must be own'd, that
Aldus
made too great use of the latter, in printing whole volumes in that character, which is known to tire the eyes much more than the Roman. Upon this account several emineat Printers afterwards rejected it in their quotations, when they were of any considerable length, and substituted Double comma's or Guillemets at one end of the lines, to distinguish the citations from the body of the book: which Guillemets were so call'd from their Inventor, a
French
Printer of that name.
To return to
Aldus;
s soon as he had persected this new character, which must necessarily cost him prodigious summs of money, he obtain'd a privilege from three several Popes, for the sole use of them during the s
e of
fifteen
years; and these pontifs give him great encomiums upon the account of this invention. The first of these was granted him by
Alexander
VI, and is dated
Sept.
17 1502, with the following preface
Quoniam dilectus filius noster
Aldus Manucius Romanus
ad communem doctorum utilitatem, novisexcogitatis characterum formis, assiduam operam libris emendandis imprimendisque impendit, magnosque in ea re labores sumptus que facit, vereturque ne insurgente invidia aemulationeque excitata, aliqui, sumpto de ejus characteribus exemplo, ad eandem formam libros imprimant, deque alterius invento novum sibi lucrum quaerant; ideo nobis fecit humiliter supplicari,
&c.
.
"For as much as our beloved son
Aldus Manucius Romanus
hath, for the common benefit of the learned, invented a new sett of characters, and been at vast pains and charges in correcting and printing of books,—and is afraid lest some thro' envy or emulation should get patterns of his characters and print with them, thereby reaping the benefit of another man's invention; he hath therefore humbly besought us,
&c.
"
HE obtain'd the like privilege from Pope
Julius
II, within four months after the first,
viz. Jan.
27 1503, which begins thus;
"For as much as thou—hast been at the pains to print with such diligence and elegancy, within these few years, and for the common benefit of all the learned, many
greek
and
latin
volumes, corrected and revis'd with the utmost care and diligence, in those new characters, which are vulgarly known by the name of
Cursivi
and
Cancellarii,
and are so beautiful as to seem written by hand,
&c.
"
Cum tu—Graecorum & Latinorum auctorum volumina summa cura & diligentia castigata, a paucis annis, ad communem omnium litteratorum utilitatem, characteribus, quos vulgus
Cursives
seu
a
cellarios
appellas, imprimi tam diligenter & pulchre curaveris, ut calamo conscripta esse videantur,
&c.
HIS successor
Leo
X, likewise granted him a brief to the same purpose within ten months after, expresly prohibiting any person to print in or imitate that character during the space of
fifteen
years
Ne per spatium quindecim annorum iis characteribus, quos ipse invenit vel edidit primus, imprimere—neve characteres, quos
Cursivos
seu
Cancellarios
appellant, imitari praesumant,
&c.
.
'TIS apparent from the tenour of these briefs, that this Italick character was not the only particular, wherein
Aldus
signaliz'd himself; for the number and correctness of his editions, with the beauty of his characters, gain'd him the esteem and admiration of the learned; nor need I tell the reader how highly all his works have been valued ever since, as well as those of his son
Paulus Manucius,
of his son-in-law
Andreas Azolanus,
and his grandson
Aldus;
which are of equal merit with his own, and of equal value. His ambition of being esteem'd not only a man of letters, (as he really was,) but also the most correct Printer of the age, was such, that he spar'd no cost in procuring the best MSS, nor labour in revising them; and his care was so great, lest any errors should escape him either in the M S. or proofs, that, as we are assur'd by
Angel. Roccha,
keeper of the
Vatican
library, he would not allow himself to print above two sheets in a week
Audivi ab iis qui cum eo versati sunt—duo ad summum folia singula quaque hebdomada imprimi solere; cum hodie totidem fere in singulo quoque praelo quotidie cudantur.
Ang. Roc. de bibliotheca Vaticana,
pag. 412.
. But this must be understood only of such works, as requir'd a more than ordinary diligence and application; otherwise it were difficult to reconcile this with what
Aldus
says in his preface to
Euripides ann.
1503
Quandoquidem mille & amplius boni alicujus auctoris volumina singulo quoque mense emittimus.
, that he publish'd some good author every month, of which he printed above a
thousand
copies; or with what
Erasmus
says of him in his proverbs
Aldus
bibliothecam molitur, cujus non alia septa sunt quam ipsius orbis.
Erasm. Chtl.
2.
Cent.
1.
Prov.
1.
; that he was erecting a library, whose limits would be those of the world it self. However that be, his accuracy and diligence is unquestionably attested by all the learned; and he tells Pope
Leo
X, in his petition beforemention'd, that the height of his ambition was to present the world with authors, corrected with the utmost exactness; and that nothing was more mortifying to him, than to see any faults in his impressions,
every one of which he would gladly, if possible, have redeem'd at the price of a crown of gold
Sic doleo, ut, si possem, mutarem singula errata nummo aureo.
. What assistance he had from the learned in correcting his books may be gather'd from his preface to the
Greek
edition of
Aristotle
's
Logick,
where he assures us,
that he had some of the ablest criticks with him, to assist in the correction;
and in the preface to the
physicks
of that philosopher, he boasts,
that his impressions were more perfect and correct than the very originals from which they were printed
Dicere queo, quicquid meo labore formis excuditur, ipsis exemplaribus longe correctius ac magis perfectum exire ex aedibus nostris.
.
BUT it must be own'd that the learned are far from granting him this last piece of merit, which he challenges; and some of them have objected, that he either printed them not according to the best manuscripts, or corrected them by his own conjectures, or follow'd sometimes too scrupulously those which were faulty and imperfect. Upon this account
Erasmus,
tho' a great friend of his, complains that
Michael Bentius,
who printed his proverbs,
had follow'd the corrupt editions of
Aldus
in the quotations from
Homer
and
Cicero
Nam
Michael Bentius
contulit quaedam loca a me citata ex Graeco
Homero
ab
Aldo
excuso, item ex
Cicerone Aldino.
cum
Aldina
sint depravatissima.
Vita Erasmi, Lugdun. Batav. in
16o , pag. 173.
. The same author tells
John Betzemius,
in a letter sent with a catalogue of his works,
that some of
Plutarch's
books were printed by
Aldus
after some very corrupt manuscript
Hoc unum erat incommodi, quod
Aldus
hoc opus excudit secundum exemplar multis locis depravatum.
Tom.
1.
oper. Erasm.
. Yet he excuses him in another letter
Officina Veneta dedit nobis
Festum Pompeium
egregie depravatum; non insimulo
Aldum;
solet ille tales operas alicui Paedagogo committere. Pag. 148, supradict. edit.
Lugdun. Batav.
, and lays the blame upon some
Pedagogue, whom
Aldus
intrusted with the care of some of the editions of ancient authors.
If this be fact, 'tis very much to be regretted, that so great a Printer, to whom the republick of learning is in all other respects so much oblig'd, should be overseen in a matter of such importance. And this, in all probability, is the reason why he thus expresses his dissatisfaction at his own editions, in the petition to the Pope beforemention'd;
Sed ego non credulus illis; nullum enim adhuc dedi librum, in quo mihi ipsi satisfecerim.
that he was so far from regarding the flatteries of some persons, that he had not as yet publish'd one book, with which he could be satisfied
Sed ego non credulus illis; nullum enim adhuc dedi librum, in quo mihi ipsi satisfecerim.
.
BESIDES this, he carries his complaints still further, and inveighs loudly against two sorts of men, who alone are capable of depriving the learned world of the benefit of printing, unless some speedy stop be put to their wretched performances: the first are those, who, notwithstanding their notorious ignorance and incapacity, presume to print any kind of books: the
second
are the half learned editors, who not only venture upon publishing ancient authors, but likewise write notes and commentaries with their own corrections upon them. Thus was this great man concern'd to see the corruptions already crept into the Art, thro' the avarice of some, and ignorance of others; whilst himself found by sad experience, that all his care, as well as learning, was scarce sufficient for such a task. As no Printer ever surpass'd him in the latter, so none ever equall'd him in the former; for so indefatigable was he in that laborious province, that he scarce allow'd himself time to eat, sleep, or attend his domestick affairs; and, which is still more, was so regardless of his health, as to neglect those pleasures and recreations so necessary and conducive to the preservation of it. The learned
Zuinger,
in his
Theatrum vitae humanae
p. 3713 of the
Basil
edition 1604, tells us, that his mind was entirely engaged in the care of his Printing-house; that, as soon as he had order'd his other necessary affairs, he shut himself up in his study, where he employ'd himself in revising his
greek
and
latin
manuscripts, reading the letters which he receiv'd from the learned out of all parts of the world, and writing answers to them. To prevent interruption by impertinent visits, he caus'd the following inscription to be plac'd over his closet door
Quisquis es, rogat te
Aldus
etiam atque etiam, ut siquid est quod a se velis, pe
paucis agas, deinde actutum abeas, nisi tanquam Hercules veneris suppositu
us humeros; semper enim erit quod & tu agas, & quotquot huc a
tulerint pedes.
;
Whoever you are,
Aldus
earnestly intreats you to dispatch your business, as soon as possible, and then depart; unless you come hither, like another
Hercules,
to lend him some friendly assistance; for here will be work sufficient to employ you, and as many as enter this place.
These words were afterwards borrow'd by the learned
Oporinus,
(who from a professor of the
greek
tongue in the university of
Basil,
became one of the most eminent Printers, either of that city, or even of
Europe;)
and were set over his study door for the same intent.
ALDUS is affirm'd by many authors to have been the first who printed whole volumes in
greek,
particularly the learned
Henry Stephens,
asserts, both in the
Complaint of the Art of Printing
written by him, and in his epitaph upon
Aldus,
that he was the first Printer in that language
Qui graphicis primus tradidit illa typis.
; and
Gesner
tells
Paul Manutius Aldus
's son, in the 11th book of his Pandects, that if he is not mistaken, there were no
greek
books printed before those of his father, or at least, not with equal beauty and correctness with his
Exemplaria Graeca ante patrem tuum aut nulla, ni
allor, aut pauca, nec ea industria typis pu
licata sunt.
. Tho' this is not strictly true, as we shall immediately shew, yet as he was the greatest Printer in
greek,
and inventor of a beautiful character, these and several other authors might easily attribute to him the first rank in this province. The first
greek
book was publish'd by him,
anno
1494, as appears by the lists, which the annalists give us of his works, and from what
Aldus
himself says, in hi
preface to
Stephanus de urbibus, anno
1502
Eodem anno, quo vexari bello coepit
Italia,
difficillimam hanc ego imprimendorum librorum provinciam accepi.
, that he begun his first
greek
impressions in the year wherein the war in
Italy
commenc'd,
viz. anno
1494, at the time of the expedition of
Charles
VIII king of
France
to seize upon the kingdom of
Naples.
Some writers, from a mistaken passage in his preface to
Aristotle, anno
1495, wherein he tells his patron Prince
Carpi,
that he presents him with the prince of philosophers,
Plato
excepted, now first printed and very correct, have thought it to have been his first
greek
impression; whereas he publish'd at least
three
the year before. However 'tis plain he had printed no book in any language before
anno
1494.
IT appears from what has been said in a former chapter concerning the
Lactantius
printed in the monastery of
Subiaco, anno
1465, the
Gellius
at
Rome
1469, and others, that several considerable fragments were printed in
greek
with no small elegancy and correctness. But besides these there were several editions in that language printed in divers cities of
Italy
some years before; the principal of which we shall mention.
THE
first,
as yet known, is the
greek
grammar of
Constantine Lascaris
4to, revis'd by
Demetrius Cretensis,
and printed by
Dionysius Palavisinus
at
Milan, anno
1476, afterwards reprinted at
Venice
by
Leonard
of
Basil, anno
1488.
THE next is the
greek
psalter printed at
Venice, anno
1486 by
Alexander
of
Crete
4to, and
Homer
's
Batrachomuomachia,
or battle between the frogs and mice 4to, at
Venice
by
Leonic
of
Crete
in the same year. But as these may be esteem'd only preludes or essays in that language, we shall come to a more considerable edition,
viz.
that of
Homer
's works in
greek,
which
B. Neril
caus'd to be printed at
Florence
in a large
folio, anno
1488 by
Demetrius
of
Milan,
a native of
Crete.
This excellent work I have seen in the curious library of the learned Dr.
Mead,
and I dare affirm that whoever examines the whiteness and strength of the paper, the fineness of the character, the elegant disposition of the matter, the exact distance between the lines, the large margin, and in short, the whole performance with its various ornaments, will easily own it a master-piece in that kind. There was likewise a fine edition of
Isocrates
printed at
Milan
in
fol.
by
Henry German
and
Sebastian ex Pontremulo, anno
1493, a year before any of
Aldus
's impressions appear'd.
HOWEVER, tho' he was not the first
greek
Printer, yet no person ever signaliz'd himself more in that province than he, nor equall'd him in beauty, correctness and number of editions. Concerning the beauty of his
greek
characters, of which he is said to be the inventor, Mr.
Mattaire
tells us
pag.
237,
Annal. Typogr.
that those, in which he printed the
Psalter, Aesop, Aristotle, Aristophanes,
&c. were somewhat larger, rounder, more beautiful and elegant, adorn'd with frequent ligatures, which added no small beauty to his
greek
editions,
&c.
Nor is this is the only particular, for which the learned world is so much oblig'd to him; since his designs reach'd still farther, and were answer'd to his great satisfaction before his death, which happen'd
anno
1515. He observ'd, with no small regret, how much and how long the
Greek
tongue had been neglected; in order therefore to revive that noble language, and accustom the learned by degrees to read nothing but the originals, he resolv'd to publish most of his books in
Greek
only. This succeeded so well, that the oldest men began to acquaint themselves with it, and as many youths engaged in the study of that tongue, as of the
Latin;
which gave him such sensible pleasure, that he mentions it in several of his prefaces, and particularly in that prefix'd to
Aristotle
's
Logic,
wherein he thus expresses himself:
Nostris vero temporibus multos licet videre
hoc est, senes in senectute Graece discere. Nam adolescentulorum ac juvenum Graecis incumbentium jam tantas fere est numerus, quantus eorum qui Latinis. Propterea Graeci libri vehementer ab omnibus inquiruntur, quorum quia mira paucitas est,
&c.
"In our days we may see many old gentlemen, who follow
Cato
's example in learning the
Greek
tongue. For with respect to the youth, they equally apply themselves to that, as to the
Latin.
Upon which account
Greek
books, of which there is now a prodigious scarcity, are come into very great request,
&c.
"
In his preface to
Stephanus de urbibus
he observes with pleasure,
Nam non in
Italia
solum, sed etiam in
Germa a, Calna, Pannonia. Britannia, Hispania.
& ubique fere, ubi Romana lingua legitur, non modo ab adolescentibus, juvenibusque, sed a senibus quoque summa aviditate studetur literis Graecis.
"That
Italy
was not the only nation where in the
Greek
tongue was in vogue; but that in
Germany, France, Hungary, Britain, Spain,
and almost every place, where the
Latin
was known, not only the young, but even the old study'd
Greek
with the utmost eagerness and application."
ALL his impressions were not of that nature; for in some of them, printed before and afterwards, as
Musaeus, Greek grammar, Proclus
's
Sphaera,
the works of
Philostratus, Eusebius contra Hieroclem,
&c. he first gave the whole
Greek
text, and then the
Latin
translation.
SOON after this, he invented a method, entirely new, of printing these
Greek
editions with their translations, which I do not find practis'd by any Printer since.
THEY were impos'd after such a manner, that the purchaser might have them bound either with the
Greek
and
Latin
separate, or with a leaf of the one, and a leaf of the other alternately; for instance, the
first
leaf was
Greek,
then follow'd the
first
in
Latin,
then the
second Greek
leaf, and the
second Latin,
and so on to the end; but with this precaution, that the
Greek
of the
first
leaf was only printed upon the
second
page of it, and the
Latin
version opposite to it; the
Latin
upon the
second
page of the
Latin
leaf was the version of the
Greek
upon the
first
page of the
third
leaf, and all the
Greek
upon the
second
page of this leaf, fell exactly over against the
Latin
of it in the
first
page of the
fourth
or
second Latin
leaf. This order being observ'd throughout, every other leaf being
Greek,
and the rest
Latin,
it was easy either to bind it in two volumes, the one
Greek,
and the other
Latin;
or into one, with the original first, and version afterwards, opposite to each other.
BUT, as we remark'd before, this excellent method was never observ'd, not even by those, who reprinted such of
Aldus
's editions, as had been done after this way;
viz. Esop
's and
Gabriel
's fables,
Lascaris
's grammar,
&c.
for they printed the
Greek
in one page, and the
Latin
upon the other; which is vastly more inconvenient than his method; the manner of printing both languages in two columns not being invented 'till after the year 1550,
Vide Chevil.
pag. 238. I conceive there is no necessity of giving a more particular description of
Aldus
's
Greek
types, because his works are so universally known to the curious; but whoever desires to know further concerning them, and their superior excellence to those us'd before, may consult Mr.
Mattaire
's
Annals,
pag. 237.
ALDUS has been likewise suppos'd the first, or, at least, one of the first, who printed in
Hebrew.
But this is certainly a mistake; for, tho' he had a font of
Hebrew,
yet he made but little use of it; and 'tis evident, that the jews of
Soncino
in the duchy of
Milan
began to print books in that language about
twelve
or
fourteen
years before
Aldus
appear'd, as shall be shewn in its proper place.
Chevillier
p. 267 tells us, that he saw nothing of his in this tongue, but the
Hebrew
alphabet, which is still preserv'd in the
Sorbon
library. We find however, that he wrote and printed an introduction to the
Hebrew
tongue; as appears from
book printed by him,
ann.
1501, intitled,
Aldi Manutii Grammaticae Latinae
linguae rudimenta; de literis Graecis & Diphthongis,
&c.
ut & introductio ad Hebraeam linguam,
4to. Indeed
Justin Decadius
a
Grecian
and inhabitant of
Venice,
who caus'd the
Greek
psalter to be printed by
Aldus
in 4to, flatters those of his own nation, to whom he dedicates it, with a promise which that Printer made him, of printing an edition of the bible in
Hebrew, Greek
and
Latin;
but it is not known, that he ever perform'd it, at least, with relation to the
Hebrew.
BEFORE we close the character of this great man, it will be proper to acquaint the reader with the reason of his assuming the name
Pius
after the year 1503; because even this is another testimony of his merit. He receiv'd it from his patron prince
Albertus Pius de Carpi,
whose tutor he had formerly been, and who, on account of his singular desert, adopted him into his family, and contributed large sums towards defraying the charges of procuring and correcting manuscripts, preparing three fonts, of
Italick, Greek
and
Hebrew,
characters, entertaining so many learned correctors, and such a number of workmen, beside the other charges common to every Printing-house. His chief correctors were
Peter Alcyonius, Demetrius Chalcondylas, Marcus Musurus,
and
Alexander Bondinus.
THE mark of his Printing-house, which shall be given, with the rest of the marks or rebus's of the Printers of the 15th century, at the end of this book, was a dolphin twin'd about an anchor, and nibling at it; signifying his close and indesatigable application to business, which he went through with deliberation and judgment.
Chevillier
tells us, that he took it from the emperor
Titus;
and that
Peter Bembus,
who was afterwards made a cardinal, presented him with a silver medal, which had that emperor's head on one side, and on the reverse, a dolphin twisting himself round an a
hor. This was likewise, according to some authors, the device of
Augustus
the emperor
festina lent
.
, the anchor being design'd to signify rest, as lightning or the dolphin were to denote swiftness. These
Titus
afterwards express'd by the dolphin, signifying swiftness, and an anchor, design'd to stop the course of a ship, denoting slowness.
Aldus
himself seems to hint at this signification, when he tells prince
Carpi,
in his epistle dedicatory prefix'd to
Proclus
's
Sphere, anno
1499
Sum ipse mihi optimus testis me semper habere comites, ut oportere aiunt, delphinum & anchoram; nam & dedimus multa cunctando, & damus assidue.
, that he could testify for himself with the greatest sincerity, that he had always those two companions with him, which they say are so necessary,
viz.
the dolphin and anchor, and publish'd many things with deliberation, and yet without intermission. His son
Paul,
who was Printer to the
Vatican,
his son-in-law
A. de Azola,
and his grandson
Aldus
us'd the same mark.
SOME vile Printers of
Florence,
finding the impossibility of equalling
Aldus
's editions, resolv'd to counterfeit them as well as his rebus, and carry'd on the cheat for some time, 'till it was discover'd by means of a mistake committed by the engraver, who revers'd the dolphin, so that his head was on the left side of the anchor, whereas in
Aldus
's mark it was on the right. Whether his son-in-law
Andreas de Azola
first perceiv'd this difference, I will not affirm; but he first gave publick notice of it, to prevent the world's being any longer impos'd upon. This passage in the preface to his
Livy
in 8vo
anno
1518, is given at full length in the margin
Extremum est ut admoneamus,
Florenti
s
quosdam impressores, cum viderint diligentiam nostram in castigando & imp
imendo non posse assequi, ad artes confugisse solitas, hoc est grammaticis institutionibus
Alds
in sua officina formatis, notam delphini anchorae involuti nostram apposuisse; sed ita egerunt, ut quivis mediocriter versatus in libris impressionis nostrae animadvertat illos imprudenter fecisse. Nam rost
um delphini in partem sinistram vergit, cum tamen nostrum in dexteram totum demittatur.
. I am sensible that in this sketch of the history of that Printer, I have exceeded in many cases my propos'd limits; yet, I hope, the worth and character of the person will sufficiently excuse me for not keeping too scrupulously to our epocha.
THE works, which we have of him, from 1494 to 1500, are in number, twenty four; fourteen of which are
Greek,
and the rest
Latin,
or
Latin
and
Greek.
THE reader may easily perceive, how short this list comes of the number, which we might have reasonably expected from so industrious a Printer, within the space of six or seven years; especially considering, that as himself assures us, he publish'd an author every month, which amounts to almost four times our number. Whether the rest are perish'd, or are still latent in some libraries, I shall not determine, but am willing to hope the latter, and that time will by degrees bring them to light.
HOWEVER he still continued printing many years after the close of the century, and took his father-in-law
Andreas de Azola
[in
Latin Azolanus
in partnership with him. As to the time of his death, or any particulars of it, I have not been able to discover any thing certain; I shall therefore conclude his history with a remark or two concerning an edition of his, which I hope will not be disagreeable to the reader: it is that of
Poliphili hypnerotomachia,
written by
Franciscus Columna,
to prove that all the world is but a dream; wherein he relates many things worth learning: it has been suppos'd to be printed at
Treviso, anno
1467, because at the end are the following words;
Tarvisii cum decorissimis Poliae a more lorulis distineretur misellus Poliphilus,
MCCCCLXVII
kalendis Maii, i. e.
when the unfortunate
Poliphilus
was in love with the charming
Polia,
1467.
THIS they thought to have been the year, when the book was printed; whereas
Mattaire
and
Orlandi
observe, that the words plainly demonstrate it to be the year, in which
Colonna
finish'd it. Besides, it is evident from the character, the registers, direction-words, comma's, interrogatory points, and other particularities, as well from the last leaf, which contains the errata, and concludes thus,
Venetiis mense Decembri
MID
in aedibus Aldi Manutii accuratissimé,
that this edition came out from
Aldus
's press. However,
Orlandi
tells us, that this leaf was designedly torn off, because there is no date of the year, in which it was printed; but Mr.
Mattaire
gives us an account of these errata
pag.
255, which bore this title,
Gli errori del libro fatti stampando, liquali corrige cosi:
then follows the errata containing fifty nine full lines, a greater number than
Aldus
ever put at the end of his works. After the errata are the
Latin
words abovemention'd,
Venetiis,
&c. 'Tis plain from this, that 1467 was the year, in which the author finish'd it at
Treviso,
and the date of the edition, 1499. With respect to the author's name,
Orlandi
deduceth it from the initial letters of each chapter, which being joyn'd together form these words,
Poliam frater Franciscus Columna peramavit. Orland.
pag. 57, 58.
THE remainder of the
Venetian
Printers to
ann.
1500 are as follows.
96. ANTONY MORETUS of
Brescia
1 edit. 1495.
97. JEROM
de Alexandria
98. ANTONY ZANCHI or
de Zanchis,
1 edit. 1497.
99. OTINUS
della Luna
of
Pavia,
3 edit. from 1497 to 1499.
100. JOHN ALVYSIUS
de Varesio Milanese,
1 edit. 1498.
101. BARTHOL. JUSTINOPOLITANUS,
102. GABRIEL
de Brisighella,
103. JOHN BISSOLI
104. BENEDICT MANGI of
Carpi,
WE have but two editions of these four partners,
viz. Phalaris Epistles
4to 1498, and
Aesop
's life and fables 4to 1500, both in
Greek:
the former of these editions has a privilege from the senate of
Venice,
for their sole printing of it during the space of ten years; and an epistle of
Bartholomew Justinopolitan
to
Contarenus
a senator of
Venice,
wherein he complains of the great abuses, which were crept into the Art of Printing; and the disadvantages thence arising to the common wealth of learning, thro' the ignorance and negligence of Printers, which encreas'd every day among them: he seems therefore rather to have been an editor than a Printer, and to have hir'd the other three to print in partnership with him.
105. ANTONY
de Guzzago
of
Brescia,
1 edit. 1498.
106. SEBASTIAN MANILIUS a Roman and partners, 1 edit. 1499.
107. JOHN BAPT. SESSA of
Milan,
2 edit. 1499.
108. ZACHARIAH CALIERGI of
Crete;
he was a very eminent Printer of
Greek:
we have two editions of his, both of 1499,
viz. Simplicius Comment.
upon
Aristotle
's
Cathegorics fol.
and
Etymologicum magnum, fol.
in
Greek,
the last of these printed at the desire of a
Constantinopolitan
lady: he remov'd to
Rome,
and printed there till
ann.
1523 if not beyond; and the
Lexicon Varini
was printed by him in that year.
109. LUCANTONIUS
de Giunta
or
Zunta
of
Florence,
1500.
ALL the Printers of this name
[de Giunta
or
Zunta]
have been persons of the most distinguish'd merit for their performances at
Rome, Florence, Lyons
and
Venice;
their common rebus or mark was the
flower-de-luce,
and sometimes the
eagle.
The first of that name is this
Lucantonius Giunta,
a man of noble extract, who employ'd
John de Spira
to print for him at
Venice.
WHETHER this
Spira
was a son or grandson of one of the two brothers, who first brought the Art to this city, is uncertain. However, the
Giunta's
signaliz'd themselves in that Art, 'till the middle of the sixteenth century. The following edition is the only one, we know of, printed by him before the close of this century,
viz. Regulae sancti
Benedicti,
sancti
Basilii,
sanct.
Augustini
&
Francisci;
collectae atque ordinatae per
D. J. Franc. Brixianum
monachum congregationis S.
Justinae
ordinis S.
Benedicti
de observantia,
4to,
cura & impensis nobilis viri
Luc. Antonii
de
Giunta Florentini,
arte & solerti ingenio magistri
Johannis
de
Spira,
idibus April.
Venetiis. Some of the impressions of
Matthew Capcasa
at
Venice,
1482, are said in the colophon to be printed at the desire of
Lucant. Zunta.
109, NICHOLAS BLASTI, one
Greek
edition dated 1500.
110. ALBERTINE VERCELLENSIS, 1 edit. dated 1500.
THESE are all the Printers hitherto known to have wrought at
Venice,
from the time of its receiving the Art, to the year 1500, but there were many more, who, as was hinted before, made a trade of reprinting some of the best editions in a slovenly incorrect manner, and to undersell the good ones; for which reason, they did not dare to set their names to them. Father
Orlandi
gives us a list of 90 of them done at
Venice
during that interval, the greatest part of which, I am apt to suspect, are of that sorry kind.
CHAP. V. Of the three first Printers at Paris, and their Successors; the Encouragement which they met with; some Account of the Books printed by them; with other Particulars. A second Printing-house set up in the Louvre by King Lewis XI. rest of the Paris Printers.
WHOEVER desires a compleat account of the first settlement, progress and improvement of the Art of Printing, in the city and university of
Paris,
the metropolis of
France,
will find that subject copiously treated of by
De la Caille
in his
Origine de l'imprimerie
printed
anno
1689, and more particularly by
Chevillier
in his
Origine de l'Imprimerie
printed at
Paris, anno
1694.
THESE two authors have chiefly confin'd their history to that kingdom; and, as they had all possible opportunities of searching the records and libraries of that university, have been enabled to acquaint the world with a vast many particularities relating as well to the Art, a
to the most eminent Printers there. But since an induction of them would swell this work to too great a bulk, I shall select the most curious and material parts, and refer the reader for the rest to the authors before mention'd. Sufficient reasons, I hope, are already given, against the opinion of those, who, contrary to all the most incontestable records, assert that
Nich. Jenson
first brought printing to
Paris.
This particular is further confirm'd by the two last mention'd
French
historians, whose account of that matter is as follows.
SOME time before the year 1470,
William Fichet
and
John Heynlim de Lapide
or
Lapidanus,
two famous doctors of the university of
Paris,
and of the college of
Sorbon,
observing the progress of printing in several cities of
Europe,
began to use their utmost efforts in order to introduce it not only into that city, but even into their college, where they might give it all necessary help and encouragement. They were both persons of great reputation for their learning and publick spirit. The former was a
Savoyard
by birth, and a great restorer of the long neglected art of rhetorick, and all polite literature. The latter was a
German,
and had been rector of the university, and prior of the college of
Sorbon,
to which last dignity, he was chosen again about this time. As there were then but few, if any, except
Germans,
eminent in printing,
Lapidanus
undertook to bring some of the most skilfull thither. This could not but seem easily attainable by him, who had such a numerous acquaintance amongst the learned in
Germany,
and is suppos'd, upon good grounds, to have been of the same diocess, if not the same city with
Uldric Gering,
a native of
Constance.
The latter being influenc'd by the kind invitations of a person of such esteem, who promis'd him the college of
Sorbon
for his abode, and his assistance in procuring and preparing manuscripts, and revising his editions; and allur'd by the hopes of considerable gain in so rich a city, wherein the Art was yet unpractis'd, brought two other countrymen with him,
viz. Martin Crantz
and
Michael Friburger
or
de Columbaria
or
Colmar
in
Alsace,
to
Paris;
where he set up presses in the hall of
Sorbon,
and in the year 1470 publish'd the first book, that ever was printed in any city of
France,
except that of
Tours
mention'd in a former chapter. Father
Orlandi
tells us, that
Lewis
XI gave
Fitchet
and
Lapidanus
orders to send for some of the best Printers to
Paris,
at his own charge; and that by this means the three
German
partners were induc'd to settle there.
Chevillier
takes no notice of this, but attributes the honour wholly to the
Sorbonists.
However, it is certain that this king was a great encourager of learning; as appears by the magnificent library which he form'd at his palace in
Paris;
whither he brought not only all the books, which his predecessors, and in particular
Charles
V sirnam'd the wise, and
Charles
VI had collected and set up at
Fountainbleau,
but likewise all that he could purchase at any rate, together with a great number of editions printed at
Mentz
by
Faust
and
Schoeffer;
and what manuscripts he could not purchase, he order'd to be curiously transcrib'd, and to be set up there. A remarkable instance of this, mention'd by the
French
writers, is as follows.
THE king understanding that the college of physicians at
Paris
had in their library the works of
Rhasis
a physician, translated out of
Arabick
into
Latin,
sent to borrow it, in order to have it transcrib'd; but the college representing it as against their constitutions to lend any of their books without a sufficient pledge; his majesty was contented to obtain the use of it, by depositing a large quantity of his own plate. Whether therefore the king or the two doctors brought the first Printers to
Paris,
'tis beyond doubt, that he gave them sufficient encouragement, and access to the library at the
Louvre,
with liberty to print from any of those volumes, in the choice of which, it is probable, they were directed by their two patrons.
As the Art was then in its infancy at
Paris,
their first editions were in a large round Roman character but greatly inferior in beauty to that of their contemporaries in
Italy;
their paper was smooth and strong, tho' less white; their impressions were maim'd and imperfect, with letters and words half printed, and finish'd with a pencil; the inscription and title of some epistles, and the large initial letters of books and chapters were done with the hand, for which a blank was left in the page; they had no capitals, nor regular spaces, but were full of abbreviations; in short, there was nothing to recommend them except the newness, and the beauty of the ink. They us'd few rubricks, and those only upon vellum; some of their books begin at the
folio verso,
or even page; and all of them are without titles, number of pages, signatures or directionwords; they us'd no signatures 'till the year 1476, and then plac'd them not at the bottom, but at the top of the pages; they added neither date, nor names of Printer and place; all which are only to be gathered from the prefaces, or epigrams at the end, or some other circumstances, as will appear from the list of their works, especially of those printed in the three first years 1470, 1471, and 1472. It is certainly very surprising, that neither
Gering
nor his two learned patrons, who must infallibly have seen some of the
Italian
editions, especially those of
Rome
and
Venice,
which had all these necessary ornaments, should not make them sensible of their deficiencies in all those respects. However, so few were the elegant Printers in those days, that the learned men of
Paris,
who esteem'd the Art of more consequence than these embellishments, fail'd not to acknowledge their obligation to the
Sorbon
doctors, for the services they had done to the university in settling the Printers there, upon whom they were equally liberal of their encomiums. Enough of these may be seen in
Chevillier
pag. 41,
& seq.
I shall only cite in the margin an epigram printed at the end of
Gaspar Pergamensis
's epistles, which was their first impression, and had prefix'd to it a letter of thanks to those great men, upon their bringing the Art to that city.
THE epigram
Ut sol lumen, sic doctrinam fundis in orbem,
Musarum nutrix regia,
Parisius.
Hinc prope divinam tu, quam
Germania
novit,
Artem scribendi, suscipe promerita.
Primos ecce libros, quos haec iudustria finxit
Francorum in terris, aedibus atque tuis.
Michael, Uldaricus, Martinusque
magistri
Hos impresserunt, ac facient alios.
is address'd to the city of
Paris,
and sufficiently shews not only that this edition was the first fruits of the Art both in that city and kingdom, against those who ascribe that honour to
Jenson;
but likewise that the
Parisians
congratulated themselves for their success in introducing it thither, since it gave the university an absolute authority over all Printers and booksellers, in the
seven
following particulars, mention'd by
Chevillier
pag. 327,
viz.
1. THAT all the Printers and booksellers of
Paris,
after the first settlement of printing there, have still continued in their former state, that is, been esteem'd as agents and servants to that university.
2. THAT they are oblig'd to take the oaths to the rector of it.
3. THAT they are not allow'd to follow that business 'till the university has judg'd them qualify'd for it.
4. THAT the university exercises their jurisdiction over them by summoning them to appear,
&c.
by fining, punishing and deposing them for any misdemeanor.
5. THAT the edicts and ordinances of the king impower that body to visit and search all Printing-houses, ware-houses for books, and booksellers shops,
&c.
6. THAT the university set a price upon their books, which was affix'd to their catalogues, and plac'd in some conspicuous part of their shops, lest any person might be impos'd on by them. This part of their province they exerted, long before the Art of Printing was discover'd, over all transcribers, illuminators, booksellers,
&c.
7. LASTLY, that the booksellers,
&c.
should sell no books of religion,
&c.
'till they had been examin'd and approv'd by the university, or, at least, by the faculty of doctors of divinity.
WE shall shew in the third book of this history, that the university of
Oxsord
had the same authority over the Printers and booksellers of that city.
TO return to our three Printers, they continued printing but three years at the house of the
Sorbon;
after which one of their patrons,
Fichet
being invited to
Rome
by Pope
Sixtus
IV, and the other intending soon after to return to
Germany,
they remov'd to St.
James's-street,
at the sign of the
Golden Sun.
Upon this they immediately rejected all their old punches, matrices and letters, and furnish'd themselves with some entirely new, and printed several considerable volumes 'till the year 1477; at which time
Crantz
and
Friburger
either return'd into
Germany,
or, at least, left off printing, for there is no edition with their names after that year; but
Gering
printed in his own name many years longer, as shall be shewn in its place In the mean time, it will be proper to give the reader an account of this new set of characters, which they made use of in their new house.
'TIS to be observ'd, that they were of three or four sorts, all different from each other, and from those us'd at the house of the
Sorbon,
and cast in new matrices. One sort is vastly inferior to their former, and resembles the hand-writing of that time, but such as was done
(stannea manu,
as
Aldus
expresses it) with a heavy hand.
IT is not, however, altogether Gothic, but rather like that which
Schoeffer
us'd at
Mentz.
Another sort was not unlike this in shape, but of a much larger face. The
third
was a Roman much more round and fine than the two former; but the
fourth
sort, not us'd by
Gering
'till after the year 1478, that is, after his partners had left him, is a very beautiful, large Roman, which (if we may believe
Chevillier,
who saw and compar'd them) is in no case inferior to that of the
Spira
's,
Jenson,
or any other of the famous
Venetian
and
French
Printers, either before or since. Thus
Gering
attain'd to a degree of perfection equal with any of his brethren; but was at last oblig'd to comply with the custom, and print several books in Gothic, such as
Virgil
and some others, besides those for the use of churches. The editions printed at this house, and in these new characters, are still defective with respect to their dates or Printers names, some wanting the one, some the other, and some both, as appears by the list of his works given us by the foremention'd author,
anno
1480.
Gering
took into partnership with him for some time,
William Maynyal;
and in the year 1483 remov'd from St.
James's-street,
and took a lease, during life, of a house belonging to the college of
Sorbon,
where he set up his old sign of the
Golden-sun.
As he was now become very rich, and had contracted an intimate friendship with the
Sorbon
collegians, he made them some considerable donatives both in books and money; upon which account they chose him fellow of that college, and assign'd him chambers and commons in it: and as he was not engag'd in matrimony, he took the more pleasure in conversing with them, communicating his designs, and using their advice about the books which he was to print, and their assistance in correcting them; in return for which he presented them with copies of all his editions. It was no small advantage to that college (which was call'd at first by the founder
Robert Sorbon, Societas pauperum magistrorum Parisiis in theologica facultate studentium)
to have so generous a friend and benefactor admitted into it; who requited them for this honour with vast legacies, left by him in his will to this college, and that of
Montague
in the same city. For by his success in printing 'till
anno
1510, in which he died, he had amass'd a prodigious quantity of wealth, all which he bequeath'd to those two colleges. What he endow'd the
Sorbon
in particular with, was sufficient to maintain
eight
fellows, to be added to those on the old foundation, and two lectures every day, one in the morning for the Old, and another in the afternoon for the New Testament; besides several other donatives to those of the house whom he had a particular esteem for.
Now considering, that he was the first Printer of that city and kingdom; that he was invited thither by the college of
Sorbon;
that he had been so great a master of his art, and so liberal to that poor society in his life-time, and after his death; the reader may perhaps expect to hear of some monument erected by them to his memory: but 'tis plain from what
Chevillier,
a fellow of that college, tells us, that they did not so much as set a grave-stone over him, to let the world know where that great man was bury'd; so that our last mention'd author, after a vast deal of pains, could not gain the least certainty about it. However, to do them justice, they order'd an anniversary-mass to be said on the 23d of
August,
on which he dy'd. Who his correctors were, is difficult to determine; but it is probable he made use of any of the collegians, whom he pleas'd. He had some other partners besides
Maynyal
beforemention'd, and instructed several Printers, who signaliz'd themselves both during his life and after he dy'd. There were likewise divers other Printing-houses set up at
Paris
soon after his, of which we shall speak, when we have given some further account of his works;
Chevillier
in his list of them divides them into three classes,
viz.
those which he printed with his two partners in the college from 1470 to 1473; next those printed at the
Golden Sun
in St.
James's-street
'till
anno
1483; and
lastly,
those which he printed from that time 'till his death, either by himself or with his other partners. Of the first class there are
eleven
editions still extant all printed in the same character, some of the first of which have epistles affix'd and inscrib'd by
Fichet
above-nam'd, to several princes and prelates, and are dated 1470 and 1471; one of which, to cardinal
Bessarion,
has the following,
Aedibus Sorbonae scriptum, impressumque uno anno & septuagesimo quadringentesimo supra millesimum:
those of the
second
class are 23 in number: and sixteen of the
third
class, exclusive of those, which he printed after the year 1500: all which the reader will find either in
Chevillier
or Mr.
Mattaire. Gering
's last work is dated 1508, which shews that he left off printing two years before he dyed: for his death did not happen 'till
anno
1510,
Aug.
23. The next Printing-house, to that of the three
Germans
last spoken of, was set up by,
4. PETER CAESARIS and 5. JOHN STOL, 1473.
THESE two Printers were likewise natives of
Germany,
but had already studied sometime in the university of
Paris,
where the former had attain'd to the degree of master of arts: these two became acquainted with their countryman
Gering,
and inform'd him of their design of setting up a Printing-house, begging his assistance and instructions therein, which he readily granted: and thus was the second Press set up at
Paris
by these two learned persons, who became soon after, no less famous, for their industry and application, than they had been for their learning. They pitch'd upon one of the houses, belonging to the college of
Sorbon,
to print in, which
Chevillier
tells us, was in St.
James's-street
at the sign of the
Soldier
and
Swan:
their character was short of the beauty of
Uldric Gering,
tho' far from being of the Gothic kind; this may be one reason why a great many of their works are lost: they were likewise guilty of neglecting to affix either their names or dates to their works: so that the former is only to be gather'd from the likeness of the character to their other works, that are printed in their names, and the latter is either supply'd by some circumstance, or wholly guess'd at.
THEIR first work is suppos'd to be the
Speculum Zamorae,
which tho' printed without date, yet is known to have come out
anno
1473 by the epigram at the end: one of their finest impressions is that of
Ocham's
decalogue, which
Naudeus
thought to have been done by
Gering,
but
Chevillier
who has compar'd them with other of their works, assures them to have been printed by them: we have but ten editions of theirs from 1473 to 1500: but they continu'd printing beyond that time especially
Caesaris.
The next
Paris
Printer was,
6. PETER CARON, of whom we have but one edition dated 1474.
7. PASQUIER BON-HOMME 1475, he printed the chronicle of
France,
and that of St
Dennis
in three volumes
fol. a scarce book,
and the only one we have left of him, it is dated 1475.
8. ANTHONY VERARD, 1480.
HE was one of the most considerable Printers and booksellers of his time, and very eminent for the curiosity and number of his ditions. The greatest part of his books consist in romances and the like, printed in a Gothic character, but so elegant as to please the eve extremely. Many of them are printed upon fine vellum;
La Caille
tells us, that there are above an hundred volumes of his romances printed curiously on vellum, embellish'd with exquisite miniatures or small cutts, painted in water colours, in imitation of the manuscripts which he printed after, all which are to be seen in the French king's library. However, tho' he engag'd most in romantick pieces, yet he likewise publish'd several learned volumes, all in
French,
with equal care and beauty, in the same Gothic letter.
HE kept his Printing-house and shop upon the bridge of
Nôtre Dame
at the sign of St.
John
the
Evangelist.
Sometimes he subscribes his books only with the first letters of his name, A. V. His mark is enclos'd with four
French
verses in a pious strain: the reader will find them in the margin
Pour proyoquer ta grand misericorde A tout pecheur faire Grace & Pardon
Antoine Verard
humblement te recorde Tout ce qu'il a, il fient de toy pardon.
. Whatever is become of the great number of his editions, some of which were printed by the
French
king
Charles
VIII's order, I can find no more in
Orlandi
's list than 32, from 1480 to 1500.
THE rest of the
Paris
Printers are as follows,
9. NICHOLAS
de Philippis
and 10. MARK REYNHARD
de Strasburgh,
WHERE they printed in partnership before they came to
Paris:
we have but one edition of theirs dated 1482.
11. ANTONY CAYLLAUT we have 4 edit. of theirs from 1483 to 1492.
and 12. LEWIS MARTINEAU, we have 4 edit. of theirs from 1483 to 1492.
13. GUIDO MERCANT, 10 edit. from 1483 to 1499.
14. GEORGE MITTLH or
Mittelh,
2 edit. from 1484 to 1489.
15. DENNIS JANNOT, 1 edit. 1484.
16. ROBINET MACE, 1 edit. 1486.
17. JOHN BONHOME, who was also a bookseller, 3 edit. from 1486 to 1489.
18. PETER LEVET, 5 edit. from 1487 to 1497.
19. JOHN CARCHAGNI, 1 edit. 1489.
20. PETER ROUGE the king's Printer, 3 edit. from 1487 to 1488.
21. JOHN DUPRE, 1 edit. 1488: he went to
Lyons
soon after.
22. PHILIP PIGOUCHET, 3 edit. from 1489 to 1500.
23. WOLFGANG HOPYL
German
4 edit. from 1489 to 1498.
and 24. JOHN HIGMAN, 4 edit. from 1489 to 1498.
THE former of these became afterwards partner of the great
Henry Stephens.
25. MICHAELLE NOIR, 1 edit. 1489.
26. DURANT GERLIER, 1 edit. 1489.
27. JAMES MAILET, 1 edit. 1491.
28. GEORGE WOLF of
Baden
and partners, 7 edit. from 1491 to 1499.
HIS partners, who printed afterwards by themselves shall be mention'd in their place.
29. WILLIAM CARON, 1 edit. 1492.
30. JOHN BELIN with
John Dupre
abovemention'd, 1 edit. 1492.
31. GILLET COUSTEAU 2 edit. from 1492 to 1494.
and 32. JOHN MENARD, 2 edit. from 1492 to 1494.
33. JOHN LAMBERT 2 edit. 1493 to 1494.
and 34. CLAUDE JAMMAR, 2 edit. 1493 to 1494.
35. JOHN PHILIPPI
de Cruczennach,
German, one of
George Wolph
's partners: we have 3 edit. of his from 1494 to 1495.
36. PETER POUILLAC, 4 edit. from 1495 to 1498.
37. STEPHEN JANNOT 4 edit. from 1495 to 1498.
and 38. JOHN TREPEREL, 4 edit. from 1495 to 1498.
39. JOHN BOUYER 1 edit. 1496.
and 40. WILLIAM BOUCHER, 1 edit. 1496.
41. ANDR. BOCARD one of the best Printers of his time:
De la Caille
affirms him to have printed a great number of books, both for himself and other booksellers: and among others, the
Figurae Biblicae
of
Anth. de Rampengol:
his mark was the arms of
France,
and those of the university, and of the city of
Paris
with four
French
verses, which you will find in the margin
Honneur an Roy, & a la Court,
Salut a l▪ ite,
Dont nôtre bien procede & sourt
Dieu gard de
Paris
la cite.
: we have however but 4 edit. of his, 3 dated 1497, and the last 1498.
42. ANTONY NIDEL or
de Nydel
a citizen of
Paris,
and master of arts: we have but one impression of his dated 1497.
43. JOHN POITEVIN, we have but 1 edit. of each of these dated 1498.
JOHN HIGMAN, we have but 1 edit. of each of these dated 1498.
44. JOHN RICHARD, we have but 1 edit. of each of these dated 1498.
45. JO. PETIT,
Parisian,
1498.
JOHN PETIT was a native of
Paris,
and rather a bookseller than a Printer: he is justly esteem'd one of the most eminent and industrious ones of his time. He kept the greatest number of the best workmen of any of his contemporaries, with no less than fifteen presses continually at work at his own charges, whilst himself was engag'd in the business of his shop, at the
silver Lyon,
and procuring the most skilfull correctors to revise his works. He gain'd a prodigious reputation by the beauty and correctness of his impressions, which, tho' printed in a Gothic character, are much esteem'd by the curious. He began to print
anno
1498, tho' some copies of editions by several former Printers have likewise his name, as Mr.
Mattaire
informs us, yet all have not; he continued printing 'till
anno
1532, and many of his impressions are as scarce as they are curious. The learned
Henry Stephens,
father of so many great Printers of that name, was so well satisfy'd of his merit, that he was glad to have him for his partner with
Wolfgang Hopyl
mention'd above, who was a Printer of much older date:
Petit
became so famous, both for the beauty and correctness, as well as the number of his editions, that he was afterwards sworn Printer and bookseller to the university of
Paris,
and chosen syndic or master of that company; among those Printers which he employ'd, was the famous
Jodocus Badius,
who printed several considerable editions for him. In the title page of his books, he us'd the words
Petit a Petit [by little and little]
alluding to his own name, which he also us'd for his motto. The books which we finde printed in his name from 1498 to 1500, are only three, the first of which is much valued by students in law,
viz.
MODUS
legendi abbreviaturus in utroque jure,
8vo, per
Jo. Petit, Parisiis,
1498. For as we hinted before, abbreviations were become so frequent and intricate in most sciences, but especially that of the law, that such a help as this was become absolutely necessary.
46. JOHN DRYART, we have but one impression of each of these dated 1498
47. SIMON COLIN, we have but one impression of each of these dated 1498
48. GODFREY MARNEF, we have but one impression of each of these dated 1498
49. MICHEL TOLOSA, 1 edit. 1499.
50. ALEXANDER ALIATE, 1 edit. of each 1500.
51. THIELMAN KERVER, 1 edit. of each 1500.
WE find also in
Orlandi
's list about 44 editions without Printers names.
BEFORE I dismiss this chapter, I cannot omit observing, that
Paris
hath been a noble patroness of the Art of Printing. 'Tis true,
Venice
is justly fam'd upon this account; yet it ought to be remember'd, that most of her celebrated Printers were of the
French
nation, and signaliz'd themselves as much in this Art, as any other nation; and that
Paris
excell'd all other cities of that kingdom in this respect. The encouragements which their kings, and the learned of that and other countries, have given the Art, and the care of the university over the Printers, have contributed extremely to the great improvements made therein. Besides this, the
French
have shewn an extraordinary genius and skill in the cutting of their punches for all languages; they have been very curious about their paper, and more particularly in adorning their editions with cutts, head and tail pieces, initial letters, rubricks and other embellishments of that nature. This I mention not so much with respect to the 15th century, as to the following. No city has produc'd a greater number of the finest bibles than
Paris.
Their large, royal and polyglot bibles are justly esteem'd master-pieces of that kind; their editions of general and provincial councils, of canon and civil-law, the works of the fathers, chronological and historical books, and, in short, in every art and science, are very numerous, rich, and valuable; and many of them contain seven, eight, and ten large volumes, and some twenty, thirty, and even thirty seven, as the acts of the council printed by the famous
Anthony Vitré
at the
Louvre.
The women likewise were very eminent in this province; and particularly,
Charlotte Guillard,
the widow of
Berthold Rembolt, Ulric Gering
's partner, who for the space of 50 years kept several presses, and printed a great number of large and correct editions both in
Latin
and
Greek,
her best editions were publish'd after she became a widow the second time,
viz.
the bible, the fathers; in particular, the works of St.
Gregory
in two volumes were printed so accurately, that the
errata
contain'd but three faults. Her fame at last increas'd so, that the learned
Lewis Lippoman,
bishop of
Verona,
made choice of her to print his
Catena SS. patrum in Genesim,
which he finish'd in
Portugal.
This edition she perform'd so much to his satisfaction, that when he assisted at the council of
Trent,
he came on purpose to
Paris
to return her thanks, and prevail'd upon her to print likewise his second volume,
viz. Catena in Exodum,
which she perform'd with equal beauty and correctness. These with many other particulars relating to that admirable woman, may be seen in
Chevil.
p. 48,
& seq.
As
Paris
has always abounded in excellent Printers, and furnish'd most other cities of
Europe
with some of them; so, on the other hand, it must be own'd, that it has produc'd several equally bad, who have publish'd many wretched editions; and 'tis probable they might have still increas'd, had not the university check'd their growth. For as it has such power over all Printers and booksellers, as to refuse admitting those into the business, who are not sufficiently qualify'd, and to turn them out of it, or suspend or fine them for any misdemeanors, as was hinted before; it can more easily restrain them, than where such checks are wanting. However those, whose merit recommends them, enjoy all the encouragement they can reasonably desire, both from their princes and the university. They are endow'd with privileges, exemptions, and immunities beyond any other city; and have had frequent opportunities of raising themselves to great dignities, of acquiring large estates, and in short, every thing suitable to their merit.
CHAP. V.
The Settlement and Progress of
Printing
in the Cities of
Cologn, Milan 1470, Strasburgh, Bolognia
and
Treviso 1471,
the Names, Dates, and other Particulars of their
Printers.
Article
I. COLOGN. 1470.
THE city of
Cologn,
(which is one of the most opulent Hans-towns in the empire, and an archiepiscopal see, pleasantly situated upon the
Rhine,)
by its nearness to
Mentz,
must necessarily have receiv
d the Art of Printing very early. We have taken notice, in the first book of this history, that some of
Faust
's servants left him even before the taking of that city, and settled at
Cologn;
and the author of the Chronicle of that name mentions it as the first city, which receiv'd the art after
Mentz.
'Tis unquestionable that if her first impressions had been preserv'd, we must have given it the precedency to almost all the cities hitherto mention'd; but whether the first printers of it neglected to add their own, and the cities name at the end of their editions, (a fault too common in those days) or whether their works were too inconsiderable to be preserv'd; it is certain that there is no book, as yet known, printed there with an authentick date, before this year 1470; which is the reason why, according to our propos'd method, we can allow it no higher rank. We have indeed, in the introduction to this second book, taken notice of one of the most eminent printers in this city,
viz. John Koelhoff,
who antedated some of his impressions; but, I hope, the reader is fully satisfy'd from the reasons which we have given there, that he began not to work so early, since one of his dates is even much older than either himself or the Art of Printing.
Cologn
did not abound with great Printers during the first 30 years,
viz.
till 1500; tho' in process of time it became very famous in that art, as well by those who liv'd in it, as those that dispers'd themselves into many cities of
Europe.
It is call'd
Colonia Agrippina
in
Latin
from the empress
Agrippina, Nero
's mother: the following are all the Printers we know of 'till the end of the 15th century.
1. CONRARD WINTERS
de Hombergh,
a citizen of
Cologn,
of whom we have but one edition dated 1470.
2. PETER
de Olpe,
2 edit. both 1471.
3. ARNOLD TERBORN or
Terburn,
2 edit. from 1473 to 1477.
4. JOHN KOELHOFF
de Lubeck,
9 edit. from 1474 to 1494: besides the two following ones, which tho' printed with his name, have a date manifestly false.
1. FLORES
de diversis sermonibus & epistolis
B. Bernardi
per me
Joan. Koelhoff
de
Lubeck Coloniensem
civem impressi anno
MCCCC,
feliciter finiunt.
The reader may see by the time in which he printed, that either the last C must have been taken up by the balls, or omitted by the compositor; and that it was done
anno
1500, or that some other figures are wanting to the date: but it appears to me to be done by design rather than mistake.
2. SILVII
Senensis Epistolae,
at the end;
Pii secundi pontificis maximi, cui ante summum episcopatum primum quidem imperiali secretario, mox episcopo, deinde etiam cardinali Senensi,
Enee Silvii
nomen erat, familiares epistole date ad amicos in quadruplici vise ejus statu finiunt, per me
Joannem Koelhoff de Lubeck
coloniae incolam, anno incarnationis MCCCCLVIII.
WE have already observ'd, that there are some letters in this book, which are of a later date by several years than that of the book; so that it must necessarily be false.
5. HENRY QUENTEL an excellent Printer, tho' omitted by the last annalist father
Orlandi,
continued printing long after the year 1500▪ and had a son
Peter Quentel
and a grandson
John Quentel,
who likewise distinguish'd themselves for the goodness and correctness of their editions: we have but 4 edit. of his from 1480 to 1500.
6. JOHN GULDENSCHAYFF, 4 edit. from 1484 to 1487.
MR.
Mattaire
mentions likewise some bibles, and a few other books printed here without Printers names.
Article
II. MILAN, 1470.
MILAN [in
latin Mediolanum]
is one of the four chief cities of
Italy,
situate near the rivers
Adda
and
Tesino,
and said to have been built by the
Trojans
after their expulsion by
Bellover
king of the
Gauls.
This city, after a variety of chances and wars, was almost ruined by
Frederic Barbarossa;
but now flourishes under the emperor of
Germany.
It received the Art of Printing very early, and had many excellent artificers from the beginning, whose works are equally valuable with those of any other cities We cannot positively affirm any thing concerning the time, in which this Art was brought hither, nor who were the men that set it up. The first both in time as well as excellency was.
1. ANTHONY ZAROT, 1470.
HE was a native of the city of
Parma,
tho' of
Cretensian
parents, as appears by some of his colophons, and gain'd a great reputation for 30 years, in which he continued printing, by his elegant and correct impressions in a beautiful Roman character, which are sufficiently known among the learned. He was oblig'd indeed to comply with the custom in printing some editions in old Gothic; yet even th
se have all the elegancy and beauty they can admit of. He is esteem'd the inventor of signatures, or alphabetical letters at the bottom of every sheet, which at first he plac'd under the last line of the page, where they ought to be: But afterwards he put them, upon what account is hard to guess, at the end of the last line, so as to make them serve, as it were, for the last word in the page. This appears by his edition of
John Simoneta de gestis Francisci Sfortiae ducis Mediol.
anno 1486. This whim of his was not follow'd by any Printer, nor by himself long; for he soon return'd to the first method. His main province was printing of classicks, which he executed with extraordinary diligence and accuracy. He is said to be the first that printed missals or mass-books for the use of the clergy, who were hitherto us'd to MS ones. That which he printed
anno
1478, had the four
Latin
verses in red letters, which you will find in the margin
Antoni patria Parmensis gente Zarote,
Primus Missales imprimit atte Libros.
Nemo repertorem nimium se jact
t; in Arte,
Addere plus tantum quam pepe
sse valet▪
. His chief corrector was the famous
Peter Justin Philelphus,
a person of learning and great application, especially in correcting the faulty editions which
Zarot
was oblig'd to procure from
Rome
or other places. His next corrector was the learned
P. Steph▪ Dulcinio,
prebend of
Scala,
who tells the marquiss of
Palavicino,
to whom he dedicates the second edition of
Manilius, anno
1499 that he had corrected that author in above three hundred places, and clear'd it from the barbarisms, and other faults of the transcribers, as far as it was possible to be done in a very corrupt copy.
Zarot
continued printing till the year 1500, from which time we hear no more of him.
WE have twenty six of his impressions still extant, many of which have either an epigram or a colophon in his commendation. Some are without Printer or places name, and even without date; the last of which must be guess'd at, the former are easily known by the particular beauty of his character, and because he printed no where but at
Milan.
2. PHILIP
de Lavagna Milanese,
13 editions, from 1474 to 1480. The last of which,
viz. Eusebii Chronicon
in
Latin,
is without date, and has a
Latin
epigram of six lines written in his commendation by
Boninus Mambritius.
3. CHRISTOPHER VALDARFER
de Ratisbon,
an excellent artist▪ who printed at
Venice
from 1470 to 1471, then came to
Milan,
where he wrought till
anno
1477, if not beyond. He made use of the same corrector here which he had at
Venice, viz. Ludovicus Carbo
or
Carbone,
a native of
Ferrara;
we have but four impressions of his done at
Milan
from 1474 to 1477.
4. DOMINIC
de Vespolate,
4 edit. from 1476 to 1478.
5. DIONYS PARAVICINO, 4 edit. from 1476 to 1478.
THE former also took another partner,
viz.
6. JAMES MARLIAN, of these we have 2 edit. 1477, 1478.
7. LUDOVIC
Piedmontese.
and 8. ALBERT
Piedmontese.
Of these two Brothers we have only one edition,
viz. Dante's
comedies with comments: The text is printed in an elegant Roman, and the comments in a fine Gothic character, with the colophon which you'll find in the margin
Edente Martino paulo Nidobeato Novariensi DIVA BO. MA cum dulci nato JO. GZ Ducibus feliciss. Liguriae valida pace regnantibus, operi egregio manum supremam LUD. & ALB. FR. Pedemontani amico Jove imposuerunt. Mediolani urbe illustri. Anno Gratiae M. CCCC. LXXVIII. V. ID. F. MP. N. N. CUM. GU. T. FA. CU.
.
9. LEONARD PACHEL, 1479.
10. ULDRIC SCINZENZETER, 1479.
These two partners were Germans by birth, and printed sometimes together and sometimes separately, till after the close of the 15th century. The former of them printed a great many of the classicks, and is reported to have printed a very considerable number of law books, many of which are not yet come to light. Their corrector was
Benedict. Rhethoricus.
The number of their impressions hitherto discover'd from 1479 to 1500, amounts to 36.
11. SIMON MAGNAGUS, 1 edit. 1480.
12. BENIGNUS
Bonaso
and 13. JOHN ANTONY
Bonaso
brothers, 2 edit. 1482, 1488.
14. JAMES
de S. Nazaro,
2 edit. 1489, 1494.
15. PHILIP
de Montegaliis,
1 edit. 1490.
16. PETER ANTONY
de Castillione,
1 edit. 1493.
17. HENRY GERMAN, 1 edit. 1493.
and 18. SEBASTIAN
de Pontremoli,
19. WILLIAM SIGNER of
Rouen,
2 edit 1496, 1498.
20. JOHN BAPT. ALVISIANUS, 1 edit. 1497.
21. ALEXANDER MINUTIANUS, 1 edit. of all
Cicero's
works in 4 volumes fol. the two first
anno
1498, the other two 1499.
22. DEMETRIUS CHALCONDYLLA and partners, 1 edit. 1499.
23. AMBROSE CAPONAGUS, 1 edit. 1499.
24. JOHN ANGEL. SCINZENZELER 2 edit. both 1500.
and 25. BARTHOL MINIATOR, 2 edit. both 1500.
26. PETER MARTYR MONTLEGATIUS, 1 edit. 1500.
There are also many editions printed at
Milan,
from 1471 to 1500 without Printer's names. Fath.
Orlandi
tells us, that he has on purpose omitted many works done at
Milan,
because his learned friend Dr.
Joseph Antonio
keeper of the
Ambrosian
library in that city, was then
(ann
1722) compiling a history which would shortly appear under the following title,
Historia Literaria Mediolanensis ab an.
1470
ad
1500.
qua occasione de Origine & progressu Typographiae, Libris editis intra illud tempus, ac Viris Illustribus, eo seculo in eadem Urbe florentibus.
By this we may easily guess, that we have as yet but an imperfect history of that city. We may say the same of almost all the rest, except those that have met with some learned persons who have taken the pains of searching the libraries, in order to give a more perfect and full one of them, such as that of
Paris, Nurembergh, &c.
Article
III. STRASBURGH.
STRASBURGH, in
Latin Argentina
and
Argentoratum,
is an episcopal See, and the metropolis of
Alsatia
upon the borders of
France,
celebrated for the number of learned men, which it has produc'd; and the beauty and magnificence of its churches, towers, buildings,
&c.
according to the poet's description
Imprimisque altas propius fert inclyta turres.
Argentina Domus doctorum clara vi
orum
.
IT was the native place of
John Guttenbergh,
to which, after his disagreement with
Faust,
he brought the Art of Printing together with some of his artificers; so that it may be justly esteem'd, at least, one of the first cities, that practis'd it after
Mentz,
tho' all the monuments of it are so far lost to us, that we know not any books with a certain date, printed there before the year 1471.
WE have seen, in the first part of this history, how much this city hath been celebrated by some authors, upon the account of
John Guttenbergh,
whom they suppos'd to have been the inventor of this Art, or at least to have laid the first foundation of it here, tho' he was oblig'd to retire to
Mentz
in order to perfect it. But as this, I conceive, has been sufficiently confuted already, it is unnecessary to repeat it here. I have likewise given the reader an account of another controverfy in favour of
Strasburgh
and
John Mentel
started about two hundred years after the discovery of this Art, by Dr.
Mentel
of the university of
Paris,
who asserted that his ancestor was the Inventor of Printing; which discovery he was robb'd of by a treacherous servant, whom he suspects to be our famous
John Faust.
I hope, I have fully exposed the vanity of this author's pretences, and his unfaithfulness in quoting testimonies in behalf of
Mentel;
against whom, were there no other evidence, it would be sufficient to allege, that there is not one book printed in his name before the year 147
, and that without any mention of the city of
Strasburgh.
ALL that is proper to add at present is, that our author, to elude, if possible, the force of this objection, affirm'd that this book, which
John Mentel
finish'd
anno
1473, was no less than twenty years a printing, and contain'd ten large volumes in
fol.
so that it must have been begun about 1453,
i. e.
four years before
Faust
had printed any work in his name, but this is a groundless conjecture.
THIS book is the
Speculum Morale
of
Vincentius Belvacensis,
a very voluminous work; but that it should have taken up 20 years in printing, is only said without any authority or testimony for it; however we may allow it to have taken up some considerable time, without lessening the validity of what has been heretofore affirm'd after several eminent authors,
viz.
that
John Faust,
at his return from
Paris,
where he had been selling his printed bibles for manuscripts, stay'd some time at
Strasburgh,
where he taught
Mentel
his Art. The only difficulty against it is, that if thi
last had been let into the secret so soon, there would be some earlier and a greater number of his productions to be seen. The former is easily answer'd by the sad experience we have, of too many of the old monuments of the Art being either lost, or not yet discover'd; and the latter,
De la Caille
endeavours to account for, who peremptorily asserts this
Mentel
to be the same with
John Mentelen
or
Manthen de Geretzsheim,
who went and settled at
Venice,
and associated himself with the famous
John de Cologne,
one of the most eminent and first Printers of that city about the year 1474, with whom he printed several valuable editions, mention'd in the chapter of
Venice.
IF this assertion be well grounded, 'tis superfluous to seek for any of his works at
Strasburgh,
except the
Speculum
beforemention'd, if even that was printed there. But as
la Caille
has not mention'd his authority, I shall not dare to assert the truth of this too positively. We must not omit taking notice, that this
John Manthen
continued printing at
Venice,
with his partner aforesaid, 'till the year 1480, as the reader may see by what has been said of him there; whereas
John Mentel
is affirm'd by the Dr. from the authority of
Gaspar Benegerus
to have dy'd at
Strasburgh
two years before,
viz.
1478, in honour of whom the great bell of that city was order'd to be rung the sunday following
Obiit dominus
Johannes Mentel
sabatho post conceptionem virginis
Moriae, an o
MCCCC LXX IIX; et factus est
i pulsus cum campana magna Dominica sequenti. Paraen &c.
pag
9
.
, which is never done but upon the death of a prince or some very great man. I shall not take upon me to decide the controversy, but only say, that if the
Speculum
aforesaid, be
Mentel
's first edition at
Strasburgh,
it will follow, that he was outstript, at least by two years there, by the famous
Henry Eggelstein,
of whom we have only two volumes, both printed
anno
1471; the last of which is perhaps one of the largest that ever was printed, the paper of it being of an extraordinary size, exceeding even that which is commonly call'd
Charta magna.
It hath likewise another remarkable particular, which is, that the beginning and end of it are printed in red, and is therefore the first edition done after that manner.
THE Printers therefore of
Strasburgh
from 1471 to 1500 are as follows,
1. HENRY EGGELSTEIN abovemention'd, 2 edit. dated 1471.
2. JOHN MENTEL, 1 edit.
viz. Vincentii Speculum morale
in ten large volumes,
fol.
and suppos'd to be printed at
Strasburgh,
tho' no mention is made of the place where it was done; it is dated 1473.
3. MARTIN FLACH or
Flachen
citizen of
Basil,
7 edit. from 1475 to 1500.
4. LEORIUS USNER citizen of
Strasburgh,
2 edit. from 1476 to 1477.
5. MARC REYNHARD of
Strasburgh
2 edit. from 1480 to 1482.
and 6. NICOL.
de Philippis
of
Gernsheym,
2 edit. from 1480 to 1482.
7. JOHN PRUS, 1 edit. 1487.
8. GEORGE REYNHARD or
de Grunynger,
3 edit. from 1489 to 1498: he had likewise printed at
Rome,
as we have seen under that head
anno
1475.
ORLANDI has likewise given us a list of 84 edit. printed at
Strasburgh
without Printers names.
Article
IV. BOLOGNA, 1471.
BOLOGNA or
Bolonia,
in
Latin Bononia,
an ancient and famous city of
Italy,
at the foot of the
Alps,
upon the river
Rhine,
in the territories of the pope, was formerly call'd
Felsina,
from
Felsinus
king of the
Thuscans,
which signifies a shield. This name she preserv'd above nine hundred years, and always was eminent for the number of learned men and brave warriers which she produc'd. This city afterwards was call'd
Bojona
from
Buoi
king of the
Gauls,
and in process of time
Bononia
and
Bolonia.
It is at this day a celebrated university, endow'd with extraordinary privileges from emperors, popes,
&c.
and such a concourse of students resort thither, that it is recorded of one of their doctors and professors, the learned
Azzo,
that he was oblig'd to read his lectures in some publick market places, to above ten thousand students. For these and other reasons, not necessary to be given here, it has been styl'd
Archigymnasium mundi,
and the mother and founder of universities
Bononia docet Mater studiorum,
Petrus ubique Pater, Legumque Mater.
. 'Tis no wonder therefore that the Art of Printing receiv'd such early encouragement from it, and that it had so many famous workmen, eminent for the beauty and correctness of their impressions.
IT is likewise observable that it had not the Art brought to it by foreigners, as other famous cities,
Rome, Venice, Paris,
&c. but was oblig'd for it to one of her own citizens,
viz.
1. BALTHAZAR AZZOGUIDI,
anno
1471.
A person well born and of good education, who set up his Press in that city, and continued printing, at least, till the year 1480, after which we hear no more of him. His editions are all in a neat Roman character, and printed with great accuracy, the first of which,
viz. Ovid
's
Metamorphoses
anno 1471, has the colophon which you'll find in the margin
Balthessar Azzoguidi civis Bononiensis honestissimo loco natus, primus in sua Civitate artis impressoriae Inventor, ad Utilitatem Humani generis impressit, A. M CCCC LXXI.
. By which it is plain that he was the first who practis'd the Art of Printing, of which he improperly calls himself the inventor in his own city of
Bolonia.
We have 12 editions of him from 1471 to 1480.
2. HUGO RUGERIUS of
Regio,
6 edit. from 1474 to 1495.
and 3. DONINUS BERTOCH of
Regio,
6 edit. from 1474 to 1495.
4. DOMINIC
de Lapis,
3 edit. 1476 to 1477.
5. JOHN SCRIBER of
Ausburgh,
call'd also JOHN
de Annunciata de Augusta,
2 edit. both 1478.
6. HENRY
de Colonia,
5 edit. from 1479 to 1486.
7. JOHN
de Noerdlingen
8 edit. from 1480 to 1488.
and 8. HENRY
de Harlem,
8 edit. from 1480 to 1488. THE last of these did likewise associate himself first with
9. MATH. CRESCENTINUS,
and afterwards with
10. JOHN WALBECK;
so that 3 of the 8 editions above-nam'd were printed, one with the former, and two with the last.
11. BALTHASSAR
de Hyruberia,
2 edit. both 1481.
12. DOMINIC
de Silvestro de Cini,
1 edit. 1482.
13. PLATO
de
BENEDICTIS; or DEI BENEDETTI of
Bologna,
1483.
This Printer hath never been excell'd by any person in the beauty and elegance of his Roman character; and as his editions are extremely fine and correct, so he hath taken care to tell the world of it in almost every colophon at the end of his books, by adding some pompous title to his name, such as
impressor solertissimus, artis hujus exactor probatissimus, quam pulcherrimis Characteribus,
&c. He is thought to have either learn'd the Art at
Venice,
or furnish'd himself with his Fonts from thence. The first is most probable, because we find an edition of
Dion. Chrysostom's Oratio de regno,
4to. suppos'd to have been printed by him at
Venice anno
1483. But
F. Orlandi
thinks this supposition ill-grounded, and therefore hath mention'd neither him, nor that edition under the article of
Venice,
but has put it at the head of those printed by him at
Bologna,
where having found a book, printed
anno
1481, intitled
Baptistae Mantuani Carmelitani parthenices,
he reprinted it with his own name and colophon. All his impressions as yet known, the two foremention'd ones included, amount to sixteen, the last of them,
viz. Vegetius
and others
de Re Militari
is dated 1495.
14. BENEDICT HECTOR, 1478.
He was a very good Printer and Bookseller, who employ'd many Printers of this city, and kept likewise some presses of his own a-going, as appears by those impressions we have of him; all which are so correct and beautiful, that he is justly rank'd among the best workmen of his time, and
Ugerius de Pontremulo
has honour'd some of his impressions with epigrams in praise of him. We have four and twenty of them still extant from 1488 to 1499.
15. BACILIERUS or
de Bacilieris,
1489.
 
BASSALERUS or
de Bassaleris,
1489.
 
BAZALERUS or
de Bazaleris,
1489.
WE have but three editions of this Printer from 1489 to 1493, in each of which he spells his name differently. He was an excellent Printer, and a rival of the famous
Plato de Benedictis,
whom he endeavour'd to surpass in beauty of letter, finess and accuracy of his impressions, which tho' they do not excel, yet are not at all inferior to those of his corrival, and he doth not fail accordingly to give himself some of these pompous epithets which we have seen of the other; and it is observ'd that some of
Plato's
impressions were no sooner come out of the press, but
Bacilierus
went immediately to work upon them, and publish'd another edition in a small time after. Such an emulation could not chuse but have proved an honour and service to the Art had it liv'd till now.
16. JOHN JAMES FONTANESE,
2 edit. both dated 1492.
17. HECTOR FAELLI
Bolognese,
2 edit. from 1492, to 1500.
18. HERCULES NANI,
2 edit. from 1493, to 1494.
19. JUSTINIAN
de Ruberia,
2 edit. from 1495, to 1499.
JOHN ANTONY
Platonides Benedictorum Bolognese,
1 edit. 1499. With a small number printed at
Bologne
without the Printers names.
Article
V.
The City of
TREVISO.
TREVISO, in
Latin Tarvisium,
a noble and ancient city of
Italy,
and the capital of the province of that name, by reason of its vicinity to
Venice,
under whose dominion it is, had the Art of Printing soon introduc'd.
Gerard de Lisa,
a
Flemming
by birth, and an excellent Printer, was the first that set it up here. We can only say in general both of him and this city, that the few editions we have left of theirs are very elegant and in a neat character.
1. GERARD
de
LIZA
or
LISIS,
or
GERARD
de
FLANDRIA, 1471.
WE have but four editions of him; the two first are dated 1471, the third 1476, and the last 1492, which makes me hope that more of them will still come to light, these being esteem'd very curious, not only for their elegancy, but likewise for their correctness.
2. HERMAN LICHTHENSTEIN
or
LEVILAPIS
of
COLOGN, 1477.
THIS Printer we have spoken of under the chapter of
Venice;
and we shall again mention him under the city of
Vincenza,
where he printed for some time. At
Treviso
we have only two editions printed by him, both dated 1477. He died
anno
1494, whilst he was printing that voluminous work of
Vincentius,
entituled,
Speculum Morale.
3. BERNARD
de Colonia,
2 edit. 1477, 1478.
4. MICHEL MANZOLI or MANZOLINI, 7 edit. from 1477 to 1480.
5. BARTHOLOMEW
de Confoloneriis,
4 edit. from 1478 to 1483.
6. BERNARDIU CELERIUS
de Luere,
2 edit. 1480, 1483. after which he went to
Venice,
where he associated himself with
Bernardin de Novaria
as has been mention'd under that Head.
7. JOHN VERCELLIUS, or
Vercellensis,
6 edit. from 1480 to 1494. after which he went to
Venice,
where you will find him under that head, from
anno
1486 to 1499. In this last place he calls himself
John Rubeus Vercellensis.
8. PAUL
de Ferrara
2 edit 1481, 1482.
and 9. DIONYS BERTOCH, 2 edit 1481, 1482.
DIONYS BERTOCH 2 edit. 1482, 1485.
and 10. PEREGRINE PASQUALI, 2 edit. 1482, 1485.
THERE is scarce one Printer to be met with in history, who chang'd oftner his place of abode, his partners, and even his name, than
Dennis Bertoch;
who sometimes calls himself
Bertoch Doninus,
and sometimes
Dionys,
sometimes
de Bononia,
and at other times
de Regio.
His first works,
viz.
for 1482 to 1490, were printed at
Treviso;
immediately after which we find him at
Venice,
where he stay'd till 1492; thence he remov'd to
Regio,
and associated himself with
Marc Antony de Baccilieris;
and lastly he settled at
Modena
about the year 1499. We find but two of their impressions under this head, dated 1482 and 1485.
BUT tho' we have rank'd them under the article of
Treviso,
yet they bear no name of any place, and may indeed be suppos'd done by them at
Venice,
where they printed about this time; however I have chosen to follow
F. Orlandi,
who thinks it more probable that they were done at
Treviso.
THERE is an edition printed by
Peregrine Pasquali
at
Scandiano
near the city of
Reggio,
but with a date impossible to be understood or guess'd at;
IT is as follows,
DILIGENTIS
ac ingeniosi calchographi Peregrini Pasquali exactissimâ tum operâ, tum curâ haec Candidi ex Apiano historico & sophista traductio, Scandiani Camillo comite, impressa est.
Anno a natali Christi, 15. M CCCC LCXV.
Appendix to the foregoing chapter; Printing set up at
Ratisbon, Amberg,
and
Colle, 1471.
THESE three cities, tho' distant from each other, we have join'd together at the end of this chapter, for the sake of the editions printed at each of them in the same year 1471, which were too few to deserve a distinct article; since we meet with no impressions at either of them, except the four following;
viz.
1. AT
Ratisbon
an imperial city in
Germany
upon the
Danube; Servii comment. in Virgilium,
fol. without the Printer's name. 1471.
Orl.
2. AT
Amberg
in the
Palatinate,
now subject to the elector of
Bavaria; Marc. Tull. Cicer. Orationes omnes,
fol. without the Printer's name. 1471.
Orl.
3. AT
Colle
a citadel situate upon a hill in
Tuscany,
and subject to the duke of that name;
(1.) OPPIANI
Cilix, qui claruit sub imper. Caracallâ, halieuticon sive de naturâ & venatione piscium libri quinque,
4to. per. Gallum Bonum. 1471.
Orl.
(2.) JACOBI
de Voragine legenda aurea.
ibid. without the Printer's name.
Orl.
1471.
CHAP. VII.
Printing brought into the Cities of
Naples, Florence,
and
Ferrara,
anno
1471,
and to
Nurembergh, Verona, Parma, Mantua, Derventer
and
Padua,
anno
1472;
a List of the Printers, and their Works, with other particulars, till
1500.
Article.
I.
The City of
NAPLES.
NAPLES, in
Latin Neapolis
and
Parthenope,
is the metropolis of the kingdom of that name, in
Italy.
It was formerly govern'd by kings of its own, but afterwards became subject to the crown of
Spain,
and is now under the emperor of
Germany.
This city has been the residence of men of the most distinguish'd wit and learning, in ancient and modern ages; as
Virgil,
who is said to have writ his Georgicks here;
Livy, Horace, Claudian, Petrarck, Bocatellus Panormitanus, Laurentius Valla,
the great restorer of latinity and eloquence;
Perillus,
an elegant
Italian
poet; and many others of conspicuous merit. The great number of learned men in this city, particularly, when printing became known and spread itself over
Europe,
was a sufficient inducement for some of the best Printers to settle there. But none encourag'd the Art and artists more, than
Ferdinand
III. king of
Naples,
whom we had occasion to mention before, upon the account of the free access, which the learned had to his person, and their epistolary correspondence with him, and who liv'd at the time of the infancy of the Art. As his learning was equal to the esteem he had for the learned, I doubt not but it was he who procur'd the famous
Sixtus Russinger
a learned and pious priest, who was a native of
Strasburgh,
to settle in his capital. This seems more than probable, not only because he was the first who set up a press at
Naples,
but from the great marks of esteem which that prince shew'd him; insomuch, that having discover'd his intention to return to his own country, he try'd all possible means to divert him from it, and even offer'd him a noble bishoprick, or any other preferment, if that could have fix'd him in his dominions. But this venerable old man, whether out of modesty, or rather a desire of spending the small remainder of his days in his native city, refus'd the king's offer, and return'd home loaden with the presents of that generous monarch.
Riessinger
was not only a Printer, but a clergyman, and famous for his great learning; yet as he continued but a short time at
Naples,
we have few editions of his.
Orlandi
gives him a contemporary and fellow citizen,
viz. Peter
of
Strasburgh,
who settled there about the same year; but as I do not find that he printed any thing in company with
Riessinger,
or that any of his impressions are left, I shall say no more of him.
WE have but four impressions of
Sixtus Russinger,
or
Riessinger,
two dated
anno
1471 and 1472, the other two without date. They are all curious and correct, and two of them have
Latin
epigrams at the end in his commendation. We don't find that he carried on the business after he came again to his native place.
2. BARTHOLD RING of
Strasburgh,
1 edit. 1475.
3. MATTHIAS MORAVUS
de Olumuntz,
7 edit. from 1475 to 1499.
THE first of whose impressions,
viz. Seneca
's works is remarkable for its wrong date MLXXV for MCCCCLXXV. We find likewise an impression of his done at
Genoa
in company with
Michael de Monacho,
viz.
Supplementum Summae quae pisanella vocatur,
fol. Januae 10. Cal.
Julii millesimo quadringentesimo
LII. quarto,
instead of
LXX. quarto: his corrector was
Junianus Majus
a
Neapolitan,
and a professor of grammar and rhetorick, who publish'd the following edition,
Justiniani Maii Parthenopei liber de priscorum proprietate verborum,
fol. with this colophon,
Impressere Matthias Moravus impressor solertissimus & venerabilis Monachus Blasius Theologus
1475, which book has been much esteem'd and reprinted in many places.
4. ARNOLD
de Bruxella
or
Brussels,
5 edit. from 1475 to 1477.
5. JOHN ADAM
de Polonia,
1 edit. 1478.
6. CONRARD GULDEMUND, 1 edit. 1478.
7. FRANCIS
de Dino
of
Florence,
2 edit. 1480 to 1487. He went afterwards to
Florence,
where we shall find him under that head.
8. AYOLF
de Canthono
citizen of
Milan,
1 edit. 1492.
THIS piece which is known but by few, is intitled,
L' Aquita,
and was compos'd in
Latin
by
Leonard Aretino,
and by him translated into
Italian.
It consists of four books, the first treats of the origin of the world, and the off-spring of
Jupiter.
The second of the departure of
Aeneas
from
Troy,
and of the kings of
Italy.
The third of the actions and sayings of
Julius Caesar.
And the fourth of the descendants of
Julius Caesar.
THERE are many others done here without Printer's name.
Article
II.
The City of
FLORENCE.
FLORENCE, the metropolis and seat of the dukes of
Tuscany,
and a noble university, was not oblig'd to foreigners for this Art, since it was brought within her gates by one of her own citizens
Bernard Cennini.
We do not find that he went to any other city in order to learn it, but being a considerable gold-smith, and having two sons,
viz. Dominic
and
Peter,
who were very ingenious artificers, and the latter a person of letters, they set themselves about cutting of punches, sinking of matrices, and, in short, got the whole apparatus of a Printing-house made within their house; insomuch that they were in a capacity of printing before the year 1471. The first book and only one we have left, which is the reason why he has been unknown to all our annalists till
F. Orlandi,
was
Virgil's
works with
Servius's
commentaries, which they began to print on the 7th of
November
1471, and finish'd
October
the 5th 1472. The preface and colophon of this not only giving an account of their ingenuity and diligence, but containing likewise something remarkable, I shall refer the original to the margin, and insert it here in
English.
The book is printed in the father and his son
Dominic's
name, and
Peter
the other son was the reviser and corrector of it.
1. BERNARD, and 2. DOMINIC CENNINI
Citizens of Florence,
1471.
VIRGILII
opera omnia cum comm. Servii, & in fine Aeneid. ejusdem Servii de Natura syllabarum libellus ad Aquilinum,
fol. Florentiae.
Orl.
1471.
In principio post praefationem ad lectorem;
Florentiae
VII idus Novembres MCCCCLXXI.
Bernardus Cenninus
auri
ex omnium judicio praestantissimus, &
Dominicus
ejus F. egregiae indolis adolescens, expressis ante calibe characteribus, ac deinde fusis literis volumen hoc primum impresserunt.
Petrus Cenninus Bernardi
ejusdem filius quantâ potuit curâ & diligentiâ emendavit, ut cernis.
Florentinis ingen
is nil ardui est. Finis.
Bernardus Cenninus
aurifex omnium judicio praestantissimus, &
Dominicus
ejus F. optimaeindolis adolescens impresserunt. Petrus ejusd.
Bernardi
F. emendavit; cum antiquissimis autem multis exemplaribus contulit, imprimisque illi curae fuit, ne quid alienum Servio ascriberetur; neu quid recideretur, aut deesset, quod Honorati esse pervetusta exemplaria demonstrarent. Quoniam vero plerosque juvat manupropriâ suoque more Graeca interponere,
aque in antiquis codicibus perpauca sunt, & accentus quidem difficillimi imprimendo notari possunt, relinquendum ad id spatia duxit. Sed cum apud homines perfectum nihil sit,
atis videri cuique debebit, si hi libri (quod vehementer optamus) prae aliis emendati reperientur.
Absolutum opus nonis Octobris M CCCC LXXII Florentiae. Orl. p. 130, 131.
.
After the preface (which was at the end of the book) are the following words:
"
AT
Florence
VII Ides
Novemb.
1471.
BERNARD CENNINUS a most excellent gold-smith, in the opinion of all men, and
Dominic
his son, a youth of an extraordinary genius, having first made their steel punches, and afterwards cast their letters from them, printed this their first work.
Peter Cenninus
another son of the said
Bernard
hath us'd his utmost care in correcting it, as you see it.
Nothing is too bard for a Florentine genius.
FINIS.
"
And after,
The colophon runs thus:
"BERNARD CENNINUS a most excellent goldsmith,
&c. as in the last,
and
Dominic
his son, a youth,
&c.
printed (this book);
Peter
the son of the same
Bernard
corrected it, having first compar'd it with the most ancient manuscripts. It was his first care that nothing should pass under the name of
Servius,
but what was truly his, or any thing, that was plain from the most ancient copies to be his, might be maim'd or wanting. But because many persons choose to write the
Greek
quotations with their own hands, and there are but few to be met with in the old copies, and their accents cannot be printed but with great difficulty, he thought proper to leave blank spaces for them. But as man can produce nothing absolutely perfect, it will be sufficient for us, if these books be sound (as we heartily wish) more correct than any other."
THE work was finish'd on the Nones of
October
1427 at
Florence.
3. FR. DOMINIC
de Pistoria Monks,
1477.
and 4. FR. PETER
de Pisa Monks,
1477.
THERE are some
Florence
editions with this inscription,
Apud sanctum Jacobum de Ripoli,
which have given
F. Orlandi
no small trouble to discover the Printers, who liv'd near that place; at length he found that it was a cloister of
Dominican
fryers, who liv'd in a little convent upon the plain of
Ripoli,
without St.
Nicholas
's gate at
Florence,
near which place he found four editions, the first of which is printed with the above-mention'd
Monk
's name as follows,
Improntata in Firenze al Monasterio di santo Jacopo di Ripoli del'Ordine del Fratri Predicatori per Mano di dua religiosi Frate Dominico da Pistoja e Frate Piero da Pisa
Firenze 1477. The other three mention only the name of the place,
Impress. apud sanctum Jacobum de Ripoli.
The second and third are dated 1478, the last is without date.
5. NICOLAS ALLEMANUS, or
Nicolas de Lorenzo Dallamagna,
and
Della Magna,
5 edit. from 1477 to 1485.
6. NICOLAS
de Brestaw,
2 edit. 1478.
7. ANTONIUS BARTHOLOMAEI
Miscomini,
12 edit. from 1481 to 1494.
8. FRANC.
de Dino
of
Florence,
2 edit. 1487, 1490.
THIS Printer work'd at
Naples
about the year 1480 as we have seen before; after which he remov'd to
Florence,
and printed the above-mention'd editions, the first of which wants the place's name, but is reasonably suppos'd to have been printed there rather than at
Naples,
because its character is different from that us'd at the latter.
9. ANTONIUS FRANCISCI
Venetian,
1 edit. 1487.
10. DEMETRIUS CALCONDILLA MILANESE,
a native of Crete,
1488.
HE was a person of admirable skill in the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues, and at first a corrector of the press; but afterwards he turn'd Printer, first at
Florence,
and then at
Milan, anno
1499, where we have mention'd him under that article. The only book known to have been printed by him at
Florence,
is a beautiful edition of
Homer
in
fol.
of which I have seen two copies. It is printed in a fine
Greek
character with a large margin and distance between the lines; and considering that it was the first volume printed in
Greek,
is a very curious and valuable piece, and bears the following title.
HOMERI
opera omnia cum textu Graeco, Labore & Industriâ Demetrii Mediolanenss Cretensis. Sumptibus Bernardi Nerisii & Nerii Tenaidis Florentinorum,
fol.
idib. Jan. Florentiae,
1488.
11. FRANCIS BONA CORSI, 9 edit. from 1490 to 1499.
12. BARTHOLOMEW P.
Florentine,
2 edit. 1492 1493.
13. LAURENCE FRANCISCI
de
ALOPA,
Venetian,
1494,
THIS was a very ingenious and famous Printer both in the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues.
Jo. Andreas Lascaris,
a noble
Grecian,
and one of the most distinguish'd criticks and poets of that time, designing to revive, as much as possible, the study of those languages, especially of the
Greek,
chose this
Laurence
for his Printer, and corrected his copies. 'Tis remarkable that his editions in the
Greek
are all printed in fine capitals throughout, the use of which was till then unknown, if we except four or five to be met with in some old impressions and manuscripts. Mr.
Mattaire
hath given us a short specimen of the first of these curious editions, with the preface of
Lascaris,
in
Latin
capitals likewise, interspers'd with
Greek
words; the figures and letters of which, as well as the number of words in each line, and of the lines in each page, answer exactly to those of that edition. He hath added some remarks upon them, which the curious reader may find in his
Annales Typograph.
from p. 267 to 285. We have five editions of his, all in
Greek,
the first and second are dated 1494 and 1496, the rest are without date.
14. LAURENCE MORGIANI, 4 edit. from 1495 to 1497.
15. JOHN of
Mentz,
4 edit. from 1495 to 1497.
16. SOCIETAS COLUBRI
[or the fraternity of the Snake]
1 edit. 1497.
17. PHILIP JUNTA or
de Junta,
2 edit. 1497 and 1500 both
Greek.
18. GERARD
de Harlem,
1 edit. 1498.
19. LEONARD
de Arigis de Cesoriaco,
1 edit. 1499, besides many others which have no Printers names.
Article
III.
The City of
FERRARA, 1471.
FERRARA is an ancient city built in the time of
Theodosius
II, surrounded afterwards with a strong wall by the Exarch of
Ravenna:
it was made an university by the Emperor
Ferdinand
II, and has always bee
famous for men of learning and valour and for ingenious artificers.
An.
1598 it past from the dominion of the Marquesses of
Este
to that of the Popes of
Rome,
under which it has continu'd ever since: hither the Art of Printing was brought by one of its own citizens,
viz.
1 ANDREAS GALLUS, 1471.
IT appears by the colophon to his first impression, which you will find in the margin
Impressi
Andreas
hoc opus cui
Francia
nomen
Trdaidit, at civis
Ferrariencis
ego,
&c.
that he was either a
Frenchman
or of
French
extraction, tho' a citizen of
Ferrara,
which last might be bestow'd on him upon the account of his being the first person who set up his press there; the like encouragement having been given by many other cities to their first Printers: but whether he brought it thither from some other place, or devis'd it at home as
Cennini
did at
Florence,
is neither easy, nor very material, to guess: he was a good Printer and his editions are still esteem'd by the curious.
WE have but twelve of them extant from
ann.
1471 to 1493.
THE rest of the Printers of
Ferrara
are as follows,
2. CARNERIUS AUGUSTINUS whose father
Bernard Augustinus
was a bookseller of the same city. We have four editions of his from 1474 to 1475 one of which,
viz. Boccacio
in
Italian
is the first poem printed in that language, it has neither date nor name of Printer or place, but the character shews it to be
Augustines.
3. SEVERUS of
Ferrara,
1 edit. 1476.
4. SEVERINUS bookseller of
Ferrara,
but whether this and the former be the same, or father and son, is uncertain: we have but one edition of his,
viz. Alberti Trotti de vero & perfecto Clerico
4to 1476, in which he writes himself
per Severinum Bibliopolam Ferrariensem.
This edition
Orlandi
tells us was afterwards reprinted at
Lyons, ann.
1535, with a
Latin
preface, importing that it was about seventy years since
Severinus
bookseller had publish'd it at
Ferrara,
by which it would appear that he had printed it
ann.
1465, even before either that city or even
Rome
had receiv'd the Art: our author therefore guesses the mistake to be in the word
septuagesimus annus,
which he thinks was printed instead of
sexagesimus,
which last brings it almost to the very time.
5. THE fifth and last Printer was
Laurence Rossi
or
Rubeus,
of whom we have 6 editions from 1492 to 1497.
THERE are a few more without Printers names, the last of which is the history of Pope
Joan
in
Italian
1497.
Article
I.
The City of
NUREMBERGH, 1472.
NUREMBERGH or
Norimbergh,
in
Latin Norimberga,
is a free city in
Germany
upon the confines of
Swabia, Franconia,
and
Bavaria,
situate upon the river
Pegnitz.
It was formerly a democratical commonwealth, but upon some domestick sedition, it reduc'd itself to an aristocracy, in the reign of the emperor
Charles
IV, under the government of twenty four senators chosen out of so many of their ancientest families; which form of government hath been continued ever since. The city is very rich, large and populous, surrounded with a double wall above eight miles in circuit, and 180 lofty towers. It was always celebrated for producing the best artificers in every kind of handicraft, and particularly for a beautiful metal of their own making, call'd
Nurembergh
copper; the composition of which was kept with all imaginable secrecy within their walls, every workman being first sworn to it; so that the metal was almost equally dear with silver; till about the latter end of the last century, one of their own citizens came over and sold the secret here in
England,
which has made it more common, and consequently lessen'd the price of it. This metal I purposely chuse to mention because it was reckon'd very excellent for making of matrices, being far more ductile than the common copper, and not so apt to break the punches.
IT will be no easy matter to fix the time when the Art of Printing was brought to this city.
John Andreas Endlers
a Printer of
Nuremberg,
who publish'd a piece on Printing, in
High Dutch, anno
1722, and in it has given us an account of its progress in that city, acquaints us that he had met with some MS. annals, which affirm, that the Art was no sooner found out at
Mentz,
but it was immediately communicated to
Nuremberg,
which did therefore receive it about the year 1444 according to one, or 1440 according to another. 'Tis true, our author is so far from being satisfy'd with their account, that he has even taken the pains to confute them from more authentic testimonies; however, tho' I do not design to enter into a detail of that dispute, yet I could not forbear mentioning thus much, because it serves to confirm a former observation,
viz.
that not only the Printers, but likewise the
Cities
themselves have taken no small pains to antedate their respective claims to this Art.
I have already taken notice in the first part of this history,
pag.
22. that the discovery of the Art of Printing had been attributed by
Purbach,
and
Peter Ramus
to that learned mathematician and astronomer
John de Monte regio,
or
Regio-Montanus,
and mention'd
Manilius
's astronomy printed by him without date or places name. Our
German
author acquaints us upon the authority of
Gassendi,
one of the
French
royal mathematicians,
"that
Regiomontanus
came to
Nuremberg
about
anno
1471, with a design to set up a Printing-house there, in order to print his own works and those of other learned men, with greater accuracy and speed, and to improve the Art of Printing in several of its branches; but that he met with so many obstacles to his design, that he saw himself forc'd to make use of foreign Printing-houses, such as they were, till one
Bernard Walter
offer'd to bear the charges of erecting a Printing-house for him (as he likewise did towards many other curious inventions of his) and enabled him to print
Purbac
's new theory,
Manilius
's astronomy, and his own
Ephemerides
for the use of the publick."
OUR author observes further, that as this account of
Gassendi
's doth quite overturn
Peter Ramus
's supposition of
Regiomontanus
being the inventor of the art, so it likewise shews him to have contributed much towards the improvement of it. It likewise proves that there were some Presses in this city before he came thither, but who they were that set them up, and what works they printed before that time, is what he has not been able to find out, because they have no dates or Printer's names.
THE oldest book he could find with a date, is the
Commestorium Vitiorum
of
Francis de Retza
a
Dominican Fryar;
at the end of which are the words which you'll find in the margin
Hic Codex egregius Comestorii vitiorum sacre Theologie Professoris eximii
Francisci
de
Retza
Ordinis predicatorum finit feliciter.
Nuremberge anno
LXX
o.
Patronarum formarumque Concordia & proportione impressus.
with this odd date
LXX
o.
which our author seems to take for 1470. This book was afterwards reprinted by
Ant. Koburger anno
1476, and afterwards
anno
1496, under the following title,
Summa quae destructorium vitiorum nominatur,
without Printer's name.
The author mentions another book of the same date,
viz. Gerson,
chancellour of
Paris, Commentarium super sapientis hebrei cantica,
&c. but as neither of these have the Printer's name, we shall seek somewhere else for the first Printer of
Nuremberg.
According therefore to our propos'd method of the oldest edition known, that rank will fall upon.
1. ANTONY KOBURGER.
A person eminent for learning, and the number, elegancy and correctness of his editions, which gain'd him the title of the prince of Printers among the learned of his time. At first indeed his character, tho' of the
Venetian
sort, was somewhat imperfect, and inferior to that of many of his cotemporaries; but he afterwards procur'd a new sett, which hath been justly esteem'd ever since as fine as any that have been us'd either before or after him. He was no less solicitous in correcting his works; so that tho' he was alone sufficient for that task, yet he took the learned
Frederic Pistorius
for his assistant. He spar'd no cost nor pains in procuring the best manuscripts, and always desir'd the judgment of the learned before he ventur'd to print them. The great
Jodocus Badius
hath made this short but just panegyric upon him, in a letter written to him
anno
1499, and printed at the beginning of the works of
Angelus Politianus anno
1519
Litteratos omnes & colis & foves, pervigilemque curam ad bonos codices vere terse & sine mendis imprimendos adhibes.
; That he was a great friend and lover of the learned, and indefatigable in printing the best copies faithfully, neatly and correctly. Mr.
Mattaire
hath given us an extract of this letter in his
Annales Typogr.
p. 79. by which the reader may see what esteem this great man was in, not only among the learned, but likewise among the best Printers of his time; and it may be said of him, that he printed more works than any of them, particularly bibles, of which the reader will find no less than 12 editions still extant, one of which is in 5, another in 6 volumes in folio, and a third with fine wooden cuts.
HE was no less diligent in printing other works, and we are told by
John And. Endters,
"That he kept daily twenty four presses at work, and employ'd no less than an hundred journeymen whom he maintain'd without doors; they had a set hour to come to work, and to leave off, and he admitted none single into his house but oblig'd them to wait at his door till they were altogether, and then they were admitted in, and enter'd upon their respective works.
HE was likewise a considerable Bookseller, and kept a spacious printing-house at
Lyons
in
France,
where he had sundry law-books printed for him; besides this, he had his factors and agents in the most considerable cities in
Christendom,
and kept sixteen open shops beside ware-houses, and in all of them a considerable stock of the best books then extant, so that he never was at a loss for any good editions to supply his customers with."
THUS he continued printing both at
Nuremberg
and at
Lyons
with great success and applause, till the year 1501 if not beyond; however we don't find any edition of his of a more recent date, which makes me believe that he left off printing about that time. In 1513.
James Sachon
one of his workmen at
Lyons,
printed
Castellanus
's
Latin
bible for him with this colophon,
Lugduni per Jacobum Sachon expensis Antonii Koburger.
The same is likewise dated from
Nurembergh,
but is suppos'd to be the same edition with that of
Lyons;
he dy'd in this year after having been for some time a member of the chief council of
Nuremberg;
all the editions that we have of him, his bibles inclusive, from 1472 to 1500, amounts to but thirty seven, a number too inconsiderable for the many presses and workmen that he kept, which gives me room to hope that time will discover a great many more.
2. MR.
Mattaire
p. 79 tells us of one
Adam
of
Amberg
[the metropolis of the
Bavarian
palatinate] who flourish'd
ann.
1472, but doth not tell us where he wrought. Our German author says that he had met with a small treatise in 4to. of a sheet and half, with his name, and the city of
Nurembergh
at the end; so that he most probably resided there, but tho' this work be without date, yet his edition of
Cicero
's
Orationes
printed
ann.
1472, tho' without places name, may be so far presum'd to be done here, as to allow him the next place after
Koburger,
THE rest of the Printers of this city are as follows,
3. FREDERIC CREUSNER, 5 edit. from 1473 to 1479.
4. JOHN SENSENSCHMID of
Eger, 1473.
5. HENRY KOLER of
Mentz,
1473.
and 6. ANDREW FRISNER
de Wunsiedel.
1473.
KOLER was a native of
Mentz,
and in all likelyhood one of
Faust
's servants who left that city soon after it was taken, and took sanctuary at
Nuremberg.
THE last of these
viz. Frisner
after having been corrector and assistant to
John Sensenschmid
till 1478, set up a Printing-house himself, which appears from many of his books which bear his name, as Printer and editor. He had study'd for some time in the university of
Leipsick,
with a relation of his,
Erasmus Frisner,
a Dominican Fryar, who tho' but twenty seven years of age had compos'd several books, the printing of which he committed to his kinsman
Andrew,
who printed them some time after at
Nurembergh
where he dwelt, as appears by several of his books from 1473 till 1478, after this having taken his degree of master of arts he remov'd again to
Leipsick,
where he was soon after chosen professor of divinity, and attain'd even to the honour of
Rector Magnificus
of that university, to which place he got all his Printing-tools convey'd: he went from thence to
Rome,
where pope
Julius
II. made him
Papae & sedis apostolicae primarius ordinarius.
By his last will which he made at
Rome ann.
1504, he left a noble legacy for the erection of a college at
Wonsiedel,
for the education and maintenance of young students of the family of the
Frisner
's which they enjoy to this day, he left them also his
Historia Lombardica
which he had printed whilst at
Leipsick.
He likewise bequeath'd all his printing materials to the convent of the dominicans of
Leipsick,
and expresses himself thus,
Item, I leave my iron chest, presses, instruments and other utensils and materials for printing, together with twenty florens rhenish to pray for my soul and for buying the monks a better dinner than they us'd to have in the Prior's refectory—the day when they perform my
bsequies.
WHAT use the monks made of the Printing-press,
&c.
I can no where find: we have but four editions printed by the aforesaid three partners from 1473 to 1487.
7. CONRARD LENTORIUS. We have but one
Latin
Bible with the apostills of
Nich. de Lyra
fol. 1482.
8. GEORGE STUCHS or
Flucks de Sultzbach,
we have but one missal of his, adorn'd with rubricks 1484.
9. GASPAR HOCHFEDER, our German author calls him
Hochfelder.
2 edit. 1491 and 1494.
WITH about 60 more without Printers names
MR. ENDTERS mentions some other Printers before 1500, but as he gives us no account of their works, we shall say no more of them.
BEFORE I leave the city of
Nuremberg
I cannot but take notice that it is also famous for being the native place, and constant residence of the great Painter, Engraver, Mathematician and Printer
Albert Durer.
MARK ANTONIO,
Raphael
's learned engraver, gives him this character, speaking of his skill in engraving and of his other excellent talents;
"That if so excellent, so exact, and so universal a genius had been cultivated in
Tuscany,
instead of
Germany,
and had form'd his study according to the excellent pieces which he might have seen at
Rome,
as the rest of our celebrated painters have done, he would have prov'd the best in that respect that
Italy
ever produc'd, as he really was the greatest and most accomplish'd genius that
Germany
could ever boast of."
THIS great man was born
ann.
1471. His father observing the early marks of his genius to all the liberal sciences, spar'd no cost to have it improv'd by all possible means (travelling excepted) and by the best masters in
Germany.
But tho' his other talents have been highly celebrated by the learned, yet I never met with any who took notice of his having been a printer, (no not even his countryman and fellow-citizen, author of a Piece on the Subject of Printing &c. in
Nuremberg,
mentioned in the beginning of this article) tho' several of his works are preserv'd in divers libraries both publick and private. I have seen some of them very beautiful, nor do I doubt but that his genius for painting and engraving, led him to the other two branches of cutting upon wood and Printing, that he might be able to perform the whole work himself, without the danger of having any part of it spoil'd by unskilful hands, and the better to print the descriptions of his cuts,
&c.
in a more elegant manner than cou'd possibly be done in wood. His improvement in the art of engraving or cutting upon wood, was carried by him to its utmost perfection, as all persons must own who have seen any of his works.
WITH respect to his Printing, I have already hinted, that he seldom meddled with any works but his own, as I can find; but as I have met with none done before the year 1500, tho' he probably entred into that province before that time; I shall not trouble the reader with a list of them, but content my self with subjoining an account of a few of the most considerable, which I have seen: They are esteem'd by the learned master-pieces of the kind, and preserv'd as monuments of the author's merit, being as follow;
1. THE history of the
Apocalypse,
consisting of a fine set of draughts upon that subject, all cut upon wood with his own hand, and with the utmost beauty and truth.
2. The history of the
four gospels,
done after the same manner, and with the same beauty. Both these sets are printed with the common press, with explanations and historical accounts of the designs placed either under them, or on the other side, or upon a distinct leaf. They are both in
fol.
3. His book of proportions, which he did not live to finish, but was printed by his widow after his death, is likewise esteem'd another masterpiece in that kind. I shall only add, that the singular beauty of his ink, the excellency of the Press work, and in a word, the exactness of his performances do justly rank him amongst the greatest genius's of the age. I hope therefore the reader will excuse this digression in favour of a person to whom the world owes the great improvements made in the art of cutting upon wood, which has been so serviceable to the Printers in the ornamental part of their works.
Article
V.
The City of
VERONA.
VERONA, an ancient city in
Lombardy,
famous for some noble relicks of the old
Roman
architecture, such as amphitheatres, triumphal arches,
&c.
which still retain some part of their former magnificence, is likewise remarkable for having been the native place of several eminent persons, in particular, of
Cornelius Nepos, Emilius Maurus, Pliny, Vitruvius, Guarini,
and others. It receiv'd the Art of Printing very soon, yet made but small advantage of it. We find very few Printers in it, and we have but a small number of their works left. The first of them was;
1. JOHN
de
VERONA.
WHO was a native of
Verona,
and son to
Nicolas
a doctor of physic, and the first who set up a Printing-press in that city, as appears by the colophon of the only book extant of his,
viz. Valturius de re militari liber.
fol.
per Jo. Veronens. Veronae
Joannes ex Verona oriundus Nicolai
yrurgiae Medici filius, Artis impressoriae Magister hunc de Re Militari librum Literis & figuratis signis in sua Patria primus impressit. M CCCC LXXIII.
. anno 1472.
2. FELIX ANTIQUARIUS we have but 1 edit. of theirs, dated 1476.
& 3. INNOCENT ZILETI we have but 1 edit. of theirs, dated 1476.
4. PETER MAUFER, 1480.
PETER MAUFER, was a Frenchman and an excellent Printer. The first place where he set up his press was the city of
Padua,
about 1474, as we shall shew in its proper place. Thence he came to
Verona
in 1479, and after a short stay there, went to
Venice
in 1483, and associated himself with
Nicol. Contengo,
as mention'd in the chapter of that city. We have only the following book printed by him here.
JOSEPHI
opera Latinè, Ludovico Contrada interprete,
fol.
per Petrum Maufer Gallicum,
oct. cal. Jan. pont. max. Sixto 4. Venetorum duce Joanne Mocenigo,
in inclytâ civitate Veronae
1480.
5. BONINO
de
BONINI
de
RAGUSIO, 1482.
WHO printed at first in the city of
Venice,
with
Andreas de Paltasichis anno
1478; whence he remov'd to
Verona,
and at last to
Brescia,
where he continued printing much longer; we have but three of his editions done at
Verona,
1482 and 1483.
6. PAUL FRIDENPERGER of
Passaw
in
Germany,
1 edit. 1486. with a small number without Printer's names.
Article
6.
The City of
PARMA, 1472.
PARMA is another ancient city in
Lombardy,
call'd by the Romans
Gallia Cisalpina,
situate in a very pleasant large plain, and so well furnish'd with pasture ground, that it is recorded by
Martial
for the great number of cattel it bred,
Tondet & innumeros Gallica Parma greges.
It was once under the pope's government, and given by
Paul
III. to his nephews, with the title of dukes of
Parma,
under whom it has continu'd ever since. Tho' this city receiv'd the Art of Printing so early as the year 1472, yet it had but very few artificers, and a small number of editions printed there. It may indeed be reasonably suppos'd that these being so much inferior to those of
Venice, Rome, Paris, &c.
have been mostly destroy'd; and the same may be said of many other cities. However
Parma
deserves to be remember'd, if not for the number and excellency of her Printers, yet for having given birth to some of the greatest of that time, who were (perhaps for want of sufficient encouragement here) oblig'd to settle in other parts of
Italy.
Among these were the famous
Antony Zarot,
who printed at
Milan
a great many fine and correct volumes, as we have shewn under that article,
Fausto, Vincenzo,
and
Pellegrino del Bonardi,
and
Bartholomew de Parma
in
Bolognia,
and
Matthew Capcasa
in
Venice, Mich. Manzoli
in
Treviso,
with many more whose name and place of birth,
&c.
the reader will find in the article of each of those cities. The first book, we meet with printed here, is the works of the famous lawyer
Baldus;
but hath no Printer's name, tho' it is dated at
Parma ann.
1471. However 'tis probable it was printed by
Stephen Corali,
a native of
Lyons,
who is the first in our list, and printed (or rather might reprint) the same work the year following.
1. STEPHEN CORALI, 5 edit. from 1473 to 1476.
2. AUGUSTINE GENOENSIS (or of
Genoa)
1 edit. 1477.
3. ANDREA PORTILIA, 4 edit. from 1479 to 1481.
4. ANGELO UGOLETTI
de Parma,
4 edit. from 1493 to 1499.
AND near twenty more without Printers names.
Article
VII. MANTUA.
MANTUA one of the most ancient cities of
Lombardy,
situate in the middle of an island, form'd by the river
Mincio,
had its name and origin from
Manto
daughter of
Tiresias
a Theban augur, she bore a son call'd
Ocnus,
who built a city near the river
Po,
and from his mother's name call'd it
Mantoa
or
Mantua.
After a great variety of changes, it is now subject to the house of
Austria.
It has given birth to many learned men both ancient and modern, and particularly to the immortal
Virgil.
This city cannot boast of any great merit with respect to the Art of Printing, except that it was brought thither
ann.
1472 by some
Germans,
who came to settle there; but, as it is probable, for want of encouragement, were oblig'd to remove. We find but four of these Printers at the most, and at a considerable distance of time from each other. Of the two first we know but one edition; and two of each of the rest, as will appear from the following list.
1. GEORGE, and 2. PAUL,
Germans,
1 edit. 1472.
3. PAUL JOHN
de Burschbach,
of the diocess of
Mentz,
who was perhaps the same with
Paul German
the latter of the two foregoing, who takes now the name of his native town instead of that of his nation, 2 edit. 1479, 1481.
4. VINCENT BERTOCH of
Reggio,
2 edit. 1493, 1498: and some others which have no Printers names.
Article
VIII.
The City of
DERVENTER, 1472.
DERVENTER [in
Latin Daventria]
in
lower Germany,
near the river
Issel
upon the confines of
lower Gelderland,
near the city of
Utrecht
began to practise the Art of Printing
ann.
1472. The 1st impression done here,
viz. Prudentius Aurelius Poeta Hispanus his poems,
4to. has no Printer's name, but is dated
Daventriae
1472.
2. RICHARD PAFRADIUS, 1 edit. 1481.
3. JAMES
de Breda,
4 edit. from 1490 to 1497, with about twenty more without Printers names.
Article
IX.
The City of
PADUA, 1472.
PADUA or
Padova,
in
Latin Patavia
or
Patavium,
(so call'd by
Antenor
the fi
st founder of it, in compliment to his companions, who were
Paphlagonians,
and for whose sakes he call'd it by the name of their metropolis) is a rich, ancient and noble city upon the river
Brento,
and now under the government of the
Venetian
republick, famous for its hot baths and mineral waters, and resorted to from all parts of
Europe.
It is one of the last cities we know of that receiv'd this Art in the year 1472. in which tho' it was not very eminent either for the number of Printers or impressions, yet it publish'd several curious editions, which had not as yet appear'd in any of the foregoing cities. The two first Printers were;
1. BARTHOLOMEW
de Val de Zochio
of
Padua,
&c.
2. MARTIN
de Septem Arboribus,
OF these we have but three editions, 1472, 1473, 1474.
3. PETER MAUFER whom we have already mention'd under the articles of
Venice
and
Verona:
we have four editions of his printed at
Padua
from 1474 to 1479.
4. LAURENCE CANOZIUS
de Lendenaro,
1 edit. 1474.
5. ALBERT
de Stendalia,
1 edit. 1475.
6. JOHN HERBERT or
Herbort,
3 edit. 1476, 1482; and one without date or places name.
7. ANTON.
de Carcano,
1 edit. 1478.
8. MATTHEW
de Cerdonis de Windischegrets,
5 edit. from 1482 to 1487.
9. MOSES
de Castello,
1 edit. 1492.
10. JEROM
de Duranti,
1 edit. 1493, he wrought also in
Pavia
with
Christopher de Canibus, ann.
1488.
11. LEWIS or
Alois de Como,
&c. 1 edit. 1497.
12. BARTHOLOMEW
de Trossis,
1 edit. 1497.
With a few more without Printers names.
CHAP. IX.
The Cities of
1 Louvain, 2 Ulms, 3 Utrecht,
ann.
1473. 4 Turin, 5 Genoa, 6 Brescia, 7 Alost,
ann.
1474.
Article
I.
The City of
LOUVAIN.
LOUVAIN, in
Latin Lovanium,
is a large populous and well fenced city, the capital of all
Brabant,
and one of the most frequented universities in
Europe,
founded by
John
duke of
Brabant anno
1426. It abounds with magnificent colleges and other sumptuous edifices, according to that of the poet.
Postea Musarum Sedem, Collegiaque ampla
—
Lovani
aspicienda dedit.
IT is likewise famous for the vast number of its students, especially in divinity; tho' the reader will scarce forbear wondering what sort of divines they must have been, when we tell him that they had the Art of Printing near thirty years,
i. e.
from 1472 to 1500, and God knows how far beyond, and never printed one single bible in all that time, at least as I can find in any annalist; whereas we have observ'd that a
Nuremberg
Printer, namely,
Ant. Koburger
printed at least a dozen in that time; the truth is, if we judge by the small number of workmen and of impressions done here, we shall be apt to think that the Art of Printing met with but small encouragement; since if we except the first Printer, of whom we shall speak presently, I can find but two more till the year 1500, after which whoever examines the second volume of Mr.
Mattaire
's
Annales Typographici,
will find them run much thinner of either.
THE first press was set up here by;
1. JOHN
de Westphalia
of
Paderbourn
1473, an eminent Printer invited to
Louvain
by some of the heads of that university, where he continu'd printing till
ano.
1495, if we except 2 editions printed in his name if not by him; the first in the town of
Alost
in
Flanders
not far from that of
Louvain anno
1474, as shall be mention'd at the end of this chapter; and the other,
viz. Epistola de Simonia Vitanda,
&c.
per rev'. Magist. Engelbertum Cultificis,
&c.
Novimagii
9 Julii 1479.
WE have nineteen editions of his from 1473 to 1495 some of which are without date, place, or Printer's name; but easily known to be his by the character.
2. JOHN VELDENER, 2 edit. of the
Fasciculus Temporum,
1474 and 1476.
3. EGIDIUS VENDER HEERSTRATEN, 2 edit, 1486 to 1487. And five or six more without Printer's name.
Article
II.
The City of
ULMS.
ULMS a considerable city in
High Germany,
situate near the
Danube,
between
Ausburg, Constance
and
Strasburgh,
and famous for the finest linnen and cambrick, with which it furnishes most parts of
Europe,
began to set up the Art of Printing sometime before the year 1473.
1. JOHN ZEINER
de Reutlingen,
1473.
WAS the first who practis'd it there. He was a native of
Reutlingen
a small city in the duchy of
Wirtembergh,
which we have mention'd as one of the first in
Germany
that receiv'd the art,
viz. ann.
1469. This Printer was, in all probability, the son or brother of
Gunter Zeiner,
who work'd at
Ausburgh
from
ann.
1470, and is mention'd under that article
p.
122. We have but nine editions of his from 1473 to 1484, two of which are the
Latin Bible
fol. and one,
viz. Alvarius Pelagius de planctû Ecclesiae
1473, 2
vol. fol.
in large paper, is reckon'd a very curious as well as scarce edition: he used to subscribe himself sometimes
Jo. Zeiner de Reutlingen
or
Reutlinga,
and sometimes
Jo. Zeiner Ulmensis Oppidi Incolam.
2. LEONARD HOL citizen of
Ulm,
1 edit. 1482.
3. JOHN REGER
de Kemnat,
5 edit. from 1486 to 1497.
Article
III.
The City of
UTRECHT.
UTRECHT [in
Latin Ultra trajectum]
a city in
Flanders
upon the
Rhine,
and subject to the emperor of
Germany,
receiv'd the Art of Printing about
ann.
1473, if not before; but its productions have been so few and inconsiderable that no annalist,
De la Caille
and F.
Orlandi
excepted, has taken any notice of them; and even the latter has been able to discover no more than three editions, little remarkable either for bulk or beauty, for which reason I suppose they are all three without Printer's name.
Article
IV.
The City of
TURIN.
TURIN [in
Latin Taurinum]
the capital of
Piedmont,
and residence of the dukes of
Savoy
now kings of
Sardinia,
is situate upon the river
Durio
nigh the
Po,
near the western
Alps.
It is a large rich and populous city and university, strongly fortify'd, and adorn'd with magnificent palaces, churches and edifices. It receiv'd the Art of Printing about
ann.
1474. The first artists who set up their presses here were,
1. JOHN FABRI 1475.
and 2. JOHANNINUS
de Petro, 1475.
THESE two printed together at first as appears by their first impression,
viz. Breviarium Romanum fol.
per
Jo. Fabri
and
Johanninum de Petro:
but
Fabri
associated himself with
Martin Huz
a Printer of the city of
Lyons,
with whom he printed some editions, and some by himself: however he continu'd still at
Turin,
and we have three editions more of his printed there by himself from 1477 to 1487, wherein he subscribes himself
Jo-Fabri Lingonensis;
as for his partner we have nothing of him but the breviary abovemention'd.
3. NICOLAS
de Benedictis
4 edit. from 1492 to 1494.
and 4. JACOPIN SVIGUS 4 edit. from 1492 to 1494.
Article
V.
The City of
GENOA, 1474.
GENOA [in
Latin Janua]
is a rich populous ancient city, the metropolis of
Liguria,
and capital of the republick of
Genoa:
it is fam'd for having given birth to
Christopher Columbus
the first discoverer of
America,
and for the greatness and extent of her maritime trade: we meet with two noted Printers, who came and set up their presses there,
ann.
1474,
viz
1. MATTHIAS MORAVUS
de Olomuntz
1474.
and 2. MICHEL MONK or
de Monacho
1474.
BUT whether that city chose to drive any other trade, rather than that of books, or whether they found it already furnished from other places, and so met with but small encouragement; or for whatever other reason, 'tis certain they tarry'd not long there. For
Moravus
printed but one book in company with
Monk,
and the next year remov'd to
Naples,
where he continued 'till
ann.
1490, as hath been said in the article of that city; and we hear no further of
Monk.
The book they printed here is,
Supplementum summae quae Pisanella vocatur,
fol.
per
Matthiam Moravum
de
Olomuntz
&
Michaelem
de
Monacho
socium ejus,
x
kal. Julii Millesimo quadringentesimo
LIJ.
quarto;
where (LIJ stands for LXX) 1474.
It is very likely, that the ill success of these two Printers, frighten'd others from coming thither, for we don't meet with any that ventur'd to settle there after them, 'till a long time after the close of the century.
Article
VI.
The City of
BRESCIA.
BRESCIA, in
Latin Brixia,
an ancient and noble city in
Lombardy,
now under the republick of
Venice,
gave much greater encouragement to the Art of Printing, than some of the last nam'd cities. About the year 1474.
1. HENRY
of
COLOGN,
and
2. STATIUS GALLICUS.
CAME and settled here, and printed the following book, the only one yet known to be printed by them here,
viz.
Homeri Iliades per
Laurentium Vallensem
in Latinum sermonem
raductae
&c. viii
kal. Decemb. per
Henr. Coloniensem
&
Statium Gallicum.
Brixiae
1474.
3. BONINUS
de
BONINIS
of
RAGUSIO, 1480.
WHOSE first works were printed at
Verona, ann.
1473, as has been said. Thence he remov'd to
Brescia,
where he continu'd printing 'till
ann.
1486.
HIS corrector was
Marcus Scaramuccinus
of
Palazzolo:
there are 10 editions of his printed at
Brescia
from 1480 to 1486.
4. BARTHOLOM. VERSELLENSIS Printer and bookseller, 1 edition 1482.
5. JAMES BRITANNICUS, brothers, of the city of
Brescia,
1485.
6. ANGEL BRITANNICUS, brothers, of the city of
Brescia,
1485.
THE first of these was some time partner to
John de Forlivio
at
Venice
about the year 1483, as you'll find
pag.
149; after which he came to his own city
Brescia,
and printed sometimes by himself, and sometimes with his brother
Angelo:
his corrector was a Franciscan monk nam'd
Angel de Montelmo:
we have 11 edit. of the former, from 1485 to 1498: and 2 with both their names,
ann.
1496.
7. ARNOLD
de Arundis,
1 edit. without date.
8. RABBI GHERSON, 1492.
RABBI GHERSON was the son of
R. Moses
a jew of
Soncino,
where
Hebrew
first began to be printed: he settled first at
Brescia,
where he printed the two following editions in
Hebrew,
viz.
Mechaberith Rabb. Immanuelis, per
Rabbi Gherson, Brixiae, 1492.
Biblia Hebraicé,
8vo,
per
Gersonem
F.
Mosis Soncinatem,
ibid
1494.
CHEVILLIER tells us likewise
p.
265, that he printed also at
Riminium
in
Romania,
a
Hebrew
edition intitled,
Col bo
without date: after this he remov'd his press to
Constantinople,
where he printed several other
Hebrew
works 'till the year 1530, in which he is suppos'd to have dy'd.
9. BERNARDINE MISENTI
de Pavia
came first from
Cremona,
where he had printed in company with
Caesar de Parma, ann.
1492: we have but 2 edit. of his done at
Brescia
from 1495 to 1497.
10. FRANCIS LAURINI citizen of
Brescia,
we have only one edition of his,
viz. Homer's Iliads
translated into
Latin
by
Laur. Valla,
corrected by
Baptista Farsengus
a priest of that city, 1497: it has no place's name, but is suppos'd to be done at
Brescia.
THERE are about 20 edit. more without Printer's names.
Article
VII.
The City of
ALOST.
ALOST is a small town in
Flanders
upon the river
Tever
between
Brussels
and
Gaunt,
in which the following Printers set up their presses,
viz.
1. JOHN
de Westphalia,
1474.
2. THEODORIC MARTIN of
Alost,
1474.
THE former of these, a native of
Paderborn,
printed in the city of
Louvain, ann.
1473. 'till 1475, as we have shewn in that article. We find likewise a book printed by him at
Alost, ann.
1474 in company with
Theodoric Martin,
a native of it, as follows;
Liber praedicabilium,
8vo,
per
Jo. de Westphalia Paderbonensem
cum
Theodorico Martini,
Maii die sexto in
Alosto oppido comitatus Fland. 1474.
THEODORIC MARTIN afterwards printed by himself, first at
Alost
'till 1490; then at
Antwerp, ann.
1509, and at
Louvain, ann.
1516. His mark us'd to be a shield hanging upon a vine with T. M. tho' at other times, he made use of two anchors with his name
Theodoric Martin excudebat.
His impressions at
Alost
are but three in number,
viz.
two dated 1487, and the last 1490.
CHAP. X.
The Cities of
Basil, Placentia, Pignerol, Esling, Vincenza, Lubeck
and
Valentia,
ann.
1475; Rostock
and
Bruges,
ann.
1476.
At
Basil,
particulars relating to
Amerbach
and
Froben;
the Characters and Names of the other Printers, and Number of their Impressions, 'till the Year
1500.
Article
I.
The City of
BASIL, 1475.
BASIL, call'd in
Latin Basilea,
and by
Ptolemy, Augusta Rauricorum,
is an ancient city and university in
Switzerland,
water'd by the two great rivers
Rhine
and
Brise,
which being navigable, increase very much the commerce and riches of it; so that in spite of all the calamities it has suffer'd in war, it is one of the most opulent cities of
Germany.
The university is likewise very celebrated for learned men in all sciences, and was founded
ann.
1460, and endow'd with privileges equal to any university in
Europe,
by pope
Pius
II. In this city pope
Martin
V. call'd a council,
ann.
1431; soon after which it became famous for the improvements, 5 which the Art of Printing, brought thither in or before the year 1475, receiv'd from some of its artificers; who have been generally the best and most learned Printers in
Europe,
and publish'd the most elegant and correct editions of the ancient fathers, and of the
Greek
and
Latin
classicks. Of this number were
John Amerbach
and
John Froben,
of whom we shall give an account in the sequel of this article.
THE first book we meet with printed here, has no Printer's name; nor is it possible to guess from the character, or any thing else in the edition, who 'twas done by: It is as follows;
Roberti de Licio opus quadragesimale,
Basileae 1475.
1. BERNARD RICHEL, 1477.
A citizen of
Basil,
and an excellent Printer, was the first who put his name to his editions there; we have but three of them. The first is his
Biblia Latina,
fol.
per
Bernardum Richel
civem
Basiliae 1477; the other two are dated 1478, 1482.
2. MICHEL WENKLER, 7 edit. from 1477 to 1486.
THE last of his impressions,
viz. Gasparini Pergamensis Epistolae,
4to. F.
Orlandi
tells us in his list
p.
166. that this has neither date nor Printer's name; but Mr.
Mattaire
gives us the same edition under the names of
Michel Wenkler
and
Fred. Biel,
with some verses at the end, as you'll find in that author,
Annal. Typogr.
p. 375, only he or his Printer has mistaken
Parmensis
for
Pergamensis.
3. NICHOLAS KESLER citizen of
Basil,
1486.
OF whom we have a
Biblia Sacra
printed at
Antwerp, ann.
1487, and five other editions at
Basil,
from 1486 to 1494: his first edition,
viz. Textus Sententiarum, fol.
has the colophon which you will find in the margin, in imitation of
Faust, Schoeffer
and others
Anno domini millesimo quadringentesimo octuagesimo sexto, octavo nonas Martii, non atramentali penna cannave, sed quadam ingeniosa arte imprimendi, cunctipotenti aspirante deo, in egregia urbe
Basilionsi Nicolaus K
sl
r selicuter consummavit.
.
HIS last work,
viz. Libri deflorationum
does not bear
Kesler
's name; yet it being printed in the same character with the former, is easily known to be his. It hath at the beginning the image of an old man with a triple face, and these words over it,
Sancta Trinitas.
4. JOHN AMERBACH, 1481.
JOHN AMERBACH, one of the most excellent and learned Printers of his time, was at first a student at
Paris,
under the famous
Jo. Lapidanus
or
a Lapide,
who, being rector of that university, invited the three
Germans
thither.
Amerbach
follow'd his studies 'till he attain'd to the degree of master of arts, soon after which he came to
Basil,
and set up the Art of Printing, for which he became as famous, as he had been before for his learning.
WHAT countryman he was is not easy to determine. Some
French
annalists challenge him for theirs, and
Orlandi
calls him a
Parisian,
tho' perhaps on no other account, than that he studied so long in that university. His name is unquestionably
German;
but neither the colophons of his editions, nor his epitaph, make any mention of his country; for which reason, we shall not pretend to affirm any thing upon that head. His first care at his entrance into the business of Printing was to get a font of the most perfect round Roman, which however he made no use of in his books of divinity, the prevailing custom of those days being to print them in old Gothic. His next was to procure some of the best correctors of that age, of whom, tho' no person was more capable of correcting his works than himself, he had a greater number than any of his contemporaries. Among these were
Martin Dodo
a prebend,
Francis Wyler
a learned Franciscan fryar,
Conrard Pelican
an eminent divine,
Beatus Rhenanus
and others. He was so carefull and diligent in this province, that he would not let one sheet pass unrevis'd by himself.
Reuchlin
gives us this character of him in the preface to his book
De verbo mirifico,
that he was a man of an excellent genius, highly valuable for the neatness and correctness of his works, and well skill'd in several arts and sciences. His former master
Jo. Lapidanus
assures us
I stud ego non favoris, sed veritatis gratia ausim dicere, quod non legerim libros hac arte effictos, quos tuis emendatiores exactiorique stilo consummatos probaverim. Vide
Chevil.
p. 128.
, that he never read any books better or more correctly printed than his. As
Amerbach
was a man of singular piety and zeal for religion, which appears from all his prefaces, that scarce breathe any thing else; so he rather chose to consecrate his labours to that, than any other branch of learning. This induc'd him to print the works of all the ancient fathers, a task hitherto unattempted by any Printer. He began with an edition of St.
Austin,
which he finish'd not 'till the year 1505, in the old Gothic. But as he neither had a good manuscript to print after, nor sufficient assistance from the learned; we can only say that it was executed as correctly, as could be expected in those times. What he had most at heart was to publish St.
Jerom
's works, which, as he knew was impossible to be done without a competent skill in the
Latin, Greek
and
Hebrew
tongues, the last of which he was too old and full of business to learn, he made his three sons, youths of bright parts, divide that province among themselves; who having study'd those languages, were oblig'd by him, whether he liv'd or dy'd, to finish that edition; which they faithfully perform'd. But as this task, wherein he was engaged, was too large for one man, he took the learned
John Froben,
whom we shall mention hereafter, into partnership, and printed several valuable and distinct volumes with him. The greatest part of these particulars we have from
Erasmus,
in his prefaces to St.
Austin
and St.
Jerom,
which later edition he revis'd and publish'd
anno
1515, with a dedication to the archbishop of
Canterbury.
He highly extolls the piety of the
Amerbachs,
he praises the father for having taken such care of his sons education; and the sons for the great progress they made in those tongues, and for their piety in having so exactly fulfill'd their father's desire, in the impression of a work, which had cost them so much money and pains; he frankly owns, that as he stood in great need of some assistance for the
Hebrew
tongue, so he was chiefly beholden to those three learned brothers for it
D Erasm.
praefat. ad
S. Hieron.
opera.—Quod idem fecimus in Hebraicis, verum hac sane in parte, quod minus nostro marte poteramus, aliorum suppetiis praestititimus, praecipue fratrum
Amerbachiorum, Brunonis, BasiliII,
&
Bonifacii
quos optimus pater
Joannes Amerbachius
velut instaurandis bonis authoribus genitos, trium linguarum peritia curavit instruendos. Atque hi sane paternum animum & expectationem vicerunt etiam, nihil antiquius ducentes
Hieronymi
gloria, & hac gratia nec impendio parcentes nec valetudini.
Matta
re Annal. Typogr.
vol. 1. pag. 142, 143.
.
Jodocus Badius
another eminent Printer gives their father the following encomium
—Indefatigabili virum diligentia, & solertissima vitiorum expungendorum peritia—cujus viri si omnes similes essemus—longe plures apud literatos haberemur.
Jodoc. Bad, epist. ad Anton. Coburger, ann.
1499.
; that he was a man of indefatigable industry, and consummate skill in correcting the errors of corrupt copies; and adds, that if all Printers would but follow his example, they would be in much higher reputation with the learned, than they were.
HE continu'd printing 'till the year 1528, and dyed whilst his second impression of St.
Austin
was in the press. It will not be amiss to repeat here a caution, which we have elsewhere given the reader, not to confound this
John Amerbach
with
John Averbach
of
Reutlingen,
who printed there a
Latin
bible in
fol. ann.
1469, after which we hear no more of him.
La Caille
makes them to be the same person, led undoubtedly into that error by the likeness of their names; whereas the distance of time between them,
viz.
from 1469 to 1481, the different spelling of their names, with other obvious circumstances, might easily have shewn him the mistake. Mr.
Mattaire,
in the place before quoted, hath collected a great number of extracts out of prefaces, epistles, and other works of the learned, in praise of him; and it must be own'd, that too much could not be said in a man's commendation, who had spent near 50 years in the service of religion with such constant zeal and application. I shall refer the reader to that author for them, and only add the epitaph, which his youngest son
Boniface
caus'd to be set upon his tomb.
EPITAPHIUM.
Joannes Amerbachius
hic cubat
Cum
Barbara Ortenbergia
singul. pudicit. foemina,
Ac
Brunone Basilioque,
filiis,
Praepropere quidem hinc ereptis.
Sed ante tamen eruditione sua trilingui
Per laboriosiss.
Hieronym.
operum recognitionem
Quibus nunc Docti ubique gentium fruuntur,
Orbi toto commendata.
Bonifacius Amerbachius
Parentibus & fratribus optimis,
Sed &
Marthae Fuschiae
Uxori suae Christianarum virtutum dotibus incomparabili,
Cum
Ursula
ac
Hertexe
duabus filiolis.
Hic quiescenti:
Item sibi ipsi liberis suis superstitibus
Faustinae, Basilio, Julianae,
Posterisque in humanae fragilitatis memoriam
F. C.
Parentibus, fratribusque jam olim, uxore vero in ipso aetatis flore cum filiolis haud ita demum expectandi censorii novissimique diei ergo collocatis.
Anno MDXLII.
WE have but nine editions of his as yet discover'd, from 1481 to 1500: the first of them is
Vincentii Bellovacensis opuscula,
and the last
Fr. Petrarchae opuscula,
1496.
5. JOHN FROBEN, 1491.
JOHN FROBEN was a native of
Hamelburgh
in
Fraconia,
where he study'd 'till he became master of the
Latin
tongue, and afterwards went to the university of
Basil,
where he perfected himself in
Greek
also, and betook himself to the business of Printing, of which he show'd himself so good a master, that
John Amerbach
took him as assistant and partner in his laborious and expensive undertaking of publishing the ancient fathers, as we hinted before. He acquitted himself so well both in this province and his own particular one, that he acquir'd as great a reputation and esteem among the learned, as his contemporary and partner; to whom
Germany
is oblig'd for bringing thither the neat round Roman character, hitherto scarcely known there, and improving it to the last degree of perfection. No person was ever more curious in the choice of the works, which he sent to the press, than he; who had this excellent quality among many others, that he would never print any bad books, such as the sordid avarice of other Printers had overstock'd the world with; but always chose the best authors, and best manuscripts of them, sparing neither cost in purchasing them, nor pains in correcting and fitting them for the press; in which, tho' he was a man of singular learning, yet he always preferr'd the advice and judgment of the learned of his time, to his own. Among these were
Mark Heyland, Erasmus, Wolfgang Musculus, Jo. Oecolampadius, Wolfgang, Lachner
and others, all persons of the highest rank in the commonwealth of learning; for which reasons his impressions have ever been, and will continue in the highest esteem with all the learned. He was likewise particularly ambitious to have his works correct; and the abovemention'd learned men assisted him very much in that province; especially
Oecolampadius,
who tells us
OEcolampadius
in his epistle at the end of
Erasmus
's edition of the New Testament in
Greek
with a new
Latin
version, printed by
Froben, ann.
1516, and dedicated to Pope Leo X—admirabile spectaculum mihi erat, imo spectandum miraculum, dictantem recognoscentemque quantum tria praela exciperent, videre, ac nihilo secius interim Graeca Latinaque exemplaria, eaque varia & vetustissima, consulentem, Graecos Latinosque interpretes conferentem priscos ac recentiores primae simul ac infimae classis scriptores per pendentem—nimi rum
Erasmicum
imitati exemplum, qui & ipse hic, caeteris rebus omissis bonam temporis partem in hoc collocavit negotium.
, that he could not sufficiently wonder that
Erasmus,
who alone kept three presses continually at work, who read and compar'd the
Greek
and
Latin
m
nuscripts, and consulted the writings of all the ancients and moderns,
&c.
could yet find time enough to correct the proofs of his works; and adds, that his example had not a little encourag'd him to take the laborious task of a corrector upon him. However, neither
Froben
's nor his corrector's diligence could prevent that edition, just now quoted in the margin, from having an errata of a page and half, tho'
Erasmus
gave the finishing hand to every proof.
THIS learned author, in one of his letters to
Bilibaldus Parcheimerus,
who was then at the emperor's court, complains highly of a great injustice done to many good Printers in general, and to
Froben
particularly, which was, that he had no sooner publish'd a good edition with great cost and labour, but it was immediately reprinted by others, and sold so much cheaper, that he could never reimburse himself half his charges. This reduc'd him to the necessity of obtaining from the emperor,
&c.
a privilege for the sole selling them for the space of two or more years, according to the value of the work; there being no other effectual way of preventing such an abuse: the letter is dated from
Basil, Jan.
28. 1522: the reader will find it in
Vita Erasmi, Leyden
edit. 1642 in 16o ,
pag.
226, what relates to our subject, he will find in the margin
Plerique insidiantur Homini, propemo. dum conju
ati ut illum perdant Ubi quid novi operis prodit, quod putent fore vendibile, mox unus atque alter suffuratus ex ipsius officina exemplar, excudit ac venditar minimo; interim
Froben
us
immensam pecuniam impendit in castigatores, frequenter & in exemplaria, huic iniquitati facile succurretur, si fiat imperatorium edictum, ne quis lil rum primum a
Frobnio
e
cusum, aut cui sit aiiquid ab auctore additum, excudat intra biennium. Tempus longum non est officina
Frobentana
vel ob hoc favore digna est quod nihil ex ea prodit ineptum aut seditiosum.
.
WE have had occasion to mention some cheats of even a worse nature with respect to the
Venetian
editions, which were counterfeited with the Printer's mark, and sold for the right ones, tho' incorrect and imperfect to the last degree.
TO return to
Froben;
he is reported to have hang'd his proofs in publick sight, with a promise of a reward for every error, that should be discover'd in them by any person. In his short preface to
Celius Rhodiginus
printed
ann.
1517, he inveighs loudly against those pests of learning, those Printers, who regarded not the correction of their works, but had gain only in their view; and advises the learned against buying such bad books, for the sake of their cheapness, assuring them that they purchas'd nothing but plague and vexation, and
that such wretched works could not but be dearly bought, how cheap soever they were sold; whereas he that bought a correct copy, always bought it cheap, how much soever he gave for it
—Parvo emit, quisquis librum emendatum etiam magno emit; magno emit, quisquis cod
cem mendosum etiam minimo emit.
ibid.
.
JO. FROBEN printed few volumes before the year 1500, and the number of those which are extant, is still smaller. One of them was his concordance of the bible in
fol. ann..
1495; concerning which we meet with some particulars, not unworthy the reader's knowledge, tho' a digression from our subject.
FIRST it was so exactly printed, that there was not one error in all the numerical figures, which in a work of that nature are at least one third part of the matter; and is therefore very surprizing.
Froben
added a second part to it, which contain'd all the indeclinable particles, that are to be met with in the bible. This work was begun at
Constantinople
by
Jo. de Raguza,
a Parisian divine of the Dominican order, embassador from the council of
Baden
to the emperor
Jo. Paleologus
about the year 1436; yet he did little to it himself, but left it to his three chaplains, one of whom was a
Scotchman
nam'd
Walter Sonaw,
who finish'd it in almost three years. After this it was reduc'd into an alphabetical order, by the directions of that council, by
John de Segovia
or
Secubia,
archdeacon of
Cujedo,
and doctor of divinity. What gave birth to this second part of the concordance was no less remarkable,
John de Raguza
beforemention'd, coming to
Constantinople,
found the divines there engag'd in a very warm dispute concerning the procession of the Holy Ghost,
i. e.
whether from the Son as well as from the Father; and that the controversy seem'd chiefly to be about the particles
ex
and
per, i. e.
whether it should be
ex filio
or
per filium.
He was likewise inform'd, that the
Sultan
and all the
Mahometans
having heard, that
Paleologus
design'd a journey into christendom, in order to reconcile this difference between the
Greek
and
Latin
churches, had rally'd the christians with no small scorn, whom two such seemingly insignificant particles had divided to such a degree. This embassador fail'd not to acquaint the council with it, who immediately order'd
John de Segovia
to be ready to answer all the difficulties, which the
Greeks
should propose at their arrival at
Basil.
In the mean time the
Hussites
and
John Huss
of
Bohemia,
who were already at
Basil,
and insisted upon a communion in both kinds from the words of our Saviour,
Unless you eat,
&c. and
unless you drink,
&c. which their opposers said signify'd no more than, unless you eat or drink, from which they concluded that either the one or the other was sufficient to fulfill the command; these I say made it still more necessary to have a concordance, that should explain the meaning of those particles
ex
and
per, nisi
and
et,
and in how many different senses they were us'd in scripture. This induc'd
John de Segovia
to write the second part of the concordance relating to indeclinable words, with a prolegomenon or preface, in which he hath given us this account of the occasion of it. The learned
Sebastian Brant,
author of the
Navis stultifera,
caus'd it to be printed by
Froben, ann.
1495, and somewhat above twenty years after the same,
Froben
reprinted it with an elegant
Latin
dialogue between a bookseller and the buyer, relating to the value of good books, instead of a preface to that edition. The reader may see it at length in
Chevillier,
p. 130.
FROBEN had two sons
Jerom
and
John,
who succeeded their father, and publish'd a great number of volumes with good reputation after his death, which happen'd
ann.
1527.
Erasmus
tells us that what he had most at heart was to give the world a correct edition of St.
Austin
's works, and that he desir'd to live no longer than to see it finish'd
Ut inter familiares subinde dicere solitus fit, se non optare longius vitae spatium, quam quod absolvendo sufficeret Augustino.
Erasm. epist. ad Ammonium.
Tom. 3. oper. p. 759.
. However he was depriv'd of that pleasure, for
J. And-Endters
tells us tho' he kept seven presses continually at work upon that edition, yet not above two volumes of it were printed before he died, to the great loss and grief of all the learned world: the following epitaph, written by his friend
Erasmus,
was afterwards set upon his tomb.
Epitaphium JOANNIS FROBENII.
per
Desiderium Erasmum Rot.
Arida
Joannis
tegit hic lapis ossa
Frobeni,
Orbe vivet toto nescia fama mori.
Moribus hanc niveis meruit studiisque juvandis;
Quae nunc maesta jacent orba parente suo.
Rettulit, ornavit veterum monumenta sophorum
Arte, manu, curis, aere, favore, fide.
Huic vitam in caelis date, numina justa, perennem;
Per nos in terris fama perennis erit.
THIS epitaph was afterwards printed, according to
la Caille,
in
Henry Stephen's Artis Typographicae Querimonia; Erasmus
wrote another of four verses in
Greek,
which the Reader may see in
Matt. Annal. Typog.
v. 2. p. 36.
ERASMUS was not contented with writing the abovemention'd epitaphs in his late friend's praise, but he made likewise a kind of funeral oration or rather elogium upon him, in a letter to
John Emsted
a learned
Carthusian;
the reader may see it at full length in the above-mention'd
Annals,
vol. 2. pag. 36,
& seq
AND indeed it was no more than he ow'd him, since
Froben
had long before given him a pleasure, which few men beside him had ever tasted, which was to see his own elegy before his death; the occasion of it was as follows. Before these two were become intimate,
Froben
had heard that
Erasmus
was dead, and wrote much such another funeral oration upon him, which he prefix'd to an edition of that great man's proverbs, which he publish'd
Ann.
1513:
Erasmus
could not but be highly pleas'd to see himself prais'd in so extraordinary and sincere a manner, being well assur'd that such encomiums could not proceed from flattery or self interest; for
Erasmus
being suppos'd dead,
Froben
could have nothing to hope from him; and had any but a man of
Froben
's integrity and honour committed such a mistake, one might be apt to suspect it had been wilfully done, in hopes of procuring some valuable pieces from that learned author: but whoever is acquainted with that Printer's character, will undoubtedly believe him incapable of such mean arts. I think therefore it will not be amiss to close the history of this great Printer with some conspicuous parts of his character, which we have not yet touch'd upon, and which will easily acquit him of any suspicion; which is, that he was a man of the most disinterested and generous disposition.
Erasmus
in his letter to
Emsted
abovemention'd does even tell us, that he was so to a fault, and that he had often reprov'd him for it, but in vain, for his natural candor was proof against all admonitions of that kind: neither did his munificence to men of learning and merit show itself only in the largeness of his presents to them, but in the manner of bestowing them; never, says that author, did he seem better pleas'd than when he had, either by intreaties or by some cunning device, prevail'd upon them to accept of some favour from him. The grief he shew'd in his countenance at their denial was such, that they found it more difficult to refuse a favour from him, than to obtain one from another person; and when by chance, continues he, I have bought me some cloath for a gown, he has privately sent, and paid for it unknown to me. As his house was open to all learned men, so none had a heartier welcome than
Erasmus,
who us'd it as his home all the time he continued at
Basil,
and it is probable that he might have continued longer there, had he not observ'd something in his family, which he could not forbear grieving at.
Froben
was under petticoat-government, which made his affairs go somewhat wrong, wherefore he expresses himself thus to him in a letter dated from
Louvain; Fama tibi parta est, ea poterit tibi magno emolumento
esse, si curam de tuo adhibueris; sed mihi non placet domi tuae regnum istud Muliebre,
&c. But
Froben
was of too easy and patient a temper, to give himself any trouble about it: we have a remarkable instance of this in the last year of his life, when being seiz'd with such a violent pain in his right heel, that some physicians were for cutting off his foot, he had no sooner receiv'd some easement in it, than he went on horseback to
Frankfort
about some business; and tho' advis'd by his friends to stir seldomer abroad, to go warmer in cloaths, and to spare himself as much as possible, he refus'd to hearken to them, and took such care to conceal his bad state of health, and the anguish of his pain, that he went still about his business; 'till being seiz'd with a fainting fit, he dropt down and broke his skull against the pavement; after which he continued two days, without any sense or motion, and expir'd
ann.
1528. I hope the name and character of the person will excuse my account of these particularities, especially since the great
Erasmus
has thought them worth recording in a much ampler manner: he left two sons
Jerom
and
John,
who became excellent Printers, and signaliz'd themselves by their editions of the
Greek
and
Latin
fathers; he had likewise some daughters, one of whom nam'd
Justina
he marry'd to
Nicolas l'Evesque
or
Episcopius,
an eminent Printer of
Basil.
HIS usual mark or rebus was a dove sitting on the top of a staff, with two basilisks twin'd about it, to which he sometimes added the initial letters of both his names IO. FRO. and sometimes the fourth verse of the 125th psalm in
Hebrew,
the sixteenth verse of St.
Matthew
's 10th chapter in
Greek,
and these words in
Latin, Prudens Simplicitas Amorque recti,
in three distinct lines. All the works we have extant of his from 1491 to 1500 are only four,
viz.
a
Latin
bible, 8vo, in a small character dated 1491. Another in the old
Gothic,
8vo, 1495; his concordance of the bible mention'd before,
fol. anno
1495; and the
Speculum decem Prae
ptorum
of
Henry Harp.
I CAN find but one more Printer after him,
viz.
JOHN BERGMAN
de
OLPE, 1497.
OF whom we have only two editions of
Sebastian Brant
's
Navis stultise
a,
dated 1497 and 1498. the last of which is adorn'd with wooden cutts.
BESIDES these F.
Orlandi
has given us a list of above 60
Basil
editions without Printers names.
Article
II.
The Cities of
Esling, Placentia
and
Pignerol.
THESE three cities being inconsiderable with respect to their Productions in the Art of Printing, except the earliness of their receiving it, I have joyn'd them into one short article.
§. ESLING is a small city in the duchy of
Wirtembergh
in
Germany.
It receiv'd Printing either about or before the year 1475; tho' we can meet but with the two following editions printed there by
CONRARD FYNER, 1475.
viz.
1. PETRI Nigri Germani
ord. praed. qui claruit anno
1475,
tractatus de Judaeorum perfidia, per
Conradum Fyner Eslingae 1475.
2. EJUSDEM
tractatus de conditionibus veri Messiae contra Judaeos, Germanicé,
by the same,
ibid.
Orl. 1477.
§. PLACENTIA a noble antient city upon the river
Po
in
Italy,
in which we find only one edition printed by
JO. PETER
de Ferratis
of
Cremona,
1475.
viz.
BIBLIA
Latina, 4to, per
Jo. Petri
de
Ferratis Cremonensem Placentiae, 1475.
§. PIGNEROL [in
Latin Pignarolium]
is a well fortify'd city in
Piedmont,
at the foot of the
Alps,
under the dominion of the present king of
Sardinia.
Here the famous
French
Printer
JAMES
des
ROUGES or
de
RUBEIS,
Set up his Press, after he had printed at
Venice
from 1473 to 1477 with vast applause. The first book, which we find printed by him, is
a Latin
bible dated 1475; in which all our annalists have follow'd father
se Long:
but it is doubtful whether he was not mistaken in the year, seeing
des Rouges
was still printing at
Venice, anno
1477, and that we find no more impressions of his done at
Pignerol,
'till
anno
1479.
HOWEVER as it is not easy to determine whether father
le Long
was in an error, or the bible antedated, or whether this Printer kept two Presses at the same time, one at
Venice,
and another at
Pignerol;
I have follow'd the order of the annalists, and ventur'd to place this edition and city under that year.
WE have but four editions of his printed at
Pignerol,
that of the bible of 1475 included, two of which are dated 1479, and the last 1480.
Article
III.
The City of
VINCENTIA, 1475.
VINCENTIA is a large ancient city and university in
Italy,
now under the republick of
Venice,
which receiv'd the Art of Printing
anno
1475, and oblig'd the world with a greater number of editions than many cities of
Italy,
and other parts of
Europe,
which we have seen hitherto.
1. HERMAN LEVILAPIS
or
LICHTENSTEIN, 1475.
WAS one of the first that brought it hither. He was a native of
Cologn,
and a very good, but unsettled Printer. We have already seen him at
Venice
and
Treviso.
At
Vincentia
he printed some editions in partnership with
Nicholas Petri
of
Harlem,
alias
Peter de Harlem.
WE have twelve of them extant, in some of which he calls himself
Herman Levilapis,
in others
de Levilapide
or
Lichtenstein,
in others
Herman Lichtenstein de Colonia;
one remarkable edition of his,
viz.
PAULI Orosii Hispani
historiarum libri
vii
ad
Aurelium Augustinum
de maximis calamitatibus ab orbe condito usque ad sua tempora, fol.
is without date, Printers or place's name.
THIS edition was corrected by
Aeneas Vulpes,
and printed at
Vincentia
by
Herman Lichtenstein,
as appears by the epigram quoted in the margin
Ut ipse titulus margine in primo docet,
Orosio
nomen mihi est.
Librariorum qui
quid error is fuit,
E
emit
A
mihi:
Meque imprimendum tradidit non alteri,
Hermanae
quam soli tu
i;
Hermanus,
nomen hujus artis & decus,
Tuaeque laus
Coloniae
Quod s
situm orbis, sicque ad nostra tempora
Ab orbis ipsa origine;
Quisque tumultus, bellaque & caedes velit,
Cladesque nosse: me legat.
; after which it was reprinted in the same place, but in a larger character, by
Leonard de Basilea
with the same verses, except changing the word
Herman
for that of
Leonard,
and
Colonia
for
Basilea.
It was reprinted likewise in several other places, only the 5, 6, 7 and 8th verses were omitted.
2. JOHN RHENISH or
John de Reno,
five editions from 1475 to 1481.
3. JOHN
de Vienna,
1 edit. 1476.
4. STEPHEN KOBLINGER, 1 edit. 1479.
5. HENRY, bookseller of
Vincentia,
3 edit. from 1480 to 1486.
6. LEONARD
de Basilea
or of
Basil,
Printer to the university of
Vincentia,
5 edit. from 1482 to 1491.
7. JAMES DUSENSIS, 1 edit. 1482.
8. HENRY
de S Urso,
5 edit. from 1486 to 1499.
9. SIMON BEVILAQUA
[Drink water]
citizen of
Pavia,
2 edit. both 1489.
HE went afterwards to
Venice,
where he printed a much greater number of editions, from 1492 to 1500, as has been said under that head.
HERE are likewise a small number without Printer's names.
Article
IV.
The Cities of
LUBECK
and
VALENTIA.
§. THE city of
Lubeck
is one of the Hans-towns in
Germany,
between the provinces of
Saxony
and
Alsatia
upon the
Baltick
sea. It is very eminent for its trade, port, fortifications, riches, and number of inhabitants.
HITHER the Art of Printing was brought
anno
1475, yet appears to have met with but little encouragement from its trading inhabitants, for we find only four Printers in this city from 1471 to 1502, and they were so far from settling here any time, that their bad success had oblig'd them to quit the place, for we have but five editions extant of them all; their names are as follows.
1. LUCAS BRANDIS
de Schafz,
2 edit. from 1475 to 1477.
2. STEPHEN ARNOLD, 1 edit. 1484.
3. STEPHEN ARNDES, 1 edit. 1493.
4. BARTHOL. GOTHAN, 1 edit. 1494.
I SHALL only add that the first work of
Lucas Brandis,
viz.
Epitomae Historiarum
has the pompous
Latin
inscription, which you will find in the margin
—Imperiali in urbe
Lubecana,
arte impressoria, speciali gratia divina, animatum ob salutem fidelium inventa, epitoma istud in partes vi. juxta mundi aetates divisum, prius alibi non repertum, quod placuit Rudimentum Novitiorum intitulari, dei adjutorio, qui supernas res ac subterraneas feliciter, suaviter, tranquilleque dispensat, per magistrum
Lucam Brandis
de
Schafz
feliciter est excusum atque finitum; ut pauperes solvere libros non valentes, unum tantum haberent hoc enchiridium loco multorum semper ad manum librorum.
, and which has led some authors into an absurd notion that the Art of Printing was found out at
Lubeck.
§. VALENTIA, 1475.
THERE are so many cities and towns of this name in
France, Italy
and
Spain,
that it cannot possibly be determin'd in which of them the two following books, which are all that we find under that name, have been printed; there being nothing in the titles or any other part to ascertain it, and even the Printer's names are wanting.
1. SALUSTIUS, 4to.
Valentiae,
1475.
2. XIMENIUS (Franciscus)
de vita Christiana in
vi
partes distincta,
ibid, 1484.
Article
V. ROSTOCH
and
BRUGES, 1475;
and
DELPH, 1477.
§. ROSTOCH is an imperial free city in
Germany,
upon the
Baltick
sea. Here was founded an university about the year 1490, fourteen years before which, we meet with the following book, the only one as yet known, printed there by some regular priests, as the colophon informs us.
LACTANTII FIRMIANI
de divinis institutionibus,
fol.
per fratres presbyteros & clericos congregationis Domus viridis horti ad sanctum
Michaelem
in oppido
Rostochiensi
partium inferioris
Sclaviae,
prout facultas & industria tulit, emendate satis & accurate consummat.
millesimo quadringentesimo septuagesimo sexto, quinto Idus
Aprilis: Rostochii,
1476.
§. BRUGES in
Flanders
had a Printer settled there
anno
1476, nam'd
1. COLARD MANSION,
OF whom we have three editions from 1476 to 1486.
ORLANDI gives us another Printer of this city,
viz. John de Rey,
who printed
Centon Epistolas dell' Bachiller,
4to, 1499. Mr
Maittaire
and
la Caille
date this edition from
Burgos
in
Spain,
and they seem to be in the right, because the book is written in
Spanish,
and the Printer's name shews him to be of that nation.
§. DELPH is a fine city in
Holland,
near the
Hague
and
Rotterdam.
We meet with seven editions printed there, all without any Printer's name; the first of which,
viz.
the
Dutch
bible is dated
anno
1477. The rest are dated as follows; two 1480, two 1487, one 1491, the last 1497.
CHAP. XI.
The Cities of
1. Spire, 2. Lyons,
anno
1477. 3. Geneva, Brussels, Coscence
and
Pavia,
anno
1478. 4. Goude, Zivol,
anno
1479;
and
Caen, Ceulen, Cenzano
and
Quilemburgh,
anno
1480. 5. Lignitz, Husselet, Regio Mont royal
and
Wartzburgh,
anno
1481. 6. Pisa, Aquila, Erford
and
Langres,
anno
1482:
And
7. Gaunt
and
Memining,
anno
1483.
Article
I.
The City of
SPIRE, 1477.
SPIRE is an ancient city in higher
Germany,
situate upon the
Rhine,
between
Mentz
and
Strasburgh.
It is now call'd in
Latin Spira,
but formerly was call'd
Novimagium
and
Nemetes.
THO' this city doth not seem to have cultivated the Art of Printing within her walls, so much as other cities of
Germany,
yet it ought to be remembred for having given birth to some eminent Printers, who went and settled in other parts of
Europe,
and in particular the two famous brothers, who first set up their presses at
Venice,
viz.
John
and
Windelin
of
Spire,
of whom we have given an account in the third chapter of this second part. Here we find the first beginnings of the Art about the year 1477, when
1. PETER DRACH
of
SPIRE.
PRINTED the
Summa
of
Archiep. Antoninus,
which is the first book we know of printed by him; as he is likewise the only Printer, who put his name to any impressions done in this city. His editions are but four in number, from 1477 to 1487; besides which we find about ten more printed here without the names of the Printers.
IT will not be improper to observe here, that our latest annalists place the city of
Westminster
under this year; the oldest edition as yet discover'd by them being
Socrates
's
Sayings
printed by
Caxton, anno
1477; however the reader will find by the third book of this history, that there is a more ancient one by three years,
viz. The Game of Chess,
which is dated
anno
1474, now in the possession of my worthy friend the curious Mr
Granger
of the
East-India House:
and it is plain from the account of the Art's being brought into
England,
that they began to print in the abbey of
Westminster
much sooner than that year.
Article
II.
The City of
LYONS.
LYONS, a rich and populous city in
France,
upon the rivers
Rhone
and
Arare,
is call'd in
Latin, Lugdunum,
and is allow'd to be one of the most ancient cities in
Europe;
so that some
French
writers have not scrupled to fix the date of its foundation within 600 or 700 years after the flood, which may more easily be believ'd than disprov'd. It has been always eminent for men of learning in all arts and sciences, which were particularly cultivated there, but more especially after the Art of Printing was introduc'd; which receiv'd such encouragement there, that it has continu'd in a flourishing condition ever since. Some annalists have asserted that it is the first city in
France
which set up a Printing-press; but if we would judge of this controversy by the dates of the oldest impressions, we shall find that the city of
Tours,
and next that of
Paris
had the Art several years before, as hath been already shewn. However, if
Lyons
hath not the preference of
Rome, Paris, Venice,
&c. either for the antiquity or beauty of its productions; it must be acknowledg'd that it hath gain'd it by the quantity of large impressions, than which no city in
Europe
has furnish'd the learned with a greater number. It is still a great
emporium
or market for books in all languages and sciences; and as it hath encourag'd some of the best artists to settle there, and publish beautiful and correct editions, so it has induc'd many a wretched one to chuse it as a proper place to print and vend a much greater quantity of bad and counterfeit ones; but this hath happen'd in most famous cities of
Europe. Lyons
hath likewise been celebrated, if not for introducing, at least for encouraging, the
Gothick
character, and publish'd more volumes of that sort, in proportion to those that were done in fine Roman, than any other city; and what is more remarkable of the Printers of this city, they were vastly more fond of that inelegant character than of the Roman, especially for bibles, divinity, law and physick books.
THE reader will be justly surpriz'd to hear what encomiums they gave it, and how proud they were of their performances in that kind. I have subjoin'd in the margin three or four scraps of their colophons, to shew what a piece of merit the Printers of the 15th and above half of the 16th century made of their works printed in this character, not only at
Lyons,
but likewise at
Venice, Paris, Rome,
&c.
Sublimi literarum effigie,
&c.
John de Cologne
at
Venice
us'd to phrase it thus,
Done in sublimely fine characters,
&c. another
Charactere jucundissimo M. Joan: Herbort Alemani, cujus vis et ingenium facile supereminet omnes.
values himself upon the beauty and excellence of his character; a third
Opus pulchro literarum charactere politissimum,
&c.
calls it the most elegant character; and a fourth
Certante minio purpurae rubedine, Superante cervas nigredine sepiâ—politioribus characterum typis,
&c.
the most polite of all characters: so that if a person did not see what Types they meant, he would be apt to judge it any other than the
Gothick.
The famous
Badius,
sirnam'd
Ascensius,
who had printed in this city of
Lyons
from 1495 to 1500, is reported to have gone afterwards to
Paris,
with a design to stop, as much as possible, the current vogue of this old Gothick; but in vain, for he was oblig'd to continue it himself till almost the very later end of his days; and besides it still remain'd in great use long after that, insomuch that
Atensis
complains
Lynceis u
u
tur oculis & Herculeo labore,
i quando ethni
orum aliquis aut nugax poeta,
u
verbosus orator est imprimendus; sacris quosvis typos quamvis trito
& consusaneos adhibent. Praesat. ad Gregor.
that Printers were extremely curious, and spar'd no cost to give elegant impressions of the heathen poets, orators,
&c.
whereas any batter'd old Gothick Types were thought good enough for those of Divinity. In the close of this second book we shall mention some of the Printers, to whom the world is oblig'd for the total disuse of that inelegant character. To return to
Lyons;
the first Printer we find there, is,
1. BARTHOLOMEW BUYER, 1477.
Of whom we have only the two following impressions: the first, viz. the new Testament in French is without date, and has been suppos'd by
de la Caille,
to have been printed about 1500. but
F. Le Long
more justly supposes it, both by the rudeness of the character, and its likeness to that of the next edition of
Buyer,
which is dated 1477 to have been printed about this time.
2. MARTIN HUSZ two edit. from 1478, to 1485.
and 3. JOS. FABER two edit. from 1478, to 1485.
4. PERRINE LATHOMI, 1 edit. 1479.
He printed likewise at
Venice
with some others, about 1494.
5. WILLIAM
le
ROY, 2 edit. from 1483, to 1488.
6. JANON CARCAIGNI, 2 edit. from 1488, to 1495.
7. MICHELET TOPIE
de Piemont
2 edit. from 1488. to 1490.
and 8. JAMES HEREMBERCLE,
alias
HEREMBERCH,
German,
9. JOHN CLEIN,
German,
1 edit. 1489.
10. MATTHIAS HUSM,
German,
1 edit. 1489.
11. JOHN DU PRE, 2 edit. from 1489, to 1493.
He printed likewise at
Paris
and
Abbeville.
12. PETER MARESHAL, 1 edit. 1490.
13. JOHN DE LA FONTAINE of
Lyons,
1 edit. 1490.
14. JOHN TRECHSEL
German,
8 edit. from 1490 to 1497. Whose corrector was the famous
Jodocus Badius,
of whom we shall speak hereafter; some of whose learned works, comments and annotations he printed
anno
1492
& seq.
as
Silvae Morales, cum interpretatione
Badii
ex
Virgil. Horat. Pers. Juvenal. Ennio, Bapt. Mantuan. Sulpit. Caton. with some others which we shall speak of anon. I must not omit mentioning, that all
Trechsel
's works are highly valuable and correct.
15. ENGOLHARD SCHULTIS,
German,
1 edit. 1491.
16. MATTHIAS HUTS, 1 edit. 1491.
17. ANT. LABILLON 2 edit. both 1491.
and 18. MARTIN SARACENI, 2 edit. both 1491.
19. JODOCUS BADIUS,
sirnam'd
ASCENSIUS, 1495.
Badius
was born in the castle of
Ase,
in the territories of
Brussels,
and call'd
Ascensius
from it. He spent his younger years in study at
Brussels, Gaunt,
and last of all in the university of
Ferrara,
under the great
Bapt. Guarini,
where he became master of the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues, and very famous for his learning and parts. He remov'd afterwards to the city of
Lyons,
where he publickly taught those two languages, and became corrector to
Jo. Trechsel
's press, as has been said before. He publish'd several works, some of which were his own, as
Silvae morales contra vitia.
fol. 1492.
Epigrammatum
lib. 1.
Navicula Stultarum mulierum;
the Life of
Thomas a Kempis
prefix'd to his works, and some others. Several excellent commentaries were likewise written by him upon the greatest part of the classicks, and other
Latin
authors, as
Horace, Juvenal, Martial, Lucretius, Seneca, Salust, Valerius Maximus, Quintilian, Aulus Gellius,
and others; all which he printed himself in
folio
very elegantly and correctly, tho' some of the first he caus'd to be printed by
John Trechsel,
whose daughter he afterwards married and had many children by her. To all his editions, which were not a few, he us'd to prefix an epistle dedicatory, address'd to some person, eminent either for his quality, piety or learning. Among others, he dedicated the first Volume of
Tho. Waldensis
works to pope
Clement
VII. After he had taken the business of printing upon him; he became so excellent a Printer, that the learned
Rob. Gaguin,
general of the Trinitarian Order, who was perfectly well acquainted with his merit, wrote a letter to him, to desire him to undertake the printing of his works. This with some other invitations of the learned, brought
Badius
to
Paris
about 1499, presently after his father-in-law's death, where he design'd to teach the
Greek
tongue, and where his last endeavour, after he had furnish'd himself with fine sets of Roman characters, was to explode the old Gothick both in his works, and by his example, as we hinted before. And accordingly printed the
Philobiblion
of that great encourager of learning,
Richard Bury,
lord high chancellor of
England,
bishop of
Durham,
and founder of the
Oxford
library, towards the middle of the 14th century; which book was sent to him by Dr.
Bureau,
bishop of
Cisteron,
and confessor to the
French
king, in order to be printed by him. This was the first book known that came to the press after he set it up at
Paris;
'tis dated 1500; the next year he printed the
Provinciale, seu constitutiones Angliae, cum Annotationibus Gullielmi Lindewode
1501, in
vol. fol. in a beautiful round Roman. This book, as
de la Caille
tells us, is very scarce, and much sought for, being very necessary for those who would understand the old
French
us'd in
William
the conqueror's time, tho' I doubt he is mistaken, the work itself being in
Latin.
He began to print by himself about the year 1495, at which time the great
Aldus Manutius
began at
Venice;
than whom neither that age nor the next produc'd two more learned or excellent Printers.
As this later was chiefly engag'd in printing and correcting of
Greek
authors, so
Badius
was employ'd in the
Latin
ones; and there seem'd a kind of friendly emulation between them, each carrying away the palm in a separate province. Upon account of this merit the editor of
Guil. de Rubione
in his dedication to the earl of
Castille
calls
Ascensius
a person skill'd in all kinds of science, and the prince of printers
Omnigenere disciplinarum eruditissimo
Ascensio,
impressoriae artis primati.
; and
Trithemius
ranks him among the
Scriptores Ecclesiastici,
when he was but two and thirty years of age, and gives him the following panegyrick,
viz.
that he was a perfect master of literature, not unskilful in the holy scriptures, a good philosopher, orator and poet, a man of a bright genius and a fluent tongue,
Vir in secularibus literis eruditissimus, & divinarum scripturarum non ignarus, philosophus, rhetor, & poeta clarissimus, ingenio excellens & disertus eloqui
.
&c. Erasmus
likewise gives him a great encomium in his dialogue intitled
Ciceronianus;
prefers his stile to that of
Apuleius,
and highly applaudes his admirable facility of writing. I shall give the
Latin
reader a specimen of his poetry in the margin, which is a tetrastich in
crib'd to the learned
Fath. Mark Benevent,
to whom the edition of
Holkoth
upon the sentences, printed by
J. Treschel
anno 1497, is dedicated, and of which himself was the corrector; in which verses he desires him in a most el
gant manner to excuse the faults still remaining in it
Jam portum optatum per inhospita saxa secuti
Prendimus, ex alto prospiciente deo.
Siqua tamen lacerae portent inculta carinae,
Humanè ignosces, Marce diserte, Vale.
. He was no less skillful in restoring of corrupt manuscripts, than careful in printing of them with the greatest accuracy; so that some of his
Errata
's have contain'd but five words. In printing the work of any living author, he always follow'd the copy exactly; and he tells us in his preface to his edition of
Angelus Politianus
Curavimus—ut quam minimum ejus scripta quasi degenerent ab origine, imitantes sanè non tacendi, imo semper laudandi, hominis Aldi M. R. diligentiam.
, that he endeavour'd to imitate the laudable diligence of
Aldus Manutius,
and to print from his copies with the utmost exactness. This made not only the learned very ambitious to have their works printed by him, but the most eminent booksellers of
Paris
were glad, in order to have him for their Printer, to associate themselves with him; among whom,
John Petit
sworn bookseller to that university, and one of the most famous of that age, caus'd several noble editions to be printed by him as the
Calepini Dictionarium octo Linguar.
1516.
Origen. Opera Latinè
4 vol. fol. 1519, some of which beautifully printed on vellum, are still to be seen in several libraries of that city, with many others: He had other associates besides
Petit,
viz.
Andreas Bochard, Dionys Roce, Geofrey Marneff,
and many others, all eminent men in their way. Thus he continued printing and writing with great applause and reputation till the year 1534, in which he died. Some authors indeed have affirm'd that he died
anno
1526, because they knew of no works printed by him after that year.
Chevillier
gives us two particulars, which fix the year of his death beyond dispute. The first is the last book printed in his name, viz.
Alphonsus a Castro contra Haereses.
fol. 1534. and
Peter Lombard in Epistolas Pauli.
fol. ann. 1535.
pro haeredibus Jodoci Badii, mense decembri,
both which editions he saw in the
Sorbon
library. He us'd to put the following
Latin
verse to the first page of his impressions;
Aere meret Badius laude auctorem, arte legentem.
Sometimes this,
Aera meret Badio tersa atque impressa per ipsum.
Or thus,
Aera meret Badio, nomenque decusque parenti.
Some Impressions have only.
Aera meret Badio.
His mark was the draught of a printing-house with the words
Praelum Ascensianum
upon the head of the press, the glory and credit of which dy'd not with him, but continued above 35 years in his own family; for
Badius,
whose love to learning, and in particular to the Art of Printing, was conspicuous thro' his whole life, prevail'd upon himself to breed up his only son
Conrard Badius
to the business of Printing, after he had perfected him in the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues, and in several other branches of literature.
Conrard
became so famous upon all these accounts, that the learned
Henry Stephens
has thought fit to transmit to us an elegant
Latin
epitaph made upon him, which the reader may see in
de la Caille
p. 131.
Badius
had likewise a brother nam'd
John,
who became an eminent printer, and left a considerable number of good editions behind him; and as if this had not been enough to have three out of his family brought up to the Art of Printing, he marry'd his three daughters to three of the most eminent printers in
Paris, Robert Stephens, Michael Vascosan,
and
John de Roigny.
The two former of these are too celebrated to need a panegyrick here; and the last took his father-in-law's mark, succeeded him in his printing-house with great reputation, and signaliz'd himself by the elegancy and correctness of a great number of editions, which came from his presses; he left a son nam'd
Michael,
who did not prove much inferior to his father or grandfather.
We find two epitaphs on this great man, the one in
Henry Stephen
's book,
De artis typographicae querimoniâ,
anno 1569; which is as follows;
Jodoci Badii
Epitaphium.
Hic liberorum plurimorum qui parens,
Parens librorum plurimorum qui fuit,
Situs
Jodocus Badius
est
Ascensius.
Plures fuerunt liberis tamen libri,
Quod jam senescens coepit illos gignere,
Aetate florens coepit hos quod edere.
His other epitaph is to be seen upon his tomb in St.
Bennet
's church at
Paris,
where he lies buried. It is as follows;
On this side is the picture of
Badius.
D. O. M. B. Q. V. M. S.
And on this side his wife,
Trechsel.
Viator, artes qui bonas piasque amas,
Siste hic. Quiescunt subter illustres viri
Qui litteris junxere virtutem arduam.
Jacet
Jodocus
hîc
Badius Ascensius,
Candore notus scriptor & scientiâ.
Gener
Jodoci Vascosanus
prope situs est,
Doctissimorum tot parens voluminum,
Socer
Morelli,
regis olim interpretis;
Musarum alumni quae gemunt hic conditum,
Foedusque
Federici
ademptum sibi dolent.
Tres cyppus unus hic tegit cum uxoribus
Lectissimis et liberorum liberis.
Hos
Christus
olim dormientes suscitet,
Ad concinendum Trinitati almae melos.
Ι. Χ. Θ. Υ. Ϲ.
FEDERICUS Morellus Paris.
professor & interpres regius
Federici Morelli
nobilis, genere Campani, regii quoque interpretis;
Michael Vascosani
scutiferi Ambiani nepos,
Jodoci Badii
illustris Belgae pronepos, marmoreum hunc epitaphium patris, avi, proavi piae memoriae, aere suo posuit; ejusdem, cum Deus vocans volet, tumuli compos fieri optans,
anno salutis 1603.
Qui idem Morellus unus erat è Duumviris togatis hujus aedis sacrae D. Benedicti
praefectus.
BADIUS liv'd at the sign of the three wolves in St.
James
's
street,
and his house was so much frequented by learned men of all nations, who for conversation's sake, were forc'd to use the
Latin
tongue, that his daughters had obtain'd such knowledge of it, that no conversation pass'd in that language but they understood it; the same has been affirm'd of some of his domesticks. He was one of the sworn Printers of the university of
Paris,
as appears by the inscriptions to his epistles didicatory
Ex officinâ nostrâ literariâ in Academiâ parisiensi,
&c.
Accuratione Ascensii in nobilissimo Parisiorum Gymnasio.
Ex Aedibus nostris in Parisiorum Academiâ, &c.
, as well as by the order which he receiv'd from the rector of it (by virtue of his oath of obedience and fidelity to it) to print the censure made by that body against
Luther
's doctrines.
BEFORE I conclude this article of that noble Printer, it will be necessary to give the reader a caution, which he gives us in the title of his
Calepin
corrected, augmented, and printed by him in 1516, that some vile Printers had put his name to several editions never publish'd by him; for which reason he desires the reader to see that his mark be to them, least they be deceiv'd by those impostors. It seems these plagiaries were more modest than some
Italians
and others, who scrupled not to counterfeit both the name and mark of his contemporary
Aldus.
THO' we have but one impression of his extant done at
Lyons,
which city he left about the close of the century, to which we have confin'd the lists of impressions; yet I hope the reader will excule our transgressing those limits in the account of his life and excellent character, as we have done in that of other eminent Printers, who have out-liv'd that epocha any considerable time. The edition spoken of is as follows;
GULIELMI OCKAM opera, fol.
per Jodoc. Badium Ascensiunt Lugdun.
1495.
As
Badius
is the last considerable Printer that made his entrance into the province of printing within this century, and of all the other cities and places which have receiv'd that art before the close of it, a small number excepted; we shall abridge the remainder of this history, and content our selves with giving our readers only their names, and number of their works, that we may have the more room to open the scene of the last promis'd twenty years,
viz.
from 1500 to 1520, in the two last chapters of this II. Book.
THE rest of the Primers of the city of
Lyons
are as follow;
20. JOHN
de Wingle
of
Picardy,
5 edit. from 1496 to 1499.
21. CLAUDIUS GIBOLET, 1 edit. 1498.
22. NIOHOLAS WOLF, 2 edit. from 1498, to 1499.
23. JOHN DYAMANTIER, 1 edit. 1500.
24. JOHN BACHELIER, 1 edit. 1500.
25. GASPARD ORT, 1 edit. 1500.
and 26. PETER SCHENCK, 1 edit. 1500.
27. CLAUDIUS
de Huschia,
a
Latin
bible with outs without date, with above twenty more without Printers names.
Article
III.
The Cities of
GENEVA, BRUSSELS, COSCENCE
and
PAVIA, 1478.
I SHALL not trouble the reader with a needless description of those cities, their productions in the Art of Printing being so inconsiderable, as barely to deserve a place here, especially the three first.
§. 1. GENEVA produc'd four editions, from 1478 to 1498, without printers names.
§. 2. BRUSSELS, two edit. from 1478, to 1480, without printers names.
§. 3. COSCENSA, two editions, the first by
Octavian Salamonio de Manifredonia,
1478, the other without the printer's name, of the same date as the former.
§. 4. PAVIA, in
Latin Papia,
a noble city and university of
Lombardy,
receiv'd the Art of Printing about the same time with the three foregoing, according to the date of her first known edition, and her productions were somewhat more considerable than theirs. Her first Printer was,
FRANCIS
de S. Petro,
of whom we have but one edition, dated 1478.
2. ANTONY
de Carcano,
3 edit. 2 dated 1478, the last 1494.
3. ANDREAS BONETI, 1 edit. 1486.
4. CHRISTOPHER
de Canibus,
1 edit. 1488.
5. JOHN ANTONY BIRRETTI 3 edit. all 1489.
6. FRANCIS
de Gyrardengo
3 edit. all 1489.
7. GABRIEL
de Crassi,
1 edit. 1490.
8. BERNARD
de Rovelli,
brothers, 1 edit. 1493.
9. AMBROSE
de Rovelli,
brothers, 1 edit. 1493.
10. LEONARD GEROTA, 1 edit. 1497.
WITH about 10 more without Printers names.
Article
IV. GOUDE
and
ZWOL, 1479. CAEN, CEULEN, CENZANO
and
QUILEMBOURG, 1480.
§. 1. GOUDE in
Holland,
between
Hague
and
Utrecht,
where
Gerard de Leen,
or
de Lene,
printed from
anno
1479 to 1480, after which he remov'd to
Antwerp,
and printed there till 1491, as shall be shewn in its place. We have but six editions of his printed at
Goude,
the first is a dutch bible, fol. 1479, the last is dated 1484.
§. 2. ZWOL, a City in
Lower Germany,
between the rivers
Isel
and
Vider.
We find 5 editions printed here from 1479 to 1499, all without printers names.
§. 3. CAEN, in
Latin Cadomum,
an episcopal city and university, and the capital of
Normandy,
had two sworn booksellers,
viz. Peter Regnault,
and
Richard Mace;
but whether many Printers, or whether they had their books from some other place, we find but two editions printed here,
viz. Horatii Epistolae,
1480, and
Alberti Magni Compend. Theologic. Veritat.
1500.
§. 4. CEULEN. Our annalists are at a loss where to find this place, I imagine it to be the city of
Cologn,
which the Printer might not know how to spell right, neither do the Germans write it much unlike it. We find but one impression in
Low Dutch,
it is call'd
Splegel der Sassen met de Glossen daarop,
fol. 1480.
§. 5. QUILEMBOURO, in
Holland,
where the same
Dutch
edition was printed in the same year, and no other as I can find.
§. 6. GENZANO,
Corn. Beughen
in his
Incunab. Typogr.
mentions an edition of
Joannes Annius de futuris triumphis contra Saracenos,
fol. and dates it from
Gentiae,
1480;
de la Caille
mentions the same edition of the same year, and dates it from
Genzano.
Father
Orlandi
is not sure that
Gentiae
and
Genzano
are the same place, but if it is, he tells us, that it is a place in the
Roman
territories, more famous for an excellent wine in great request at
Rome,
than for this obscure edition which is the only one we have printed there. The same author mentions also a single edition,
viz. Laurent. Gilelmi de Saona Rhetorica,
printed at
Villa S. Albani,
1480, but whether it be our
St. Albans
in
England,
which had the art much sooner, or any other town of that name, beyond sea, of which there are a great many in almost every province, is not easy nor of great moment to determine.
Article
VI. LIGNITZ, HASSELET, REGGIO,
and
MONT-ROYAL, 1481.
§. 1. LIGNITZ in
Silesia,
in which was printed the following book,
Fr. Hermani dialogus; Lignis,
without the Printer's name, 1481.
§. 2. AT
Hasselet,
a place unknown, was printed
Recollectorium ex gestis Romanormm,
fol.
Hasseleti,
Orl. 1481.
§. 3. REGIO, a city in
Lombardy,
belonging to the Marquiss of
Este,
rich, ancient and populous, had the Art of Printing from
1. PROSPER ODOARD, and 2. ALBERT MAZALI, 1471.
OF whom we have 3 edit. The two first 1481, the last 1487.
3 BARTHOLOMEW BOTTONUS,
alias Bruschi
of
Reggio,
1 edit. 1482.
4. DIONYS BERTOCH, who wrought first at
Treviso,
next at
Venice,
then at
Modena,
settled at last at
Reggio,
where we find 4 edit. of his from 1496 to 1498.
5. FRANCIS MAZALA, of
Reggio,
3 edit. from 1498, to 1499.
§. 4. MONT-ROYAL, in
Latin Mons Regalis,
in the Kingdom of
Sicily,
and near the city of
Palermo,
where
Dominic de Nivaldis
and his sons printed an edition of
Aesop's Fables
in
Latin
verse,
fol.
1481.
§. 5. AT
Wartsburg,
in
Latin Herbipolis,
was printed
Missale in usum Ecclesia Herbipolensis,
impress
Herbipoli,
fol. 1481.
This book the earl of
Pembroke
told me he saw at
Oxford;
it has a
Latin
privilege at the end, impowering Mr.
Isorius Ryfer
to print those
Missals,
and to adorn them with rubricks. We have already taken notice, that this book had been set down in the list of Archbishop
Laud
's books for a MS. which is the reason it has not been mention'd by any of our annalists.
Article
VII.
The Cities of
PISA, AQUILA, ERFORD
and
LANGRES, 1482.
§. 1. PISA is an antient, rich and populous city of
Tuscany,
where the Art of Printing got but small footing and encouragement. It is very likely that the wars which rag'd in several parts of
Italy,
from the time of the art's being brought to it, might be a great cause of the small progress it made in this, as well as many other, otherwise, considerable cities of
Italy.
We find but 4 editions printed here, the three first dated 1482, 1484 and 1489, are without Printers names. The only one that has, is
Antonii Parnormit. libri
IV.
dictorum factorum,
&c. fol. by
Gregory de Gente. Pisis
1485.
§. 2. AT
Aquila,
an episcopal city in the territory of
Abruso,
distant about sixty miles from
Rome,
was printed an
Italian
version of
Plutarch
's lives, by
Adam de Rotwill,
a German, who stiles himself
Stampatore excellente. Aquilae
1482.
ORLANDI tells us pag. 196, that Mr.
Robert Frebairn,
(now the king's Printer in
Scotland,
and a particular friend of mine) shew'd him among some of his curious annotations upon editions which he had seen, the first part of the aforesaid lives printed at
Aquila, ann.
1472; but said, he never could see the second part which was afterwards added to the first. The credit of this entirely depends upon that gentleman's observation; but our author says, that he never saw any other part but this which we have given, nor heard of it from any but him.
§. 3. AT
Erford,
a large city in
Germany,
erected into an university
ann.
1391, and subject to the elector of
Mentz,
was printed
Lutreus de anima. Erford
1482.
§. 4. AT
Langres,
an episcopal city in
Burgundy,
the people of which were call'd
Lingones
by
Lucan, Claudian,
&c. and still reta in that name; we find the following edition,
viz.
Jo.
de Turre-cremeta ord. praed. card. expositio super psalterium.
Impress per
Johan. Fabri Lingonensem,
1482.
IT hath no place's name; only
la Caille,
and after him
Orlandi
have suppos'd it, from the Printer's appellative, to have been printed at
Langres.
However the reader may find the same Printer at
Turin,
from
anno
1474 to 1477, and at
Lyons
from 1478 to 1485.
Orlandi
dates the same edition from
Turin,
by the same Printer, where I think it more properly belongs.
Article
VIII. GAUNT
and
MEMINING, 1483.
§. 1. GAUNT, in
Latin Gandavum,
is too well known by most readers to need a description. Here were printed the two following editions without the Printers names.
1. GUILLELMUS
Parisiensis de rhetoricâ divinâ,
4to.
Gandavi. Orl.
1483.
2. BOETII
de consolatione Philosophiae,
lib. 5.
cum S. Thom. Aquin. comment.
fol.
ibid.
§. 2. AT
Memining,
a City in
Swabia,
between
Ulms
and
Ausburgh,
we find six editions printed from
ann.
1483 to 1494, all without Printers names.
CHAP. XII.
The rest of the Cities and Places, which began to print before the year 1500, with an Account of the Books printed there.
Article
1.
The Town of
SONCINO, 1484.
SONCINO is a town or castle in the duchy of
Milan,
between
Brescia
and
Cremona,
and famous for being the place in which the first
Hebrew
books were printed. The Christians had hitherto esteem'd such a design too expensive and impracticable; it being scarce possible to find artists in those early days, who could cut punches exactly enough in that difficult and unpractis'd character. Another difficulty, which seem'd to them almost unsurmountable was, that to cast the letters with the points and accents, would multiply the cases to an excessive degree; and to print without points, accents,
&c.
would have infallibly prevented the sale of their books, because few at that time, except the Jews, could read without them; and to cast the points and accents by themselves, and interline them as now, seem'd then perhaps wholly impracticable. We have seen under the article of
Aldus Manucius,
that he procur'd a fone of
Hebrew
types; but tho' the Jews had already printed at
Soncino
and elsewhere for above twelve or fifteen years, which might have given him an insight into their method of printing in that language, yet he found it so difficult, that he made but little use of them; and I can find nothing done by him in that kind, but an
Hebrew
alphabet, which
Chevilier
tells us is preserv'd in the
Sorbon
library. The Jews therefore, as they were the fittest for such a province, were the first who set about it. What encouragement they might receive from the Christians in such an undertaking, I cannot affirm; yet it is probable they might in a great measure depend upon that; and without leave from the Pope and the Dukes of
Milan
they dar'd not have attempted it. Soon after the Jews had propagated this art into several cities of
Italy,
such as
Brescia, Bologna, Rimini, Fano, Pesaro,
and even as far as
Constantinople
and
Salonica,
in all which places they inscrib'd their editions as done by some of the family of
Soncino;
the Christians who now began to print in
Hebrew
in most cities of
Europe,
in
Italy,
at
Venice, Cremona, Mantua, Verona, Ferrara, Leghorn, Padua, Naples,
&c. in
England, London
and
Oxford;
in
Germany, Basil, Frankford, Cologn,
&c. in
France, Paris, Lyons,
&c. with some cities of
Spain, Holland, Poland,
&c. set up some ingenious artists, who engag'd in that province; tho' it must be own'd that the editions of the Jews were far preferable to those for beauty and correctness. However there were few impressions of this kind printed any where, but by these Jews of the
Sontino
family, 'till after the year 1500. Mr.
Mattaire Ann. Typog.
vol. 1. p. 152. makes a curious observation after father
le Long,
which is, that in all the books that he had seen printed in this tongue before that year, as often as the name of God occurs in the text, they made use of the letter
Daleth
instead of
He.
Thus for instance they printed
for
, and
for
; for which no reason can be assign'd.
I MUST not omit giving the reader an account, which we meet with in
Buxtorf
the father, of a book, that he tells us was in the possession of
Joseph Scaliger,
of a much older date than those of
Soncino.
It was an
Hebrew
grammar intitled
Mahala Scevile Haddas,
written by
R. Moses Kimchi,
which
Buxtorf
says had been printed in
Sicily
152 years ago;
Habuit Josephus Scaliger impressum in Siciliâ ante annos
152. (These words
Buxtorf
the son did not alter, when he reprinted his father's book at
Basil, anno
1640 in 8vo.) This, if it be true, will oblige us to seek much higher for the origin of
Hebrew-printing,
than the year 1484; which is the time wherein
Rabbi Gedaliah,
and after him the learned
Bartolocci
have affirm'd it to have begun; for if we substract 152 years from 1613 in which
Buxtorf
wrote, it will bring us to the year 1461.
Chevilier
p. 267 tells us, that he saw a third edition of this grammar, printed at
Ortona
in the kingdom of
Naples,
in the second year of
Charles
king of
Sicily
and
Jerusalem,
i. e.
anno
1496, which shews that there must have been two editions of it before; and
Cornelius a Beughen
in his
Incunab. Typog.
p. 126 mentions an old
Hebrew
edition printed at
Bologna, anno
1471, with this title,
R. Obadia Sephorno lux populorum. Liber Hebraicus sic dictus, Bononiae
1471. But as he doth not tell us in what library he met with it, and as we have not a sufficient certainty of the truth of the dates of this and the other book mention'd by
Buxtorf;
I can see no reason for departing from the epoch of our latest annalists, to assign a new one upon uncertain grounds.
THE first
Jew
who oblig'd the world with
Hebrew
impressions, was
MOSES
the Son of
RABBI ISRAEL NATHAN, 1484.
A NATIVE of
Spire
in
Germany,
whose family multiply'd so much, and receiv'd such encouragement in this undertaking, that they spread themselves over several parts of
Italy,
and printed many noble editions with vast success and applause. Among these a son of this
Moses
nam'd
Rabbi Gerson,
after he had printed several works at
Brescia,
of which we have given an account, went and set up a Press at
Constantinople,
some time before the close of this century, and continued printing there till
ann.
1530. Some of his sons remov'd to
Salonica,
and other cities of the
Ottoman
empire, where they met with the same success. But as their works, at least as far as we know of them, were done after the year 1500, I shall not give the reader a list of them, but confine myself to those printed in
Italy
before that time. The editions at
Soncino
are as follows.
1. MINCHAH
Happenini
4
to. Soncini,
anno mundi 5244. which answers to our 1484.
2. BECHINAL
Olam.
(Hebr.)
ibid.
1485.
3. PROPHETAE
priores.
(Hebr. absque punctis) cum Com.
R. David Kimchi.
fol.
ibid.
1486.
4. IKKARIM. per
R. Joseph Albo.
ibid. 1486.
5. BIBLIA
Hebraica cum punctis per Abraham fil. Rabb. Hhajim.
fol.
ibid.
1488.
6. BERACHOTH and
Beitzah. ibid.
1489.
7. JAD HHASAKAH RAMBAM. 2 fol. 1490.
Article
II. LEIPSICK. 1484.
LEIPSICK, in
Latin Lipsia,
the Capital of
Saxony,
and founded into an university in 1404 by
Frederic.
1. elector of that name, receiv'd the Art of Printing in 1484; and tho' it produ'd but few impressions before the year 1500, and yet it is become one of the most famous cities in
Germany
for the numbers of books printed there. The first Printer who settled there was,
1. MARK BRANDT,
OF whom we have only the following edition,
viz.
ALBICII
Archiepiscopi Pragensis praxis medendi.
4to.
per Marcum Brandt. Lipsiae.
1484.
1 At the End of the Pentateuch are these Words;
Et absolutum est opus ministerii, viginti quatuor sapiens ad docendum legem in Israel excellens & illustris
Josua Selomo
(
ideat semen, producat dies vitae. amen.) filius illustris sapientissimi
Israel Nathan,
feriâ tertiâ
xi
mensis Jiar ann
juxta minorem supputationem; manu minimi in familia sua, fidelis chalcographi,
Abraham
F. illustris
Rabbi Hhajim
felicis memoriae, ex viris piis terrae Pisauri Bononiae, Impressum opus Soncini.
Chevillier
p. 80. mentions another Hebrew bible printed in fol. at
Bologna
in the same year 1488. It is in the Library of
C. Barberini
at
Paris;
the Catalogue of which gives us an account of it in the following Words, pag. 147.
Biblia Hebraica Bononiae ab impressoribus Soncinensibus apud Abrahamum Jarzium Pisaurensem.
1488. But it is a question whether it be not the same with this of
Soncino.
2
Rambam
is an abbreviation of
Rabbi Mose-Ben Maimon;
as
Abenezra
is of
Abraham-Ben-Exra,
&c.
2. GREGORY BOETICHER, 1 edit. 1493.
3. WOLFGANG MOLITOR
de Monaco,
2 edit from 1495, to 1496.
4. JAMES THANNER, 2 edit. from 1498, to 1499. WITH about twenty more without Printers names.
5. ANDREW
Faisner,
a learned man, of whom we have given a full account under the article of
Nuremberg,
where he follow'd the Business of printing and correcting till the year 1478, after which he remov'd to
Leipsick,
and became
Rector magnificus
of that university. The only book we find printed by him here is the
Historia Longobardica,
but our
German
author not having given us the date of it, no proper rank could be assign'd to it in this list.
Article
III. VIENNA
and
URBINO, 1484.
§. 1. VIENNA (not the capital of
Austria,
as
Orlandi
thought) but a city in
Dauphiny
had two Printers,
viz.
1. PETER
Schenk
of whom we have only the following edition,
l'Abuse de Cour,
fol.
par Pierre Schenk.
2. CONRARD
Celtis,
1 edit. 1500.
§. 2. AT
Urbino
a city in
Italy
famous for being the native place of that excellent painter
Raphael Sancius;
sirnam'd from it
Urbin,
was printed the following book without the Printer's name.
PAULI
Middleburgensis Episcopi Semproniensis Practica de pravis constellationibus, ad Maximilianum Caesarem, Urbini,
1484.
Article
IV. ANTWERP, HEIDELBERGH, CREMONA
and
HARLEM. 1485.
§. 1. ANTWERP, a large, rich and populous city in
Flanders,
did not much signalize itself in the art of printing in this
15th.
century, but made ample amends for it in the two following, having produc'd some of the finest and largest editions of any place in the world, and by the number of its Printers, among whom were the famous
Bellers, Raphelengius, Plantin, Morellus, Gumelers, Mevosius, Verdufen,
and many more, all too well known to the learned, to need a digression here in their praise. The first known Printer here was
1. GERARD LEU
or
de LEEU. 1485.
WHO printed first at
Goude
in 1480, whence he came to
Antwerp:
we have but four editions of his extant, from 1485 to 1491.
2. ADRIAN
de Liesvelt,
1 edit. 1495.
3. NICOLAS
Kesler
of
Basil,
where he wrought from 1486 to 1494, betwixt which times we find a
Latin
bible, fol. printed by him, in 1487.
WITH a few more without Printers names.
§ 2. HEIDELBERGH is a city and university in the lower
Palatinat,
and seat of the elector
Palatine,
where we find 5 edit. from 1485 to 1489, all without Printers names.
§ 3. CREMONA is a city and university in
Lombardy,
famous for the best violins,
&c.
the following edition was printed here in 1485.
HERMOLAI
Barbari Castigatio in Plinii Nat. Hist.
without the Printers name. Tho' this is all our annalists mention, yet a learned gentleman assures me he has seen two editions more printed here, one was
Fracastorius
and the other
Vida.
THE only Printers of this city as yet known are the two following,
viz.
1. BERNARDINE
de Misenti
of
Pavia,
1 edit. 1492.
and 2. CAESAR
de Parma.
1 edit. 1492.
WE have seen
Misenti
under the article of
Brescia,
ann. 1495.
§ 4. HARLEM a city in
Holland,
sufficiently known to those who have read the first part of this history, for the great controversy started in favour of it, and for the number of her champions, who have endeavour'd to deck her
COSTER
's tomb with the trophies of this noble art, has produc'd so small a number of works during this
15th
century, if we allow it the
Donatus, Speculum, &c.
done upon wooden blocks so much boasted of by the
Dutch
Writers (tho' their title even to these has been shewn to be as precarious as that of
Mentz;)
that the reader no doubt will be surpriz'd, that we have not been able to find but one book printed there before 1500,
viz.
DE
Proprietatibus Rerum libri
xviii
Opus Theologicum & Philosophicum,
fol. 1485.
Article
V. ABBEVILLE
and
TOLEDO, 1486.
§ 1. ABBEVILLE a city in
Picardy,
had two famous Printers and Booksellers settled there for a small space,
viz. John du Pré
and
Peter Gerard
of whom we have but one edition printed here; after which they remov'd to
Paris
as has been said.
S. Augustin de la Cité de Dieu,
fol.
par Jean du Pré & Pierre Gerard
xxviii
Novem.
1486.
§ 2. TOLEDO, in
Latin Toletum,
an archiepiscopal city of
Aragon
in
Spain
printed
PETRI
Ximenes Confutatorium errorum contra Claves ecclesiae, nuper editorum Toleti,
without the Printers name, 1486.
PETER
Hugembach
reprinted by order of Cardinal
Ximenes.
MISSALE
mixtum secundum Regulam Beati Isidori, dictum.
MOZARABES fol. 1500.
TWO years after he was order'd by the same Cardinal to print the breviary of the same
St Isidorus.
THESE two Books are reckon'd very scarce and valuable, especially by those of the Church of
Rome.
§ 3. RIMINO, in
Latin Ariminum,
a city in
Romania,
had a Printer of the
Jewish
family of
Soncino,
before mentioned, who printed
R. Joseph Albo Philosophi, Arbor plantata,
in
Hebrew
4to. 1486.
THIS book contains the fundamentals of the
Jewish
religion, and is levelled against the
Christians.
§ 4. AT
Munster,
in
Latin Monasterium,
an episcopal city, we meet with the following editions printed by
John Limburgh.
RODOLPHI
Langii nobilis Westphali & Monasteriensis Canonici Carmina,
1486.
§ 5. AT
Messina,
a famous city of
Sicily,
we find two books printed, one without Printers name,
viz.
HISTORIA
praeliorum Alexandri Magni Ducis Maced.
fol. 1486.
THE other is printed by
WILLIAM
Schonberger
of
Frankford,
and is dated, 1498.
Article
VI. 1. MODENA, 2. BOISLEDUC, 1487, 3. EYCHSTADT, 4. TUBINGEN, 5. ROCCEN, 6. GAETA,
and
7. THOLOUSE, 1488.
§ 1. MODENA, in
Latin Mutina,
is an ancient city in
Italy,
now under the dominion of the house of
Este
Duke of
Parma
and
Modena.
The first Printer we find here was
1. DOMINIC
Rocociola
of whom we have seven editions from 1487 1498.
2. DIONYS
Bertoch,
whom we have seen already under the articles of
Venice, Treviso
and
Reggio,
and under several names, did at length conclude the century at
Modena.
We have two editions left of him from 1499 to 1500.
§. 2. AT
Boisleduc,
in
Latin Boscum-Ducis,
a strong city in
Brabant
was printed one edition,
viz.
PRAECEPTA XX.
Elegantiarum grammaticarum,
4 to. 1487.
§. 3. AT
Eychstat
in
Upper Bavaria,
in
Latin Eisteta,
was printed
Obsequiale sive Benedictionale Eistetense per Michaelem Keiser,
1488.
§. 4. TUBINGEN a city in the duchy of
Wirtemberg,
and made an university in 1477. had a Printer nam'd.
FREDERIC
Meynberger,
who printed two editions of
Gabriel Biel
's
expositio Canonis Missae,
from 1488 to 1489. The last of which was revis'd by
Vendelin Stembach,
and is much more correct than the first, but has neither Printer nor places name.
§. 5. ROUEN in
Latin Rothomagum,
is an archiepiscopal see, and the capital of
Normandy,
whose first Printer was,
1. JOHN
le Bourgois
of whom we have 2 edit. from 1488 to 1498.
2. MARTIN
Morin,
3 edit. from 1494 to 1500.
3. PETER
Regnault,
Printer and bookseller, whom we have seen in the article of
Caen,
1 edit. 1500.
At this place was printed a book, on the subject of grammar, for
Martin Coestin
dwelling at
Exeter,
and the only one I ever met with, which is in the Earl of
Pembroke
's library.
§. 6. AT
Gaeta
an ancient city in that part of
Italy,
call'd
Latium,
was printed by,
MASTER
Justus,
1 edit.
viz.
DIALOGO
de S. Gregorio Papa,
fol. 1488.
§. 7. THOLOUSE is the capital city of
Gascony,
in which we read of
John James Colomiez
with some more of his own family exercising the Art of Printing before and after the year 1500, but can meet with only one edition before the close of the century,
viz. Thomae de Valois in D. Augustini de Civitate Dei Commentarii,
Tholouse 1488, without Printer's name.
Article
VII.
The Cities of
SIENA
and
HAGENAW, 1489.
§. 1. SIENA, an ancient city and university in
Tuscany,
had an eminent Printer nam'd
Sigismund Rot,
of whom we have two editions still extant, one without date,
viz. L. Florus de gestis Romanorum,
and
Cicero
's
Clausulae Epistol.
1489; but whether he was the same with that
Sigismund,
who sirnam'd himself
de Libris,
and for whom
Dominic de Lapis
printed several books at
Bologna anno
1476, or some other, is not easy to determine: these two are all the books which I could find printed at
Siena
before the close of the century.
§. 2. AT
Hagenaw,
a city in
Alsatia
in upper
Germany,
but now under the French king, we find the following edition dated 1489, but without Printer's name,
viz.
JOH.
de Garlandia Cornutus, sive Disticha Exametra Moralia cum interpretatione. Hagenoae.
THE two following Printers,
Joh. Ryman
and
Henry Gran,
did likewise print in this city: we have two editions of theirs, one dated 1497, and the other 1500.
WE find likewise some other works done here without Printer's names from 1493 to 1500.
Article
VIII.
The Cities of
LISBON
and
SEVIL, 1491.
§. 1. LISBON, in
Latin Ulyssipo,
the metropolis of the kingdom of
Portugal,
did not signalize itself by any productions in this kind, if we except the two following ones, which being both in
Hebrew,
might be done by some of the family of
Soncino,
mention'd before. They are as follows,
PENTATEUCHE
Hebraia cum Paraphras. Chald. & punctis, fol. Ulissipone,
1491.
ISAIAE
& Hieremiae lib. cum Comment. Rabbi David Kimchi, Hebraicé, fol. Ulyssipone,
1497.
2. SEVIL, in
Latin Hispalis
and
Sevilia,
is an ancient archiepiscopal city and university in
Spain,
in which we find
PAUL
de Colonia, Joh. Pegniczer de Nuremberg, le Grand
and
Thomas,
flourishing
anno
1491; in which they printed the two following works, after which we hear no more of them.
ALPHONS.
Test. Episc. Abulensis opera, fol. Hispali.
FLORETUM
S. Matthaei collectum a R. Praesule Cauriens. Petro Praxano in sacr. Scriptura Professore Siciliae,
both 1491.
BESIDES these we meet with three other works printed by
MEYNARD UNGUT German,
and
STANISLAUS Polonese,
Partners.
THEY are all three in
Spanish,
the first is dated 1494, and the other two 1495.
Article
IX. DOLE
and
INGOLDSTAD, 1492.
§. 1. AT
Dole,
a city in low
Britany,
was printed the following book, HARNMUNDIENSIS
Lectio declarativa de Epidemio morbo, 4to,
per Johannem Hebertin,
Dolae,
1492.
§. 2. AT
Ingolstad,
a city in
Bavaria,
was printed in the same year,
Porphyrii Isagoge,
fol.
Ingolstadii
1492, without Printer's name.
Article
X. LUNEBURGH, MAGDEBURGH, THESSALONICA, FRIBURGH
and
ANGOULESME, 1493.
§. 1. JOHN LUCE printed at
Luneburgh
in lower
Saxony, Tho. a Kemp. de Imitat. Christi, 8vo, per
Jo. Luce, 1493.
§. 2. AT
Magdeburgh
in lower
Saxony
was printed
Vincentii—Ordin. praed. anno Christi
1455,
canonizati contemplatio de Homine interiore,
without Printer's name,
Magdeburgi
1493.
§. 3. AT
Thessalonica,
an archiepiscopal city in
Macedonia,
we find the following edition in
Hebrew
by one of the family of
Soncino,
as is suppos'd, tho' there is no Printer's name to it.
R. ISAAC ABARBANEI,
seu ut alii, Abravanel celebris Judaei, & magnae aestimationis, qui obiit
A. M. 5269,
Commentarius in Prophetas priores, videlicet Jesuae, Judicum, Samuelis
I
&
II.
Regum
I
&
II.
Haebraicé, fol.
Thessalonicae, 1493.
§. 4. AT
Friburg
in upper
Germany,
we find three editions printed by one
Kilian,
from 1493 to 1499.
§. 5. AT
Angoulesme
in
France
was printed the following work,
viz.
GRAECISMUS
Angolismi.
without Printer's name.
Article
XI. LYRIA, MADRID
and
BARCELONA, 1494.
§. 1. LYRIA is a castle in the kingdom of
Valentia
in
Spain,
where the following
Hebrew
work was printed by some of the
Soncino
family,
viz.
PROPHETAE
priores cum Com. R. David Kimchi, fol.
Leiriae, 1494, without Printer's name.
§. 2. AT
Madrid
the capital of
Spain
was printed
Concilium Illiberitanum, fol.
Madrid 1494.
§. 3. AND at
Barcelona,
the capital of
Catalonia,
we find three editions from 1494 to 1500, without Printer's names.
Article
XII. GRENADA, MONTFERRAT, MIRANDULA
and
PAMPELUNA, 1496.
WE have but one edition of each of th
se four places; the three first are inconsiderable, and without Printer's names: the last is print
d by
William de Brocario.
Article
XIII. AVIGNON, LEYDEN
and
PROVINS,
&c.
1497.
1. AT
Avignon,
a city in the southern part of
France,
subject to the pope, we meet with a Printer nam'd
Nicolas Lepe,
a native of that city; we have but one edition of his before the close of the century,
viz. anno
1497.
2. AT
Leyden
in
Holland,
one edition in
low Dutch.
3. AT
Provins
(not a province so call'd in the south part of
France,
as
Orlandi
and others have mistook it) but a town in the county of
Brie
in the same kingdom; we have one small edition printed by one
William Tavernier,
1497.
4. AT
Bergamo,
we find one edition dated,
anno
1498; and
5. AT
Bemberg
two,
anno
1499; the former is without the Printer's name, the last by
John Pfeil.
I MUST not omit acquainting the reader that there are still above twenty editions, which being without dates, places, or Printers names, were not reducible to our former lists, tho' they are suppos'd to have been printed before the close of the 15th century. The reader may find them at the end of Mr.
Mattaire
's annals, vol. 1. with such remarks as that diligent author could make upon them.
I SHALL conclude this chapter with this observation, that the Art of cutting upon wooden blocks having past from the Printers to the engravers of cuts, they began to intersperse them among their works; so that we find many histories, both sacred and profane, adorn'd with wooden cuts, which, tho' already mention'd in the lists of impressions under every city, yet we shall subjoyn here altogether, at least the most considerable of them.
1. THE
Speculum,
or mirrour of our salvation in
Latin,
and another in
low Dutch.
2. THE
Speculum morientium,
or mirrour of a dying person.
3. THE history of St.
John
's Apocalypse.
ALL these are challeng'd by the
Dutch
writers in favour of
Harlem.
4. MEDITATIONES
in figuras, quas Romae in templo S. Mariae supra Minervam pingere.
5. CURAVIT
Jo. de Turre cremata,
Romae,
anno
1467
and
1473,
fol.
6. FASCICULUS
temporum,
printed at
Louvain,
1474, and afterwards both here and elsewhere,
fol.
7. VALTURIUS
de re militari,
at
Verona,
1472.
8. PASSIONALE
van Jesu und. Mariae Leben.
at
Strasburgh,
1477;
Geneva,
1490.
9. AESOPI
fabulae, fol.
at
Naples,
1481, and elsewhere afterwards.
10. DIALOGUS
creaturarum,
in
low Dutch,
at
Goude,
1482.
11. THE
Bible,
in
high Dutch,
fol. at
Nurembergh,
1483.
12. LA
mer des histoires,
1 vol. with 286 cuts, at
Paris,
1485.
13. LE
proces de Belial,
&c. translated out of
Latin
into
French,
4to, at
Lyons,
1485, 1490.
14. ALBAMASAR
Arab. astrolog. flores astrologiae,
at
Ausburgh,
1489, and elsewhere.
15. SEBASTIAN BRANT's
navis stultifera,
at
Basil,
1491, 1496, and 1497.
16. HORTUS
sanitatis,
at
Mentz,
1491.
17. REVELATIONES
S. Brigittae,
fol. at
Lubeck,
1492, and elsewhere.
18. TERENTIUS, 4to, at
Lyons,
1493;
Strasburgh,
1496.
19. OPUS
libri chronicon.
fol. at
Ausburgh,
1497.
20. GUIL. COURSIN's siege of
Rhodes
in
Latin,
at
Ulms,
1497.
21. POLIPHILI
Hypnerolomachia,
fol. at
Venice,
1499, and elsewhere.
IT must be own'd, that the design and performance of these, and many more of that sort, were very rude and uncouth, as all must acknowledge, who have seen them; which is rather owing to the covetousness of the booksellers, who chose to employ the cheapest hands, than to any want of excellent artists in that kind. For soon after the very infancy of Printing we meet with a great number of these engravers, whose performances were vastly superior to the best of those in the foregoing list. Of this number were
Andreas Martegna
in
Mantua, Maso Finiguerra
in
Florence, Bon Martin
in
Germany, Michael Volgemut
and
Albert Durer
at
Nurembergh, Israel Van-Mecheln
at
Mentz, Hans Schauflich
at
Nordeling,
and many more; some of whom, tho' they were excell'd by their successors in the following century, yet were all excellent masters, and whose names and works will be still valu'd by all skilled in that Art. Engraving upon wood became afterwards no small ornament to the Art of Printing, not only for the fine cuts with which the editions were interspers'd, but likewise for the front, head and tail-pieces, initial letters,
&c.
which in time became in great vogue. It prov'd also of great use in books of architecture, geometry, prospective, and others, which require a considerable number of demonstrations, figures,
&c.
in all which cases the wooden ones are much more expeditious, being contriv'd of the same height with the letters, and so impos'd, lock'd up and printed with them at once; whereas the copper ones must be printed off by themselves, and with a different press, which makes this method more tedious and expensive.
CHAP. XIII.
Of some eminent Printers from
anno 1500
to
1520;
their Improvements to the Art; and their Encouragement from the Great and Learned; with a Catalogue of their most considerable Impressions in the Oriental Tongues,
&c.
I HAVE, in the introduction to this second book, given the reader my reasons for extending this history so far beyond the year 1500; and I presume that he is now fully satisfied that it would have been imperfect, if I had stopt there; since the far greatest part of those Printers, who signaliz'd themselves, either for their learning or their industry, in improving every branch of Printing, appear'd not till the close of that century, or the beginning of the next; and consequently, he must have known little of those persons, to whom the world is particularly oblig'd for the vast improvements to this Art. Upon this account I have continued, in the preceeding chapters, the history of several famous Printers to the end of their lives, tho' some of them surviv'd even this epocha many years. But we omitted to give a list of their works beyond 1500, because that would have swell'd this volume exorbitantly, and those impressions are less scarce than those of the former century. We shall add nothing therefore to their history, but proceed to do justice to the merit of those, who tho' they enter'd not this province, till after the beginning of the 16th century, yet may be justly esteem'd contemporaries with the former.
'TIS not however to be expected that we should prosecute the same method, as in the former chapters, by shewing the progress of the Art thro' every city, much less by giving an account of every particular Printer, and the number of their impressions; since such an history, how succinct soever, would be too large for a single chapter. Our design is therefore only to mention the most considerable Printers, and to point out the great improvements which each of them made to this Art, the encouragement they met with, and the noble impressions in all languages, particularly the
Hebrew, Chaldee, Arabic,
&c. (the first of which had been justly essay'd, before 1500, but the other scarce attempted) with an account of the undertakers and assistants in that difficult province. For as to the beauty of the characters, whether Roman or Greek, they were brought to such a degree of perfection in the preceeding century by the
Italians
and
French,
as hardly admitted of much additional beauty.
TO proceed in order, we should begin with the Germans, to whom we owe the Art; tho' the Italians were the authors of those improvements, which the former were too indolent in imitating; for the oriental tongues, and even the Greek, which the Italians had made a very considerable progress in, was still much neglected by them; so that except
Amerbach
and
Froben
at
Basil
in
Switzerland
(which can scarce be call'd a part of
Germany)
who printed an
Hebrew
psalter, and
Erasmus
's
Greek
testament with his
Latin
version of it,
anno
1586, we meet with but three eminent persons, who attempted to print in the Eastern languages. The first is
John Schott
of
Strasburgh, anno
1515, who printed
Lucian
's dialogues of the gods in
Greek
with the
Latin
version of
Othomar Nachtgall,
with the title page in red, and some ornaments on the margin of the
Greek
text, and an
errata
at the end. By the compliments which the translator makes him in the preface, he seems to have been a very good Printer. He printed for
George Maxill
about five years before. His rebus or mark is in the table at the end of this book. The second is
Eucharius Cervicorn (i. e.
Hartshorn) at
Cologn,
who printed some
Greek
editions, the first,
anno
1517, is the
Hours of the blessed Virgin Mary,
the
seven penitential Psalms,
and some litanies and prayers in
Greek,
with one or two more after. His types are tolerable, but the edition somewhat faulty. The third is
John Potken
of the same city, who publish'd there a psalter in
Hebrew, Greek, Latin
and
Aethiopic, anno
1518, 4to. This person travell'd into
India, Aethiopia, Aegypt,
&c. in order to become master of the
Chaldiac
or
Aethiopic,
and translated the psalter into that language, and publish'd it with the other versions. He promis'd in his preface to perform something likewise in the
Arabick,
if he should meet with sufficient encouragement; but I do not find that he executed this. As for the Printer of this psalter, his name is no where to be found in the book.
THIS is all I know of, that has been attempted by the Germans in that kind; tho' to do them justice in another respect, they were industrious in printing
Latin
works that were very voluminous; particularly the
Decretum Gratiani,
printed by
Henry Eggestein,
at
Strasburgh,
which exceeds all that have been since printed for bulk; and
Vincentii Speculum,
by
John Mentel,
in ten large volumes,
fol.
In the following century they have been no less diligent, and publish'd a very considerable number of impressions.
ITALY follows in course; where, tho' great numbers of editions of the antient
Greek
and
Latin
writers, as well as of the modern, were publish'd; yet the
Hebrew, Arabic,
&c. seem'd almost wholly neglected. 'Tis true, that there had been, as we observ'd, two
Hebrew
editions at
Lisbon
in
Portugal,
one
anno
1491, and the other
anno
1497; and that the Jews of
Soncino
had printed several
Hebrew
volumes there from 1485, to the close of the century; and, having dispers'd themselves into other cities of
Italy,
continued printing their own books in that language. But with respect to the Christians, no direct attempts were made that way, 'till
Daniel Bombergh,
an
Antwerpian,
set up a Printing-house for
Hebrew
at
Venice.
His first work was the
Hebrew
bible,
anno
1511, 4to, reprinted by him several times, and particularly
anno
1518; in which year he likewise printed his
Bibliae Hebraea Rabinica
in
fol.
containing the
Hebrew
text of the bible, the
Masora
and
Targums
of
Onkelos, Jerusalem,
and
Jonathan, R. Joseph,
sirnam'd the
Blind,
and other
Rabbi
's comments,
&c.
which he dedicated to
Leo
X. But tho'
Bombergh
took a great deal of pains in this impression, and was himself a good master of the
Hebrew,
which he had learn'd of
Foelix Pratensis,
a learned
Italian,
who persuaded him to undertake this edition, and assisted in correcting it; yet the Jews set no value upon it; but
Rabbi Chajin
prevail'd on him to print another in 4 vol. in
fol.
which he did
anno
1525; and which was reprinted
anno
1548. 'Tis not my business to enquire into the merit of those editions; yet I cannot but observe, after several great criticks, that the Jews have always succeeded better in works of this kind than the Christians, as being more us'd to the niceties of the tongue, especially in its points and accents.
Bombergh
continued printing in
Hebrew
near forty years; and all his works were highly esteem'd on account of the beauty of the character and impression, their correctness, the fineness of the paper, and the number that he printed, which
Jos. Scaliger
tells us amounted to above four millions of crowns of gold. He made use of the most learned Jews for his correctors. His greatest work was the
Talmud
printed
anno
1520 in xi vol.
fol. F. Bartolocci
observ'd, that after his death
Hebrew-printing
declin'd exceedingly.
THE next improvement of this Art was by printing
Polyglot
works; and herein the city of
Genoa
first oblig'd the world.
Peter Paul Porrus,
a native of
Milan,
but inhabitant of
Turin,
an eminent Printer, undertook to print the
Impressit miro Ingenio,
Petrus Paulus Porrus,
genuae in Aedibus
Nicolai Justiniani Pauli
praesidente Reipub. genuensi pro Serenissimo Franc. Rege praestanti viro
Octaviano Fulgoso,
anno christianae salutis millesimo quingentesimo sextodecimo mense VIIIIbri.
Petrus Paulus Porrus Mediolanensi, Taurini
degens.
Pentaglot psalter of
Augustin Justinian,
bishop of
Nebo, anno
1516, in the house of
Nicholas Justinian Paul,
at
Genoa.
It was in
Hebrew, Arabic, Chaldaic,
and
Greek,
with the
Latin
versions, glosses and Scholia, which last made the 8th column, in
fol.
SINCE I wrote this I have seen a fine copy of it upon vellum at my Lord
Pembroke
's, on which I shall venture to make the following observations,
viz.
THAT it is a compleat master-piece in that kind.
THE different disposition of the columns are very regular and neat, and kept up to their exact proportions, nor having one double line in the
Latin
versions, nor are any chasms or white lines seen throughout the work; so that I dare affirm that to this time I have never seen a work so well contriv'd, and so completely finish'd. The
Hebrew
is printed with all the points, both orthographical and musical, the
Greek
and
Roman
is very neat, but above all the
Arabic
(allowing for its antiquity) surpasses all I have ever seen of the kind; and, that nothing may be wanting to compleat the whole, the press-work and ink, both rubricks and black, excels any thing I have seen, except
Durand's Rationale,
printed by the inventor,
Faust,
in 1459, which book I have also seen in my Lord's library.
THE
Arabic
was the first that was ever printed, and this the first piece of the bible that ever appear'd in so many languages; for that of
Potken
at
Cologn
was not publish'd till two years after, and wanted the
Arabic.
The reader might reasonably imagine, that this work met with deserv'd encouragement; yet the reverse appears from the just complaints of the author. For
F. le Long
in his account of the polyglot bibles, p. 36, tells us,
'that he
(Justinian)
caus'd no less than 2000 copies to be printed off, presuming that such a work would not only procure him a vast reputation, but likewise prove very gainful to him; the profits of which he design'd to bestow upon some of his family who were then in want. He fancied that it would infallibly meet with a kind reception, and that all rich prelates and princes would think themselves oblig'd to encourage it, and reimburse and inable him to proceed with the other parts of the bible.'
For this he promis'd in his preface to the psalter; and, about twenty years after, in his annals of the Republick of
Genoa,
he propos'd to add the whole old testament in all those languages to the new one, which was preserv'd there, done after the same manner; and this he would undoubtedly have perform'd, had he not been unfortunately drown'd in his passage to the isle of
Corsica
the following year.
'But, continues
Le Long,
he
(Justinian)
was deceiv'd by his too great credulity; every body applauded the work, but few proceeded further than that; scarce a fourth part of what he had printed was sold off.'
He says afterwards,
'that, this psalter being of no use to any except the learned, he found it impossible to reimburse himself the expence he had been at; because, besides the 2000 copies upon paper, he had about fifty printed upon vellum, which he presented to all the kings, whether Christians or Infidels.'
Vid. Matt. annal. Typ. Tom.
II.
par.
1.
p.
121.
sub not.
C.
'TIS well that the author's disappointment did not discourage both him and others from attempting the like glorious performances: tho' we do not find any more works of that prelate in the oriental tongues, yet I have met with the following one printed at
Paris,
in 1516, which convinceth me, that he publish'd more of them, and in particular that which is mention'd in it. It is entitl'd,
Liber Job ad Hebraicam veritatem restitutus, duplici Latina versione, una vulgata, altera ex Hebreo Augustini Justiniani,
4to,
i. e.
the book of
Job
restor'd to the
Hebrew
text, with a double version of it,
viz.
the vulgate, and another from the
Hebrew
by
Augustin Justinianus,
4to. But when and where
Justinian
printed the book of
Job
in
Hebrew
and
Latin,
I can no where find. As for
Porrus,
the Printer of the psalter above mention'd, tho' he was paid by the Bishop who employ'd him, yet 'tis probable he ventur'd no more upon that province; for we do not find that ever he printed any thing more in those languages, tho' he return'd to
Turin,
and printed for several years after. His mark or rebus was a leak with a
P
on each side, alluding to his name
Peter Paul Porrus,
as was the custom of that time to find some beast, bird, plant,
&c.
that had analogy to the person's sirname, in order to form a rebus; as appears from the table of them at the end of this book.
THE next considerable work is the bible of that great
Mecaenas,
Cardinal
Ximenes,
archbishop of
Toledo,
printed at
Alcala de Herares in Spain,
in
Latin Complutum,
from whence it is call'd the
Complutentian
bible. But before we leave
Italy,
I shall just mention some other printers, who, tho' they did not excel in this kind, yet oblig'd the world with many noble volumes in
Latin
and
Greek.
Of this number was
Andreas Azulanus,
father-in-law to the great
Aldus
of
Venice,
who succeeded him in that Printing-house, and kept up the credit of it for several years. His acquaintance with the members of the learned assembly at
Aldus
's house, as well as with his other foreign correspondents, and his own extraordinary learning enabled him to print many noble editions, which it is not my design to give an account of here, since they may be seen in Mr.
Mattaire
's
Annals,
vol. II.
THE
Junta
's at
Florence,
a noble family of Printers, some of whom we have spoken of under the heads of
Florence, Rome, Venice
and
Lyons,
signaliz'd themselves in the preceeding and this century; particularly those of
Florence
were famous for their beautiful and correct editions in
Greek
and
Latin.
THE
Lilly
was their rebus, with this motto,
Nil candidius,
i. e.
nothing is whiter;
to which they sometimes added the initial Letters of their names, and sometimes printed them at length. There were two of them at
Genoa,
viz.
Philip,
who began to print in 1497, and continu'd till 1518, about which time he is suppos'd to have dy'd, and
Bernard Junta,
but whether a brother or kinsman to him I cannot determine. The former having cause to suspect, that his works might be pirated, according to the custom of those times, obtain'd a patent from pope
Leo
X. of a ten years privilege for all the
Greek
and
Latin
editions, which he should print from that time. As the former are all very curious and highly esteem'd, I shall give a list of the most considerable of them, which is as follows.
1. BASILII
Magni liber de exercitatione grammatica.
8vo,
ann,
1515
2. AUSONII
sophistae praeludia, & Hermogenis rhetorica,
8vo, 1515
3. MUSAEUS,
Batrachomyomachia, Oppiani Halieutica,
8vo, 1515
4. NOVEM
Comoediae Aristophanis,
8vo, 1515
5. APOLLON
de constructione,
8vo, 1515
6. THEODOR.
Gazae grammatices introductionis,
lib. 4, 8vo, 1515
7. DION.
Areopag. opera,
8vo, 1516
8. XENOPHONTIS
opera,
sol, 1516
9. PLUTARCHI
vitae parallelae Graec,
&c. fol, 1517
10. PHILOSTRATI
icones & heroie,
&c. fol, 1517
11. ARISTIDIS
orationes,
fol, 1517
12. SOPHOCLES
cum scholiis Graecis,
8vo, 1518
13. HOMERI
opera.
8vo.
THIS is the last book which he printed; the next,
viz. Florilegium diversorum epigrammatum,
&c. 8vo, being printed by his heirs.
I SHALL mention but one more Printing-house in
Italy,
viz. at the
Quirinal-college
at
Rome,
under the care of the famous
Angel Gallotius,
and protection of pope
Leo,
who was the founder of that college and Printing-house, and among other marks of his favour, gave them a privilege of ten years for all their impressions, some of which were extraordinary fine and correct, and revis'd by the learned
Constantine Lascaris,
often mention'd in this book; of which number were the
Porphyri quaestiones Homericae & de nympharum antro,
&c. and a very antient
Latin
translation of
Homer,
both printed in 1517.
Sophocles
's Scholiast, 1518, and others of great value.
I SHALL now return to that famous bible of cardinal
Ximenes,
as I hinted before, commonly call'd the
Complutensian
bible, which is the only considerable one publish'd, either in
Spain
or any other part of
Europe
before that time. It consists of six large volumes in fol. the first of which contains the new testament in
Greek
and
Latin,
finish'd in 1517; the second is a
Hebrew
and
Chaldee
vocabulary of all the old testament with some other dissertations, finish'd
May
31, 1515; the third is the
Pentateuch
in
Hebrew, Greek
and
Chaldee,
with a
Latin
version of each; the fourth is a second part of the old testament, and contains the books of
Joshua, Judges
and
Ruth,
the two books of
Samuel,
of
Kings,
and of the
Chronicles,
with the prayer of
Manasseh,
in
Hebrew
and
Greek,
with their
Latin
version; the fifth is the third part of the old testament in
Hebrew
and
Greek,
with the
Latin
version, and contains the books of
Esdras, Nehemiah, Hester, Job,
the
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Wisdom of Solomon,
and
Ecclesiasticus,
the Apocryphal part of
Hester
only in
Greek;
the sixth is the fourth and last part of the old testament in the same languages as the former, and contains the prophecies of
Isaiah, Jeremiah,
with the
Lamentations
at the end,
Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel
(with the history of
Susannah,
and of
Bel
and the
Dragon) Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Michah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, Malachi,
with the three books of the
Maccabees;
these four last volumes were finish'd
ann.
1517,
July
the 10th; tho' Mr.
Mattaire
says, that the whole six volumes were not publish'd till the year 1520. Every page both of the old and new testament is divided into three columns: in the old, the first column contains the
Hebrew
text; the middle the vulgate
Latin;
and the third the
Greek
of the
Septuagint:
besides the
Chaldee,
which is plac'd in the inner margin with the version of it opposite to it. The vulgate is printed with
Gothic
letter.
THE only objection against this work is, that the Printers made use of a sort of false letter to fill up the spaces, whenever any of the versions run to a greater length than the text; that there might be no line shorter than another, nor any blank spaces in the column. The new testament is in a very plain large character, without ligatures, abbreviations or accents; tho' that of the
Septuagint
is different; the reason of which they give in the preface, to the following purport; that since all the ancient
Greek
authors, whether sacred or profane, were originally written without them, they were unwilling to introduce any thing into those holy books, which it is certain was neither originally in them, nor of any use towards the understanding of them; but with respect to the
Septuagint,
which is but a translation, they thought it unnecessary to be too scrupulous about it.
THIS work was printed by
Arnold William de Bracario,
in the university of
Alcala de Henares
in
Spain,
at the charges and under the direction of that learned prelate, whose merit in this respect can never be sufficiently extoll'd.
Alphonsus Zamora
tells us, that he gave no less than four thousand crowns of gold for seven
Hebrew
manuscripts; and it would be difficult to determine the sums, which the
Greek, Chaldee
and
Latin
manuscripts cost him. As for the learned men, whom he sent for from all parts of
Europe
and
Asia
to assist him in this undertaking,
Malincrot
tells us they were very numerous, of whom we shall mention some. Among the
Greeks
were
Demetrius Cretensis, Antony Nebrissenus, Lopes de Astuniga,
and
Terdianus Pintianus,
who were all professors of the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues, and famous for their works. Of the
Hebrew
professors were
Alphonsus Medicus,
a native of
Alcala, Paul Coronellus, Alphonsus Zamorali
and
John Vergera,
to the last of whom was committed the translation of several books, in which he restor'd a great number of texts, which were wholly unintelligible in the vulgate
Latin.
These, with many of the most considerable men of the university of
Alcala,
were engag'd by the Cardinal with very large salaries in this work, for the space of 15 years,
viz.
from 1502 to 1517; soon after which he was prevented by death from executing several other glorious designs. A larger account of this work may be seen in
Malincrot,
p. 110. and Mr.
Mattaire's Annals,
p. 124,
&c.
WHILE I am upon the subject of Polyglots, I must not omit one great advantage which the art receiv'd from it, and which it hitherto wanted,
viz.
that of printing in columns, by which the text and version are so easily dispos'd, that the reader may at one view satisfy himself in any scruple, that may arise either from a word wrong printed, or misunderstood in the one, by casting his eye immediately on the other. This is particularly necessary in
Greek
works and their versions; in which when there happens to be some fault of impression, as 'tis almost impossible both text and version should be faulty in the same word, the one may be easily corrected by the other.
Chevillier
gives us many remarkable instances of this, from pag. 240 to 243. I shall only mention one of them, in which the Printer or corrector makes
Aelian
call all the greatest and noblest men of
Greece
errant lyars thro' every part of their lives
[omnes Graecorum clarissimi proestantissimique viri per totam vitam in extrema mendacitate versati sunt]
a reproach which neither the author nor translator ever dream'd of fixing upon that nation. But upon a careful examination of the
Greek
text, the word appears to be
, and consequently it should have been printed
mendicitate,
i. e.
Poverty,
instead of
mendacitate
[lying] which escap'd the corrector's observation.
THERE is another conveniency in this method,
viz.
that it obliges a translator to be more concise, and to paraphrase less, since the exorbitant length of his version would be visible at first sight. I have already taken notice of
Aldus
's method of Printing the text in one page, and the version in the other; but he was not follow'd in it by any Printer that I know of: whereas as soon as they had taken the hint of these columns from the Polyglot psalter and bible, it was immediately follow'd by most Printers; and the famous
Badius,
in his edition of
Angelus Politianus
's works,
anno
1519, printed all the epigrams and versions after this manner. How plain soever the advantages of this method may seem, yet several men of learning have decry'd it; and particularly
Antony Muretus
and
Jos. Scaliger
have complain'd, that this way of printing the
Greek
and the version in two columns had been the cause of the former being wholly neglected.
BESIDES books in two languages, the columns are very necessary in large folio's, and sometimes in large quarto's, where the lines run to so great a length, that they puzzle the reader, who is apt to read the same line over again, or perhaps to skip the next, unless he constantly keep his finger moving from one to the other; which is easily remedied by dividing the pages into two columns. This method has obtain'd almost from the middle of the 15th century, and is entirely owing to that of printing the sacred books in several languages and columns. This shall suffice concerning this work printed in
Spain;
in which I find but two Printers more of any note,
viz. John Peter Bonhomin
at
Lisbon, anno
1514, where he printed a
Spanish
book, entitled
Ordinationes,
&c. fol. in
Gothic;
and
John de Porris
at
Salamanca,
perhaps a relation of
Peter Paul Porrus,
who printed the psalter at
Genoa,
mention'd before.
I COME now to speak of the French Printers, whose merit, tho' late, became at least equal with that of
Italy,
or any other kingdom, in all respects.
Henry Meibomius,
a German historian, owns,
—quod scribendi genus ut
Moguntiae
in
Germania
inventum, ita apud
Italos
excultum, & in
Gallia
demum persectum est.
Chronic. Riddaggbusens.
Tom. 3. p. 380.
,
that the Art of Printing, which was invented at
Mentz
in
Germany,
and improv'd in
Italy,
was at last perfected in
France: which is sufficiently evident from the impressions of
Henry Stephens,
in
Hebrew, Greek
and
Latin,
were there no other Printers to be produc'd in favour of that kingdom. But this courtry has given greater encouragement, or abounded more in excellent Printers, than that; and considering the care the university of
Paris,
whose power and authority over Printers and booksellers we have given an account of under the article of
Paris,
had continually over them, and the many signal marks of their favour, join'd to the genius of the nation, we shall not wonder at the pe
fection which they brought the art to, tho' somewhat later than their neighbours. For we may remember that
Badius,
one of the first who signaliz'd himself in this province, did not begin to print till almost the close of the last century, nor come to
Paris
till the beginning of this. Hitherto, tho' the
Roman
character, and the elegant manner of printing introduc'd by the Italians, were here exactly imitated, and in some cases excell'd; yet with respect to the learned languages, especially the Eastern, they were much neglected throughout
France;
and tho' the noble
Greek
impressions of
Aldus,
had rais'd an universal desire of reviving that tongue, yet the French were backward in introducing it, till they began to be contemn'd by the Italians, who were become every where masters of it. The only pieces printed by them in that tongue till that time, were some quotations so wretchedly perform'd, that Mr.
Mattaire
tells us, they were rather to be guess'd at than read. The character was rude and uncooth, without accents,
&c.
for which
Badius
makes an apology, and desires his readers to impute those errors and omissions to the scarcity of types, and want of compositors who understood in that language.
Franc. Tissard,
a person compleatly skill'd in
Greek
and
Hebrew,
and qualify'd for such a task, reviv'd those tongues, and prevail'd upon the Parisian Printers to introduce them, having printed several books in those languages: whereas before this the expence of importing them from
Venice
was so great, that it deterr'd many from the study of them. At first he address'd a pathetic discourse to the scholars of
Paris
upon that subject; in which he represents how contemptible their neighbours in
Italy
thought them; what epithets they gave their nation, such as, barbarous, proud and ignorant, who pretended to give laws to
Italy,
the most learned and polite nation of the world, whilst themselves were not contented to despise the muses at home, but must make excursions over the
Alps,
to disturb them in their belov'd abodes there. He exhorted them to retrieve the honour of their country, and to apply themselves immediately to the study of those languages; he promis'd them his own and other learned men's assistance; and tells them, that he had caus'd some
Greek
books to be printed, which, tho' cheap, would be great helps to them in that study. In short, he laid before them such powerful motives, and convincing arguments, that he at length rais'd a desire in them of rivalling their neighbours for learning. His extraordinary merit soon procur'd him the esteem and friendship of the great, who jointly assisted this noble design; among whom was the duke
de Valois,
afterwards king of
France,
and sufficiently known by the name of
Francis
I. the great patron of learning, who receiv'd him into his family and protection.
THE first
Greek
book which
Tissard
caus'd to be printed at
Paris,
was entitled
, containing the sayings of the seven wise men of
Greece, Pythagoras
's golden verses,
Phocylides
's ethic poem, and the verses of the
Erithrean
sybil upon the last day, with a
Greek
alphabet and some other inconsiderable pieces. It was printed in 4to,
anno
1507, by
Giles Gourmont,
and dedicated to the prince
de Valois
and the archbishop of
Thoulouse.
This work was so well receiv'd, that he caus'd the same Printer to dispatch three more books in that language the same year;
viz.
1.
Homer
's
, 4to, or
The battle of frogs and mice.
2.
Hesiod
's
, 4to. 3.
or
Chrysolaras
's
Greek
grammar, 4to. This last has a tetrastich written by
Cb. Rouseau,
to acquaint the world that
Francis Tissard
caus'd the first
Greek
editions to be printed at
Paris
Primus Parrhasia Graiae nova gloria linguae
Tissard
was a native of
Amboise,
in Latin
Ambaca:
for which reason the poet calls him here
Ambacus.
Ambacus Argivum concinet urbe melos: Quo duce morales Sophiae amplexabere leges; Hoc igitur stabili pectore fige memor.
; which
Tissard
himself took care to transmit to posterity in some epistles prefix'd to the books above mention'd. In these he likewise informs us of the difficulties which he met with in procuring Printers, who would engage in this new province; that they all alledg'd there was neither a sufficient number of
Greek
matrices and characters in
Paris
for such a work, nor any compositors that understood or could read that language; that the expence of setting up such a Printing-house must be very great, as well as the danger of losing both their labour and money
Cum incussorum sibi hoc munus, hanc provinciam assumere vellet nemo nullus non id laboris subtersugeret—characteres praeterea Grae cos nobis hactenus defuisse vidi; ad eorum quoque aliquot scalpendos, & postmodum liquefaciendos, & denique ad cos impressioni aptandas tradendosque, ut aiebant, sumptibus—opus esse: ad haec ea non intelligere, ne legere quidem, ejusque insolentes sateri.
. Notwithstanding this,
Tissard
stopp'd not here, but resolv'd to bring the
Hebrew
into vogue; and to this end caus'd a font of
Hebrew
letters to be cast, and the following year printed an
Hebrew
alphabet and grammar with a
Greek
alphabet, and some hymns in
Greek
and
Latin
at the end; which book he dedicated to his great patron
Francis
prince
de Valois. Giles Gourmont,
who had printed his
Greek
works, likewise undertook the
Hebrew.
It is printed with his name; and tho' there is no date to it, yet it is plain it was publish'a in the year aforemention'd. However as he was the first who merited the title of
Greek
and
Hebrew
printer to the city and university of
Paris,
and has publish'd several other
Greek
works after the year 1508,
viz.
the Idyls of
Theocritus,
some of
Lucian
's works, a second edition of
Chrysolaras
's grammar in 1511, the
Gnomologia
and
Aldus
's
Greek Lexicon
of 1497 much enlarg'd in 1512, the
Grammar
of
Theod. Gaza
in 1516, &c. I thought my self oblig'd to do justice to his merit. He us'd to put his coat of arms at the beginning or end of his books, and sometimes at both, with this French motto;
Tost ou tard, pres ou loing, a le fort du foible besoing,
i. e.
sooner or later, far or near, the strong stand in need of the weak,
with his name
Giles
or
Aegidius Gourmont.
His mark sometimes was the three crowns of the Kings of
Cologn
with the 25th verse of the 37th psalm;
I have been young, and now am old,
&c. in
Hebrew
and
Greek,
under them. He liv'd overagainst the college of
Cambray,
in the square of that name; and his books are much valu'd by the lovers of antiquity, especially at
Paris.
He continu'd printing till after the year 1527. As for the learned
Tissard,
as we find nothing printed by him, after his
Hebrew
grammar, he is suppos'd to have dy'd about that time.
HOWEVER, he did not want a successor of equal merit to carry on this work; for
Jerom Aleander,
a person so well skill'd in
Hebrew, Greek
and
Latin,
as to speak them with as much fluency as his own language, was sent for by
Lewis
XII. from
Italy,
where he profess'd the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues with universal applause. His reputation was so great, that the elector
Palatine
sent his own brother
Wolfgang de Bavaria
to be instructed by him, and the learned
Vatablus,
who had been formerly his scholar, was proud to assist him in some of his works, and take care of their correction, whenever
Aleander
was hinder'd by sickness or avocations. As soon as he came to
Paris,
he employ'd
Gourmont
's presses in printing those
Greek
works which we mention'd just before in speaking of that Printer. The King fail'd not of giving him immediate encouragement; for he settled on him a pension of 500 crowns of gold, with many other marks of his favour; so that he was chosen principal of the college of the
Lumbards,
and, in 1512, rector of the unversity, with general applause; tho' he had not yet taken his doctor's degree there. At last he was made library-keeper to the pope, a bishop and nuncio, and then cardinal, by
Clement
VII. I shall only add, that he was one of
Aldus
's learned academy; and that under his care the
Greek
and
Hebrew
tongues were so well settled in
France,
as to flourish there ever since.
BUT it must be own'd, that those editions of
Gourmont
were very far from perfection, since the types were ill shap'd, the punches ill finish'd, and the matrices worse sunk; besides which defects they had not cast a sufficient font of types, and were for that reason oblig'd sometimes to stop till a form was work'd off and distributed, before they could go on. Another defect in those types was, that the accents not being cast to place between the letters as now, but by themselves, and so compos'd in intermediate lines, as the
Hebrew
points are done at this time, they were often plac'd over the wrong letters, and frequently confounded one for another, thro' the unskilfulness of their compositors.
Tissard
complains of this more than once, but tells his readers, that they were taking all proper means to remedy those defects; and hopes in time, that those characters would be brought to as great a perfection there, as in
Italy.
And indeed we find that the success of
Gourmont
's impressions, under all these disadvantages, excited other printers in that city, to procure better types, workmen, correctors,
&c.
(not to mention that beautiful font of small
Greek
which king
Francis
I. caus'd to be cast at his own charge) in which they succeeded to admiration, and soon publish'd much finer editions than those of
Gourmont.
We shall only mention some of the most considerable, tho' they all came out later than 1520, except
Angelus Politianus
's epigrams, printed by
Badius
in 1519, already spoken of in this chapter; and his edition of
Guillelmus Budaeus's Greek
epistles, 4to, in 1520. After this,
Peter Vidoue,
or
Vidaeus,
master of arts, and an eminent printer, printed
Berault's Greek
lexicon in fol. and
Or. Apollo's Hieroglyphics,
8vo, in
Greek
and
Latin,
in 1521 and 1523.
Gourmont
printed
Homer
's first and second
Iliad,
4to, with
Wolmar
's short notes; and the
Greek
lexicon of
Magnus Chaeredamus;
and in 1527,
Gwinler's Greek
syntax, 8vo.
Anno
1528
Simon Colinaeus,
or
de Colines,
printed
Sophocles
tragedies, and in 1534, the new testament. These, with a few inconsiderable ones more, were all that came out in
Greek
during the space of 27 years,
viz.
from
Tissard
's first impression in 1507 to 1534; which I have mention'd here, tho' they run beyond our period, to shew how slow their first progress was, tho' their advances afterwards were prodigious.
Chevilier,
from whose list I have extracted the best part of these editions, has carry'd it on to the year 1560; and the reader will find, both in this piece and the remainder of it, several remarkable works omitted by
Mr. Mattaire
in his
Annals,
particularly the
Greek
lexicon and the new testament above nam'd. However as
Chevilier
tells us, that he saw them all in the
Sorbon
library, I thought proper to mention them.
THE reader perhaps will be surpriz'd to find nothing attempted by the Parifians in the polyglot way, whilst the Italians, Germans and Spaniards set them so fair an example. But, whatever be the reason of this neglect, 'tis certain, that if we except the
Psalterium quincuplex
of
Mr. Faber,
or
Fabry,
printed in fol. 1509, by
Henry Stephens,
in
Hebrew, Latin
and
French,
with the
Psalterium vetus & conciliatum,
in five columns, and reprinted by him in 1513, and again at
Caen [Cadomi]
in
Normandy,
by
Peter Olivier,
in 1515, I can find nothing of that kind during the greatest part of this century. However, it must be acknowledg'd they have made the world ample amends in the next, in which
Antony Vitré
printed that noble work, known by the name of
Monsieur le Jay
's polyglot bible in 1657; which being of too late a date, and so well known to the learned, I shall only say of it, that as sar as relates to the Printing part, (for as to the author's merit with respect to learning, 'tis not my province to enquire into) it has not yet been equall'd by any work publish'd, in any nation, either for beauty of character or elegancy of disposition, fineness of paper or richness of embellishment; in all which
Mr. le Jay,
who was at the charges of the impression, spar'd neither cost nor labour, in order to render it a master piece of that kind. Here I must draw a veil over my own country, which is greatly injur'd, if it did not contribute to the ruin of the undertaker of this glorious work. An intimate friend at
Paris
sent me word, that the sheets of Mr.
le Jay
's Polyglot was unfairly procur'd from the press at
Paris
before the work was publish'd, and, by the editor's of the English Polyglot, improv'd and publish'd so soon after, as to reduce Mr.
le Jay
almost to want; after his having expended above 5000
l.
sterling to compleat his work. But, as 'tis unpleasant to relate, I shall proceed.
As for the other printers who flourish'd at
Paris
during this space of 20 years, since my design is only to mention those who were eminent for improvements, unattempted in the former century, I have but few to add to the preceeding. The first in rank and merit is
Henry Stephens,
the father of that numerous family of Printers, whose learning and impressions for near 200 years have been celebrated by much better pens, and particularly by
Mr. Bayle
and
Theod. Janson
abroad, and by
Mr. Nichols, Collier,
but much more fully by the laborious and learned
Mr. Mattaire,
in his
Vitae Stephanorum
and
Annales Typograph.
I shall therefore content my self with giving a short account of their great progenitor
Henry,
as far as relates to my present subject. He began to exercise the Art of Printing about 1502, in company with
Wolfgang Hopyl,
a noted
German
Printer at
Paris,
of whom we have given an account in the foregoing century. He had afterwards several other partners,
viz. John Petit, Dennis Roce, John de Brié
and
John Hongel,
all eminent Printers. We have already spoken of his
Polyglot Psalter,
which, for ought I find, was the only piece he did in that way. As for the
Greek,
it was so little in vogue in his time, that he printed but little in it. He us'd two sorts of characters for the
Latin,
viz the
Gothic
and
Roman,
both good in their kind. It were, superfluous to tell the reader, that he was a man of great skill in the learned languages, and wrote several curious pieces in elegant
Latin.
He was extremely correct in his editions, so that their faults are so few, as scarce to deserve an errata; yet he always readily acknowledg'd the smallest number of them, as appears from his edition of
Erasmus
's apology against
Latomus,
in which he confesses,
Locis aliquot incuria nostra aberratum est.
that some saults escap'd him thro' neglect;
tho' the whole was but twenty. Hi chief correctors were
Peter Porta, Volgatius Pratensis, John Solidus
of
Cracow
in
Poland,
and
Beatus Rhenanus.
As he was sworn Printer of the city of
Paris,
instead of a mark or rebus, he us'd to put the arms of that university to his impressions, which is the escutcheon of
France,
with a hand from the clouds holding a book. Several other printers of that city follow'd his example in this. He dy'd in 1520, leaving among other children three sons, who became very eminent,
vid. Mattaire Vit. Steph.
the two first
Robert
and
Francis
in printing, and
Charles
in physick.
HIS successor was
Simon de Colines,
or
Colinaeus,
who marry'd his relict, and educated his two sons before mention'd; and with them rais'd the reputation of his Printing-house higher, than their father could, whilst the learned languages were in their infancy there. I shall only add, that
Robert
became so great a proficient under his father and father-in-law, that he was able to manage that great Printinghouse at the age of 18; and that one of his editions of the new testament in 16o .
ann,
1549, printed in a very fine
Greek
character, and very scarce, is affirm'd to be without a fault. This deserves notice, because there is another of his likewise in 16o , 1546, which has an errata at the end, and is frequently sold for the other. I cannot but observe, that to this
Robert Stephens
we owe the invention of dividing the chapters of the bible into verses, found out by him on a journey from
Paris
to
Lyons,
as we are inform'd by
Theod. Janson de Vit. Stephanorum,
printed at
Amsterdam ann.
1643, pag. 48; the great advantage of which is obvious to every person.
BEFORE I dismiss the city of
Paris,
I cannot forbear mentioning a most curious and elaborate work, which tho' not printed till the year 1529, yet, both for its singularity and its having been begun many years before, ought by no means to be omitted, I mean the book entitled
Champ-Fleury,
written by the famous
Godfrey Tory,
printer and bookseller of the city of
Bourges,
at the sign of the broken pitcher, and printed by
Giles Gourmont
likewise, Printer and bookseller at
Paris,
under the following title;
CHAM-FLIURY,
auquel est contenu le Art & Science de la deue & vraye proportion des Lettres Attiques, qu'on dit autrement Lettres antiques & vulgairement Lettres Romaines, proportionees selon le corps & Visage humain.
THE author, who for his learning had been some time before chosen president of a college in
Burgundy,
and had translated and publish'd several learned works out of
Greek
and
Latin,
ever since the year 1512, was afterwards admitted sworn Printer and bookseller to the king, and to the university of
Paris;
but became most famous for the curious work abovemention'd; in which he endeavours to demonstrate the due proportion of letters from those of a human body and face, as appears by the title. As it would spin this chapter to too great a length, were I to give the reader a more particular account of this scarce and singular piece, I shall content my self with referring him to Mr.
Mattaire
's
Annales Typogr.
vol. II. part 2. from page 550 to 559, where he will find such particularities both of the book and its author, as he will think worth reading, if he has any taste in this way.
I HAVE already dwelt so long upon the subject of Polyglots, the most considerable improvement of the Art in this century; and upon the city of
Paris,
the most celebrated in
France
for productions of that kind; that I shall scarce have room to speak of
Lyons, Rouen, Tholouse, Caen,
&c. which have produc'd many excellent works, if not in the Polyglot way, yet in all branches of the Art. I shall confine my self therefore to those Printers who have cultivated the
Greek
or Oriental tongues, and refer the rest to Mr.
Mattaire
's
Annals,
where the reader may see their merit, and the list of their impressions.
THE city of
Lyons
has been always the next in rank to
Paris,
in every branch of Printing; and if we consider that it receiv'd less encouragement from their princes and the learned, the latter chusing to reside at
Paris,
where there was a greater probability of advancement, we shall wonder that
Lyons
was so little inferior to
Paris;
and may remember, that it produc'd many valuable impressions during the last century. However, the reader must not expect any productions in
Greek,
much less in
Hebrew
and the Polyglot kind, during these 20 years, or long after, since he has seen the slow progress of those languages at
Paris;
and with respect to the
Latin
and modern tongues, they are foreign to our present purpose. I shall therefore only say, that the
Lyons
Printers publish'd many editions of the classics,
&c.
law-books, and especially
Latin
bibles, there being scarce a year past for a long time, in which they did not print two or three of them of different versions, and some with very fine rubricks and other curious embellishments. The most remarkable Printers of them were
James Sacon,
or
Sachon,
who printed some works of the fathers, and one time two
Latin
bibles in one year;
James Mareschall, John Moylin
and
Nicholas de Benedictis.
THE city of
Rouen,
in
Latin Rothomagium,
and
Caen
follow next: but their productions for these twenty years, and after, are so inconsiderable, if we except a
Latin
bible in 4to,
anno
1511, and the
Psalterium quincuplex
of
Faber
aforemention'd, which was printed in the latter
anno
1515, both by
Peter Olivier,
and a
Latin
bible in the former; that I shall insist no longer upon them. With respect to the other cities of
France,
which receiv'd the Art either before or after the close of the last century, their impressions are still less considerable. I now pass therefore to
Holland
and
Flanders,
where the reader will be surpriz'd to see the Art rather sunk and lost than improv'd. In the preceeding century we find several cities in
Holland,
as
Utrecht
1473,
Delph
1477,
Goude
1479,
Harlem
1485, and
Leyden
1497, receiv'd and cultivated the Art; yet now we meet not with a single edition done in any of them; nor find that any other city receiv'd it during those twenty years. As for
Flanders
and
Brabant,
'tis manifest they have been less negligent than the
Dutch;
for the city of
Antwerp
entertain'd one or two Printers, who publish'd three or four books during this space; the most considerable of which was the new Testament in
Latin
and
Dutch,
in 4to,
anno
1509; and the university of
Louvain
had an eminent Printer,
Theodore Martin,
who, having printed at his own native town of
Alost
'till the end of the 15th century, remov'd to
Antwerp,
where he publish'd some
Latin
editions, and at length came hither and continued printing till 1528, or perhaps longer. His impressions in this city are not indeed very remarkable for their bulk, beauty or number. I find but nine or ten, most of which are school-books, either written or publish'd by
Erasmus;
yet his most considerable work is the
Latin
testament in 8vo,
anno
1519, if it was printed by him, as is probable, since we find no other Printer here during this space, tho'
F. le Long
mentions not the Printer's name.
AS for the other cities, which receiv'd the Art before 1500, as
Bruges, Alost, Brussels, Gaunt, Boisleduc,
&c. we find so profound a silence among the annalists and historians, as makes me suspect that it either ceas'd entirely there, or that their produce was not worth preserving, unless we suppose that they were lost in the war, of which this country was the seat in those times; which is evidently the case of other countries, especially of those upon the
Rhine, Switzerland,
&c. Some eminent authors have told us, that they purchas'd some of those valuable pieces, which had been plunder'd by the soldiers, during the wars, out of the libraries of the monks and others. If this be fact, 'tis strange that
Louvain,
which calls itself the
maiden city,
because it was never taken by any foreign power, should not have preserv'd some more valuable impressions than those of
Theod. Martin,
just mention'd. However, to do justice to the
Low Countries,
and
Holland
especially, I must say, that how negligent soever they were at first in this respect, they have sufficiently oblig'd the world since by their improvements to this Art; nor need I tell the reader how much they have excell'd the English in the goodness of their paper, beauty and variety of characters, and in elegance and correctness of composition; in short, how they have equall'd any nation of
Europe
in every branch of Printing since. In the second volume we shall shew what improvements they have made to the mechanic part of it, and in particular to the Printing-press, chases,
&c.
the former of which is so compleat, as scarce to admit a greater degree of perfection.
HERE I cannot but observe the strange vicissitudes that have attended this Art since its first invention. We have seen how diligent the Italian nation has been in improving it, what quick progress they made in it, and to what a degree of perfection they brought it even before the close of the 15th century; whereas scarce any nation in
Europe
has neglected it more within these hundred years, having suffer'd their elegant Roman and Italick to degenerate, and are become very careless in their compositions, ornaments,
&c.
so that they are almost inferior to any country in all the branches of Printing. The French, on the contrary, who did not introduce the fine
Venetian Roman, Italick,
and
Greek
'till late in the 16th century, have been allow'd the best Printers, 'till
Elzevir
arose; since which time the Dutch, who were by far the latest of any nation in
Europe
in bringing it to the perfection which their neighbours had, have been lately superior to all. I shall say but little of
England,
where every reader is already sensible what rank our Printers here deserve with respect to other countries; but 'tis with the utmost regret that I observe our nation, which took so much pains to have the Art brought over in its earliest days, and cultivated it with so much application, should have been so far excell'd by the French and Dutch Printers, and even by those of our own nation, who liv'd a century and a half ago. But were the reader conscious of the disadvantages we labour under, and the small Profit we reap from our labour, he would rather be apt to wonder that any of us have been able to keep it up to that degree of perfection it is still in. I could easily make it appear from whence these difficulties arise. This complaint, which is far from being new, the
Latin
reader will find elegantly express'd above 150 years ago by
Cornelius Kelian,
one of the great
Plantine
's correctors, in an epigram of sixteen verses, which I have subjoin'd at the bottom of the page
Typographus Mercenarius.
Arte mea varias excudo Typographus artes;
Ars tamen haec tenues artifici addit opes,
Rite characteres ad justam redigo normam,
Constet ut ex aequis pagina versiculis.
Incisas nigra fuligine tingo figuras;
Callosa prelum volvo trahoque manu.
Eece iterum hesternus ruihi adest labor actus in orbem;
Quas struxi formas destruo, & inde struo.
Diruo & aedifico; vigilatus transigo noctes;
Sollicitam cruciat cura, premitque labor.
Verum quid prosunt curae durique labores,
Cum misero pateat semita nulla lucri?
Noster alit sudor numatos & locupletes,
Qui nostra
redimunt, quique locant operas.
Noster alit sudor te, Bipliopola, tuique
Consimiles, quibus est vile laboris opus.
. However, this I may modestly say for our selves, that, whenever we have met with sufficient encouragement, we have demonstrated our capacity by printing as beautiful and correct impressions as any of our neighbours.
BUT to return from this digression, which I hope will merit the reader's pardon, I shall now mention some cities in other kingdoms, which receiv'd the Art after the 15th century, and conclude this chapter with some remarks on the success of it in other parts of the world.
HITHERTO we have not seen that any Printer ventur'd farther North than the empire of
Germany.
As for the kingdoms of
Poland, Sweden,
Denmark,
&c. they imported books from
Germany
and other countries, and transmitted any works thither, which they wanted to have printed. I can find no city in those parts, except
Cracow,
the metropolis of
Poland,
that receiv'd it so soon as 1520; and even in this we have but one inconsiderable impression done in 1518,
viz.
a diary of
Sigismund,
the king of
Poland
's nuptials, printed by one
Jerom Victor,
in 4to. I shall therefore pass over to
Turky;
were we find some of the dispers'd
Jews
of
Soncino,
and particularly Rabbi
Gerson,
who, as we gave an account under the article of that place, brought the art to
Constantinople;
whilst others settled at
Thessalonica
and other parts, of which we have but a small account, and carry'd on the business of printing with good success. But it must not be suppos'd that the
Turks
invited them or any other Printers thither, much less that they gave them any other encouragement than a large toleration. On the contrary, we have shewn in a former chapter, how Sultan
Bajazet
II. publish'd an edict in 1483, against the use of printed books under pain of death; which edict was afterwards confirm'd by
Selim
I. his son. The encouragement therefore which they receiv'd was from the
Christians
and
Jews;
the latter undoubtedly were pleas'd to have their own books at a more moderate rate, than when they were only transcrib'd; and the former, being willing not only to have the old Testament printed by them more correct than the editions of
Christian
Printers, but likewise to have it dispers'd among the
Turks, Indians,
&c. who were wholly ignorant of those important truths contain'd in it, spar'd no cost to purchase them. Besides this, their
Targums, Talmud,
and other
Rabbinical
learning were brought up by the
Christians
to furnish themselves with what arguments they cou'd, against that poor infatuated people, out of their own books. And perhaps this might be the main motive which induc'd those two Sultans to publish so severe an edict against printing any books in the
Turkish
language, since the aversion of that nation to almost every branch of learning, and especially the religious, is sufficiently known.
I FIND however but three editions of the sacred books printed in that emperor's territories, during these twenty years,
viz.
at
Constantinople.
1. THE book of
Tobit
in
Hebrew,
without points, in 4to, in 1517.
2. THE book of
Esther
in
Hebrew,
with the commentary of Rab.
Isaac Armah,
4to, 1518.
And at
Thessalonica.
THE book of
Psalms, Proverbs, Job
and
Daniel
in
Hebrew,
with the commentary of R.
Rasi,
in fol. in 1500. Besides these three editions, which are all that Mr.
Mattaire
has given us out of father
Le Long
's
Bibliothec. sacr. Chevilier,
pag. 266, mentions some others which I shall here subjoin,
viz.
1. ONE at
Constantinople
in 1506.
Chevilier
does not tell us what it is.
2.
Jad Khasakkah,
fol.
ibid.
1509.
3.
Josippus Ben Gorion,
fol. 1510.
THE two last M.
Simon
tells us, he made use of in his
critical
history of the Old Testament.
4.
Berescith Rabbah,
of Rab.
Bar. Nachman,
fol.
Constantinople
1512.
THIS book is now in the
Sorbon
library.
THO' these be all that we can yet find to have been printed in
Turky
from 1500 to 1620; yet I cannot persuade myself, that they were all which the
Jews
printed there, but am apt to believe, that they were bought up by the eastern
Christians, Jews,
&c. and carried to the remote parts of
Asia
and
Africa;
whilst the
Jews
of
Soncino
and others were grown so numerous as to supply those countries with works of that kind. However that be, I do not find that this art made any further progress in these parts of the world during this space, or at least that those authors, who have represented its advances greater, have been much depended on by those that wrote after them; and therefore I think myself obliged to stop here.
I HAVE already transgress'd my propos'd limits, as often as the life of any eminent Printer has extended beyond them, or any material occurrence happen'd worthy of the reader's notice. Agreeable to which liberty, I shall now close this chapter with some remarks on the success which attended the art, tho' at some distance of time from the year 1520. First 'tis observable, that it has extended itself to
Africa
and
America;
not indeed at the invitation of the natives, especially of
America,
but by means of the
Europeans,
and particularly of the
Spanish
missionaries; who carry'd it to the latter for their ends, where it has throve, tho' not flourish'd ever since. The
Romish
society
de propagando fide,
gives us an account of printing-houses being set up in the cities of
Goa, Rachol,
in the country of
Salsetta, Manella,
the metropolis of the
Philippine
islands,
&c.
in the first of which were printed the two following works,
viz. Doctrina Christiana lingua Malabarica Tamul et litteris Malabaris in collegio Goano,
1577. This edition was in
Scaliger
's possession, and is now among those which he bequeath'd to the university of
Leyden.
The other is part of
Confucius
's works printed likewise at
Goa
in 1569; a copy of which is now in the emperor's library at
Vienna.
We find also some printing-houses set up about this time in the city of
Lima,
capital of the empire of
Peru,
and in several cities of the kingdom of
Mexico.
I shall only add, that our honourable society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts, having heard of the good success, which Mr.
Zidgenbalgh
and Mr.
Grundler,
two
Danish
missionaries, sent to the coast of
Tanquebar
by his
Danish
majesty, had in converting a great number of the natives of that country to the christian faith, were pleas'd to send them the whole apparatus of a printing-house, with proper workmen and large quantities of paper, which they thankfully receiv'd, and immediately set to work, having since printed a fine quarto New Testament, prayer-books, catechisms,
&c.
in
Portuguese
and several eastern languages and characters, for the promoting of their pious design.
To return again to
Europe,
the Printers, who first introduc'd the art into
Muscovy
about 1560, were less successful. That nation was too little friendly to learning to give it any encourgement; and even suffer'd both the printing-house and its whole apparatus to be burn'd and destroy'd, without ever enquiring after the authors of the mischief. The famous
Thevet,
historiographer to
Henry
III. of
France,
and a great traveller, gives us the following account of it:
'As for the Art of Printing, they (the
Muscovites)
had not the use of it till 1560; when it was discover'd to them by a
Russian
merchant, who bought a number of types,
&c.
with which many neat editions were printed. Nevertheless, as they are a very superstitious nation, and apt to raise scruples without any foundation, in which they imitate their followers of the
Greek
church; some of them hir'd several fellows privately to burn all their characters, apprehending that printing might make some change or confusion in their religion. And yet not the least enquiry or prosecution was made after this, either by the prince or his Subjects.'
But since that time they have admitted it into their metropolis of
Moscow,
and elsewhere in the last century, tho' they print but little, and sell at excessive rates.
I HAVE already hinted, that the emperor of
Ethiopia,
and monarch of those christians, that are commonly known by the name of
Abyssines,
who is falsly call'd by some writers
Prester John,
wrote a letter in 1521, to Don
Manuel,
king of
Portugal,
and another in 1524 to his successor
John
III. (which letters are to be seen in the
Hispania illustrata,
translated by
Paul Jovius,
tom. 2. p. 1293, 1297,) in which he desires those princes to send him some of the most curious artificers of
Europe;
and in the latter he says thus:
'I entreat you, my lord and brother, to send me some workmen to carve images, to cast books, make swords and all sorts of weapons; likewise masons, carpenters, physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, coiners of gold and silver, and persons who understand how to extract gold, silver, and copper out of the mines, to cover houses with lead, to make shields and muskets; and in short, all sorts of necessary workmen.'
What success these letters had, and whether king
John
answer'd his request in any of these particulars, I cannot determine. But the second tome of the
Abyssine
history by
Job Ludolph,
or rather the commentator upon it, informs us, that when
Abba Gregory Abyssin
saw the library of father
Alphonso Mendez
a jesuit, whom the pope had sent into
Ethiopia
in quality of patriarch, in 1623, he could not forbear extolling that art, which had produc'd so many books, and
esteeming it as a sacred invention, worthy to be plac'd among the regalia of the greatest princes
Existimasse Typographiam, seu sacrum quoddam inventum, inter Regalia principum haberi. Vide
Chevil.
p. 274.
. By this it seems, that printing had been wholly unknown to them at that time; and consequently that it was never sent thither by the king of
Portugal
or any other. However, our knowledge is very imperfect of those remote parts of
Africa;
and even of those which are nearer, as
Morocco, Fez,
&c. we can only say, that 'tis certain they receiv'd the art early from their neighbours, the
Spaniards
or
Portuguese,
and encourag'd it for a considerable time; yet whatever be the reason, scarce any footsteps of it now remain, if we believe Mr.
S. Olon
the
French
king's embassador to the king of
Morocco;
who, in his present state of that empire, printed in 1694, assures us, that there is scarce one printing-house left in it. He adds, that it is a piece of religion among them not to suffer any corn, horses or books to be exported; and that their fondness for books is the greater, by reason of their scarcity, since there is hardly a press in the whole empire.
WE read of some attempts made by the missionaries in
Persiae
to introduce printing there; which prov'd ineffectual. I shall say nothing here of the kingdoms of
China
and
Japan,
nor of their manner of printing, having already spoken of it upon another account in the first book of this history.
CHAP VIII.
Of the Abuses of the
Art
of
Printing.
IT would have been very wonderful, if the encouragement, which that art receiv'd from the great and learned, should not have induc'd at the same time some persons, whose ignorance and avarice would not permit them to aim at that degree of perfection; which they saw others arrive at, to engage in base methods of enjoying the fruit of their ingenuity and diligence, without the trouble of imitating them in it. We have already given occasionally some accounts of these practices, in counterfeiting the works, names and marks of the best Printers, who have been oblig'd to remonstrate against them to the world. For as soon as they had publish'd a curious and correct edition, with prodigious charge and labour, some of these pyrates immediately printed another after it, tho' in every respect inferior to the former; and either by underselling, defrauded them of the reward of their care and expence, or by counterfeiting their names and marks, destroy'd their reputation. By these abuses, they were oblig'd to make many fruitless attempts in order to suppress these counterfeits, and at last to have recourse to the higher powers for priviledges and patents, the only effectual way to prevent such practices. We have likewise hinted, that some of these pests of learning have impos'd upon the world, by selling their impressions as done at
Venice
or some other famous place, or pretending they were printed
characteribus Venetianis,
with
Venetian
characters,
&c.
tho' they were the production of some obscure place and printer, whose only aim was profit.
ANOTHER abuse consequent upon this, was the counterfeiting of dates. For when, by the care of a
Froben,
a
Badius,
or some other eminent Printer, the world was so far appriz'd of these counterfeits, that the authors of them could not vend their impressions, they immediately reprinted the title page, perhaps with some alteration, put a new date, and sometimes a new name to it, and so pass'd them off for new editions. To recommend them the more to the buyers, they generally asserted them to be newly revis'd, diligently compared with the best MSS. corrected in above 500 places, and the like. It was with great difficulty that these abuses were detected in such a manner as to make the world aware of them. The complaints of the learned, and their vain efforts to remedy such inconveniences are too well known to be mention'd here. I shall pass to another equally shameful and dangerous abuse,
viz.
printing of leud, infamous books, of which the learned
Gerson,
among many others, complains with great zeal; and mentions particularly a romance, intitled the
Romance of the Rose,
compos'd in 1300, of which he said, that if he was the master of the last copy, he would rather choose to burn it than part with it at any price
Si esset mihi Liber Romancii de Rosa, qui esset unicus, & valeret mille pecuniarum libras, comburerem potius quam venderem.
.
Pastor fido,
is a poem almost universally known, which, we are told by
J. Nicius Erith,
caus'd many virgins and marry'd women to prostitute their honour. Yet great numbers of a much more pernicious nature have been publish'd in those times. I shall only mention one, which I esteem a master-piece in that kind, heighten'd by the art of engraving, that it might be a consummate piece of the most scandalous lewdness in nature.
George Vasari,
in the lives of the
Italian
painters, gives us this short account of it; that
Julius Romanus,
the most celebrated painter of his age, invented above fourscore designs, which he caus'd to be engraven on wood, while
Peter Aretine,
a great Libertine and Atheist, compos'd a sonnet for each of the prints. This vile performance was published about the year 1525. I shall conlude with
Vasari
's character of it,
Io non so qual fusse piu o brutto le spettacolo de i desegni di Giulo ali' occhio, o
le parole dell' Aretino a gl'erechi
Vite ad Pittori,
part 3 p 302.
that he knew not which was most brutish and shocking, the design of
Julius
to the eye, or the verses of
Aretine
to the ear.
This same avarice which prompted Printers to undertake such infamous works, as the foregoing, induc'd them to abuse thei
art in another respect,
viz.
in printing scandalous and defamatory libels' to the shame of their profession, and the regret of the virtuous. As printing and the reformation begun about the same time, the former was prostituted by the meaner sort, who printed the vilest forgeries on each, tho' that which was uppermost, acted most flagrantly, when the other was oblig'd to work covertly. But as this and the last do not so properly fall within my province as a Printer, I shall content myself with having just mention'd them, with abhorrence of such practices, and return to some other abuses.
THE next arose from want of good correctors; for persons of that class were thought too chargeable by many Printers; who therefore made use of illiterate fellows, whom they could hire much cheaper; or, which often happen'd, us'd none at all. It will easily be imagin'd, what a number of wretched editions the world must have been pester'd with by this sordid neglect. However, as books were not yet so plentifully propagated, as to suffice the number of students, there wanted not persons either dull or poor enough to purchase them, especially upon a small abatement of the common price. This made some Printers designedly suppress the errata, which would have inevitably endanger'd the sale of such books; tho' others were oblig'd by the authors or editors to print them at the end of their works. The reader will no doubt be surpriz'd to hear of some of them so prodigiously large, as to be scarce credible. We have a remarkable instance in the works of
John Francis Picus de Mirandula,
printed at
Strasburgh
for the first time in 1507, by
John Kroblouch,
a man of some note, and at the charges of
Matthias Schurrer,
another eminent Printer of that place, who styl'd himself master of arts. This edition was so faulty, that the author was oblig'd to make an errata of fifteen pages in filio, tho' the book was but a thin small folio. Were I to trespass the bounds of this period, I could mention some which amounted to fourscore and eight pages, even in
Venice
itself, where
Bellarmin,
who had been very unsuccessful in the former impressions of his polemick works, sent them in order to have them more correctly printed; tho' quite the reverse happen'd.
Rome, Paris, Lyons,
&c. have been no less complain'd of upon this account. The learned
Mich. Fernus,
who with prodigious labour had collected, and revis'd the works of bishop
Campanus,
was so provok'd to see them so incorrect, that he put an errata in the edition of
Rome,
with this surprizing title at the head
Vix ex stulto demens, idemque ex de
? Libros Romae primas imprime. Corruptorum recognitio.
;
'If you have a mind to show yourself compleatly foolish and mad, print your books at
Rome
first,
&c.
'
Gaguinus
was not less displeas'd to see his
history of France
printed at
Paris
with such a vast number of faults, that he thought it impossible to add an errata to it. He therefore sent it to
Lyons
to be reprinted, and tells the bishop of
Mascon,
to whom he intrusted the revising of it, that he wish'd he could get all the 500 copies of the first, in order to burn them. The like complaints against the Printers, he repeats in another edition at
Paris
in 1497, and wishes these incorrect and mutilated editions could be condemn'd to perpetual oblivion.
Galatinus
's book
De Arcanis Catholicae Veritatis,
printed at
Ortona,
by
Jerom Soncino
in 1518, was so wretchedly maim'd by the Printer, that the author inveigh'd vehemently against all Printers in general, accusing them, in his 12th book of
adulterating and corrupting the best copies, tho' ever so accurately written, in such a manner, that it is impossible to mend them.
But the Printers sufficiently reveng'd themselves on him, by reprinting, tho' long after his death, the
Pugio Fidei,
written by
Raymund Martin,
a
Dominican
fryer in 1280 against the
Jews;
in which edition they unjustly accuse
Galatinus
of having taken the best part of his book out of this; tho'
Galatinus
does ingeniously own in his preface, that he had taken the greatest part of his book out of it.
Paul Middleburgh,
a learned Dutchman of the university of
Louvain,
and afterwards bishop of
Fosembrona
in
Italy,
having wrote a Treatise about keeping Easter, which he call'd
Paulina,
gave it to a Printer of his own metropolis, nam'd
Octaviano Petrucio,
to be printed; but he committed it to the care of an
Ethiopian
youth, wholly ignorant of the business, and who probably made his first tryal upon it; so that, in spite of all the accuracy of
Posthumius
who corrected it, it was so maim'd and incorect, that the author was oblig'd to complain publickly against such ignorant and careless Printers; who (says he) in the preface to the errata of that very book, invert the letters, change and transpose whole syllables from the end of one word to the beginning of another, and put one word in the text instead of another: he might have added, that they have sometimes omitted not only words and lines, but whole paragraphs and chapters, or else misplac'd them extremely. We have in the last chapter given an account of
Rob. Stephens,
who was certainly an excellent Printer; and yet, however it happen'd, M.
Le Clerc
tells us,
Bibl. An. & Mod. pag.
415, that he has an edition of the bible in 8vo, printed by him in a small character, containing the vulgate, and the version of
Leo Juda,
with
Vatablus
's notes, in which there is a chasm of one whole sheet, tho' the figures of the pages follow each other exactly; so that there wants from part of the 2 to half of the 11th chapter of the prophet
Zachary.
If so great a man could over look so important a mistake, what could be expected from those who valued neither their own reputation, nor that of their authors, being actuated only by the views of gain. His son
Henry Stephens
afterwards wrote a poem of about 150
Latin
verses, entitled
Querimonia Artis Typographicae de illiteratis quibusdam Typographis propter quos in contemptum venit.
A complaint of the Art of Printing against some ignorant Printers, upon whose account it is fallen into contempt.
At the end of this, are some
Latin
and
Greek
epitaphs, in honour of the most learned Printers till that time. In this complaint he tells us, that the corruption of so many editions was entirely owing to the gross ignorance of the Printers, some of whom he knew, that could not tell the letters of their names
Proh pudor! haud rarus numero reperitur in illo, nominis ignorans prima elementa sui.
. The reader would in all probability be tir'd, if I should mention the tenth part of the complaints which we meet with in the writings of the greatest men of that time, against the avarice, ignorance and negligence of the Printers; some of which are so sharp as to call them
beasts and drunkards, the offspring of wild centaurs and of
Vulcan
's untam'd
Cyclops; but I shall choose to give some more diverting instances of their own, and their corrector's ignorance and neglect.
John Chapius
tells us of a change and transposition of words, which render'd the sense wholly unintelligible, in his
Sext. Decret.
printed at
Paris
in 1510; where under the title
De dolo et contumacia,
he found these words;
Et nuntio ella cum creditur ex de appiurato parati;
instead of,
Et nuncio jurato creditur ex De Apella cum parati. Henry Stephens,
in his preface to his
Querimonia
just mentioned, tells us of an ignorant corrector whom he knew, who, wherever he met with the word
procos,
us'd to correct it
porcos,
and change the word
exanimare,
into
examinare.
He mentions others, who alter'd a word they understood not, for one more common and known; thus in the second epistle of the first book,
Horace
says,
Nunc adbibe puero pectore verba, puer;
but the word
adbibe
not being understood by them, they substituted that of
adbibe,
which was more obvious to them; yet even this absurd correction, is still retain'd in some more modern editions. To this, I believe, we owe another correction in the same poet, where they have chang'd
sectis unguibus,
into
strictis unguibus;
whereas,
Horace
only meant the kind fair ones par'd their nails close, when they encounter'd with the youths, least the scratches which decency and formality oblig'd them to give them when they play'd too rudely, should enter deep enough to hurt them.
Chevilier
speaks of a book printed by
Guido Mercator
at
Paris,
in 1493, in which there is a flagrant error in the very frontispiece, for the title is
Elegantiarum viginta praecepta.
It may be objected, that this was an oversight; but the contrary is plain, since it is printed so in the next leaf, and at the end of the book,
Expliciunt elegantiarum viginta praecepta Parisiis per Guidonem,
&c. so that it evidently arose from their ignorance of the
Latin
tongue. Nor is this to be wonder'd at, when
Erasmus
tells us, in his preface to the 4th edition of his
Adages
in 1525, that some of the Printers of
Rome,
Venice
and
Germany,
scarce knew how to read. This same author likewise wrote 10 or 11 years before this to his friend
Schurrer,
a Printer of
Strasburgh. John de Savigny
had been so ill us'd by these drunken and ignorant Printers, as he styles them, in a work of the learned bishop of
Gaieta,
which he publish'd in 1520, that he took the most effectual way to make them trumpeters of their own ignorance, by couching his reproaches in such terms in
Greek
and
Latin,
as were not understood by either Printer or correctors. His words are these:
In istos haud abstemios
a Clitorio fonte longe remotissimos cudatur faba.
Let the blame be laid upon those drunken and illiterate Printers, who are equally remote from learning and politeness. We shall conclude this subject with one instance more. After the bishop of
Aleria
had publish'd his edition of
Pliny
's natural history, in the dedication of which he tells the pope,
that he had spent nine whole years in correcting it, tho' he believ'd nine more would scarce suffice to make a perfect edition, Hermolaus Barbarus
corrected almost five thousand faults in it. Several other learned men engag'd in the same province, and in particular
John Caesareus
corrected about four thousand faults in his edition printed at
Cologn,
by
Eucharius Cervicornus,
a famous Printer of that city, in 1524, as he acquaints us in the preface. But the composer and corrector suffer'd a prodigious blunder to go uncorrected in the frontispiece of that book, wherein the reader is told, that this new edition is corrected in no less than four hundred thousand places
—opus hoc locis non paucioribus quam quadringentis millibus emaculatius atque olim, nunc demum in lucem prodire.
. 'Tis surprising, that a book should be corrected in so many places since the last edition of it; but when the reader comes to the preface, he finds but four thousand, and the Printer put
quadringentis millibus,
instead of
quatuor millibus.
WHEN it was found, that neither the remonstrances of the learned, nor their sarcasms continually printed against such Printers, could prevail upon them to be more diligent, and procure better correctors; several countries took methods of putting a stop to this growing evil.
Spain
was, I think, the first which shew'd the example, by a way to make the composer and corrector more careful in their respective provinces. It was order'd, that before a book could be sold, it should be examin'd by censors appointed for that purpose, and compar'd with the manuscript; and that all the faults of the impression should be set down in the first least; after which they were to write underneath, that the book, the faults of the impression above noted excepted, was faithfully printed. This certificate had generally the following title in
Spanish. Esta este libro bien impresso y correcto conforme a su original de mano. En Madrid,
&c. sign'd N. N. It was sometimes printed in
Latin.
Where they could not obtain such an order, they follow'd the
Spanish
method as far as they could. Thus
Jo. Ravisius Textor,
professor of rhetorick at
Paris,
made a kind of affidavit, that he had corrected all the errata of the dialogue of
Henry Hutten,
intitled
Aula,
printed at
Paris
in 1519, by
Antony Aussurd,
who put under the title-page.
Textor emaculavit.
The same method was follow'd by
Henry Stephens,
who in his edition of the
Pimander
of
Hermes Trismegistus,
printed in 1505, publish'd by
James Fabry d'Estaples,
has set down the names of the correctors in these words;
Parisiis ex officinâ Henrici Stephani, recognitoribus mendasque ex officinâ eluentibus Jacobo solido Cracoviensi & Volgatio Pratensi, anno
1505. We could trace this method as far as the beginning of the 15th century; which had this good effect, that those books, in which the correctors had put their names, were always preferr'd to those where no mention was made of any. There were afterwards better regulations obtain'd from the higher powers in every kingdom, in order to abolish these pernicious abuses; but as they do not come within our epoch, we shall forbear mentioning them.
THE reader will excuse me, if I so far digress from my subject, as to give an instance or two of the dangerous consequences, which had like to have happen'd to two eminent writers of that age, to the one by the addition, and to the other by the substraction of a single letter. The first is of
Erasmus,
who in his paraphrase on ch. 16, v. of S.
Matthew
where S.
Peter
says,
Tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi,
had written,
Non suspicione proferens, sed certa & indubitata scientia pros
tent, illum esse Messiam a prophetis promissum, singulari more Filium Dei,
&c. by which last words he only meant, as he afterwards explain'd it, that Christ was the son of God after a particular manner, different from that which was common to men. But it happen'd, that in his
Basil
edition printed by
Froben,
the letter
a
being added to
more,
made it have a quite disserent sense. Hereupon
Noel Beda,
a famous divine of
Paris,
and enemy to
Erasmus,
fail'd not to take him to task for that expression, and charg'd him with having affirm'd, that Christ was only the son of God by adoption, and by a particular love of God towards him
(fingulari amore)
and not his eternal son,
&c.
Soon after which, the divines of
Paris
publish'd a censure of that proposition to the following tenour;
That it gave a false sense to the words of the Evangelist, and a handle to men, to think wrong of the divinity of the Son of God, as
Nestorius
had done; for that Christ was not the Son of God
by any particular love of
God towards him, nor by any adoption or favour, but that he was originally and necessarily so. Erasmus
clear'd himself by saying, that it was a fault of the impression, and appeal'd to his original and former edition of the same paraphrase, in which they would find the word
more,
instead of
amore;
but he was too much suspected by those gentlemen, to be easily believ'd either in this, or any other case.
THE other happen'd to the learned Dr.
Flavigny,
author of some letters against Mr.
Jay
's polyglot, in which two learned
Maronites
had been employ'd by Mr.
Jay,
viz.
Abraham Echellensis,
Regius professor of
Syriac
and
Arabic,
who had given the text and
Latin
version of those two languages of the book of
Ruth;
and
Gabriel Sionita,
professor of the same languages. The former of these had committed a great many errors in his translation, as well as in the text of that book, nevertheless he attack'd his brother
Maronite,
and charg'd him with some mistakes in his part of the work. Hereupon Dr.
Flavigny,
who knew them both equally guilty, undertook to rebuke the aggressor; and in a letter to him
(Echellensis),
made use of these words of our Saviour;
Quid vides f
stucam in oculo fratris tui?
(why beholdest thou the mote in thy brother's eye?)
&c.
It happen'd unfortunately, that the first letter of the word
oculo
being either taken up by the balls, or dropt out of the sorm, or some other way lost, after the first proofs had been corrected, gave a very harsh sound to it, and made it seem a profane jesting upon that sacred book.
Echellensis,
in his answer, took notice of this, and calls him a sacrilegious and
Jewish
perverter of the holy text; and, without acquainting him with his faults, tells him, that such an abominable correction of the text, was too foul for his pen, and only worthy the writings of a
Flavigny;
in short, he spends near a whole page in the most opprobrious language against him, that the height of malice and resentment could inspire an inveterate antagonist with. Dr.
Flavigny
was a long time before he could discover the cause of this accusation, and in all probability might have been still longer ignorant of it, had not a friend of his shew'd it to him in the printed copy; for in the two first proofs the word was printed perfect. The result was, that the author being recover'd of his surprize, threw the fault upon the corrector, appeal'd to his original, and to the two first proofs, protested his innocency and abhorrence of such an action, and took a solemn oath, in order to clear himself.
Chevilier,
who relates this story, tells us, that
Flavigny,
some time before his death, happen'd to mention this; and tho' it was above 30 years after this transaction, he could not forbear expressing the highest indignation against his Printer and corrector. These instances sufficiently demonstrate the dangerous consequences of neglect in correcting to the author of any book, especially in divinity.
BEFORE I dismiss this article of the incorrectness of the press, I cannot but mention some of the greatest Printers; who, when any of their editions have happen'd to be incorrect, have made an ingenuous confession of, and apology for it, that the commonwealth of learning might not receive any disadvantage by it, nor the authors suffer in their reputation thro' their neglect. I shall begin with
Martin Schurrer,
of
Strasburgh,
allow'd by
Erasmus
to be a person of learning, who printed in 1500 the treatise
De Patientia
of
Bapt. Mantuanus.
But as he had committed the care of it to a negligent and ignorant corrector, he found himself oblig'd to add an errata of a page and half to it, which he prefaces in the humblest terms imaginable
Maluimus potius pudore, nostro fatendo plecti, quam tacendo respublica literarai suo damno nostra peccata sint.
; I rather choose, says he, to take the shame of them upon myself, by confessing my fault, than to let the republick of learning suffer by my concealment of it. Of this kind is the apology which the same Printer makes for the errors of impression in an edition before mentioned,
viz.
the works of
Picus de Mirandula;
wherein he desires the reader,
Errores chalcographis, non authori adscribito. Fatemur ingenuè culpam nostram.
that he would not attribute those errors to the author, but to the Printer, who frankly confesses his fault. Such errata's not only make some kind of reparations to the authors, but oblige likewise an honest Printer to be more careful for the future.
Henry Stephens
hath often taken the same method, and owns, that some errors have crept unawares into some of his editions
Locis aliquot incuria nostra aberrotum est.
. I should digress too far, if I should instance in all those Printers, who have follow'd so good an example; 'tis sufficient to say, that none of those eminent ones, of whom we have given an account in this whole book, have ever been asham'd of acknowledging the faults of their works, when they had any share in them. I shall close this with a pleasant way, which the abovemention'd
Stephens
took to correct a fault in his edition
De praesagiis in morbis acutis
of
Hippocrates, anno
1512. 'Tis obvious to every scholar, that the first syllable in the word
Febris
(a fever or ague) may be either long or short; but he having thro' inadvertency spelt the word with oe, which made it absolutely long, he corrects himself for it, by saying,
Febrem longam sibi chalcographus delegit' tametsi febris correpta sit minus periculosa.
That the Printer had foolishly chosen a long fever, when a short one was much more eligible, as being less dangerous.
BUT after all that hath been said concerning the baseness, negligence, and ignorance of some of the Printers of those times, it must be own'd, that many a negligent and ignorant author, when he has been admonish'd of his errors, hath not scrupled to throw them upon the Printer and corrector; which I esteem another abuse of the Art of Printing. I could give many instances of it, were I not apprehensive of betraying too great a fondness for our profession. However, any judicious reader will easily perceive by the largest Errata's which we have mention'd, that the authors had as great a share in them as the Printers and correctors.
Chevilier,
who cannot be suspected of partiality to the latter, has excus'd them in many cases, and shewn that the fault was rather to be imputed to the former. But he has furnish'd me with an instance of this, which, I believe, he little thought of; in the case of a learned divine of the university of
Paris,
whose works having been censur'd by that body, and he refusing to retract them, he was expell'd that university, but was afterwards prevail'd upon to recant. After his death a paper was publish'd in his name, in which the blame was laid upon the protestant Printers, to whom he had intrusted the work. I shall relate the story exactly after Chevilier, tho' somewhat abridg'd, and leave the reader to judge, whether the wrong persons were not unjustly blam'd. I hope the singularity of the fact will sufficiently excuse me, tho' it is of later date, than our prefix'd period.
René Benoist,
D. D. curate of S.
Eustace
at
Paris,
made a
French
version of the bible, which he caus'd to be printed in fol. ann. 1566 by three eminent booksellers of that city. This book immediately met with many opposers, who censur'd it as heretical and erroneous, alledging, that it was only the
Geneva
translation; in which the author had soften'd those expressions which were most shocking to the Roman Catholicks. The divines of that university, having met several times, agreed to censure the book, which they did accordingly,
July
15, 1567. The same censure was renew'd, and subscrib'd to, by seventy three doctors of that faculty, and approv'd
viva voce
by above one hundred and twenty more about 7 years after.
Gregory
XII. confirm'd the censure, and condemn'd the book, by a brief dated
Nov.
3. 1475. During this,
Benoist
absolutely refused to submit, in spite of all the endeavours of that body to persuade him to it. At length they agreed upon expelling him that university as an obstinate heretick, and the sentence of his proscription was written in great letters, and set up in the common disputation-hall of the university, by which he was, as it were, executed
in essigie.
However,
Henry
IV. took him into favour, made him his confessor, and promoted him to a bishoprick; but the Pope refus'd to grant him his bull. At last, his seniority entitling him to be chosen dean of the faculty, they all refus'd their votes, unless he would submit to their former censures, which he was at length oblig'd to do by a recantation, in which he condemns his version, and rejects some parts of it as being falsly attributed to him. This was not done till the year 1598,
i. e.
32 years after the publication of it.
IN 1608, a little before
Benoist
's death, came out a book in 8vo, intitled,
A declaration of
René Benoist,
concerning his translation of the bible and annotations thereupon;
in which he declares,
'That the ground of all his sorrow was the treachery of the corrector, composer and press-man, who had been intrusted with the impression of his bible; that the copy which he had given them was a printed one
(here
Chevilier
notes, that it was a
Geneva
one,)
upon which he had made his corrections and erasements, which were not so fully eras'd, but that they might be easily read:
THAT some of the journeymen
(they did not dare publickly to attack their masters, who would in all probability have clear'd themselves)
were of the
Geneva
leaven, and printed nothing in the first and second proofs but what was in his copy; but when they came to the third, which he did not see, they substituted, instead of his corrections, the words or notes, which he had eras'd
(some instances of which the author of the book gives),
and which the composer and press-man in confederacy had maliciously falsify'd:
That it were tedious to enumerate all such pieces of treachery; but that the result of it turn'd to his reputation, notwithstanding his unsuccessful attempts to bring those journeymen to punishment:
That his books had been sold under his name, tho' he had disown'd them:
That the censure of the university, and the confirmation of it by the court of
Rome,
which had condemn'd the work, and not the author, was the consequence of this imposture,
&c.
'
I SHALL not enter into a detail of the reflections which
Chevilier
makes upon the
Calvinist
Printers, as he calls them, nor enquire whether this declamation was really penn'd by
Benoist,
or father'd upon him; or if the former, whether it might not be extorted from him, a practice not unusual with the divines of that church. I shall only observe, that, were the case as it is related in that pamphlet, 'tis scarce credible, that the doctor could have been 30 years unappris'd of it, especially when the censures and libels, continually publish'd against him, sufficiently pointed it out to him; and if he knew it, can it be imagin'd that he would have continued so long under all that scandal, and the persecution of his enemies, when he might have easily clear'd himself of the one, and so put a stop effectually to the other? Upon the whole, whoever the author of this declaration is, this story evidently confutes itself, and is no other than one of their pious frauds, on which 'tis not my province to animadvert, any further than the credit of our profession is concern'd.
BEFORE I close this chapter, it will be necessary to remind the reader, that this second book being wholly confin'd to the history of printing in other parts of
Europe,
(what relates to our nation being the subject of the next book,) I have given none but foreign instances of the corruptions and abuses introduced into this art.
'TIS not therefore to be concluded, that it hath been free in any case from them in
England;
since we have imitated our neighbours in these bad, as well as in their other good, examples; and therefore as these abuses have been equally common to us and them, I shall not repeat them in the
English
part, but only request the reader, once for all, to remember, that we have had our share as well in the disadvantages, under which our art has labour'd, as in the advantages and improvements, which it has receiv'd.
APPENDIX.
An Account of a newly discover'd Edition, printed by
John Guttenberg
at
Stratzburg
in
1458,
communicated to me by, and now in the possession of, the Right Honourable the Earl of
Pembroke.
THE reader may be pleased to recollect that I have, throughout the first book of this history, constantly endeavour'd to fix the glory of the invention of Printing upon
John Faust,
and that of the improvements of it upon his worthy son-in-law
Peter Scheoffer,
exclusive of
John Guttenberg,
notwithstanding the testimony of some few writers who have ascribed the first discoveries to the latter. I did likewise offer it as a probable conjecture of the ingenious Mr.
Maittair,
that
Guttenberg,
having been cast in a law-suit at
Mentz
for non-solvency of his quota, might retire to
Stratzburgh,
and there teach
John Mentel,
what he had been able to learn of
Faust
's art. We had not till then the least ground to conjecture that he ever practised it himself, no annalist that ever I could meet with ever mentioning, or perhaps dreaming of, any edition printed with his name. But since then the noble lord above-mention'd, unwilling to rest satisfy'd with conjectures, has spared no pains or cost to inform himself whether there was any impression extant done by
Guttenberg,
and has at length procured this curious one, which his lordship has been pleased to communicate to me. The reader, I doubt not, will be highly satisfy'd to find that, instead of contradicting any thing I have advanc'd upon that subject, it rather confirms it all beyond any possibility of doubting.
THE book is the dialogues of St.
Gregory
in
Latin,
it has no titlepage, but begins abruptly with the subject itself, only at the end of it are these words;
Explicit liber quartus
Dyalogor 4 Gregorii.
Then follows in red letters,
Presens hoc Op9 . factum est per Johan.
Guttenbergium apud Argentinam,
Anno Millesimo
cccclviij.
I SHALL now beg leave to make a few remarks on this curious piece, and to shew how manifestly it confirms all my former conjectures.
1. IT is very rude, and comes vastly short of those of
Faust
and
Scheoffer;
and the great and almost constant difference of the shapes of the same letters, shews it to have been done upon wooden blocks, after the manner of the
paginae conglutinatae
mention'd above,
pag.
49
& seq.
there is, however, this difference and improvement in it, that it is not printed with the same (that is with the) common Ink, which made them incapable of a reiteration,
i. e.
of being printed but upon one side, but with the new invented sort, which was a mixture of oil-varnish and lamp-black, and will bear printing on both sides. This, therefore, shews that he had only got an insight into the first discovery, but was an utter stranger to the last and more useful one of separate metaltypes, which
Faust
had probably kept conceal'd from him.
2. SUPPOSING it to be the first piece that ever he did, as it probably was, if not the only one of that kind, it was printed in 1458,
i. e.
about three years after the law-suit and his falling out with
Faust;
so that it took him up all that time in cutting his blocks, and getting the rest of the apparatus of a Printing-press, making of tryals, maculatures,
&c.
after he was settled at
Stratzburgh.
3. IT is printed one year after the psalter of
Mentz,
which was done in separate metal-types, and wherein
Faust
and
Scheoffer
assume to themselves the whole glory of the invention; so that had
Guttenberg
had the least pretension to it, he would not have fail'd doing himself justice by altering the style of his colophon, and telling the world what share he had borne in this noble discovery, that his silence was not owing to his honesty is plain from his refusing to pay his dividend of the charges, much less to his being ignorant of the publication of
Faust
's psalter, because
Mentz
and
Stratzburgh
being both situate upon the
Rhine,
and not above 60 leagues asunder, it was morally impossible he should not have heard of it. On the contrary, it is likely that, having seen it, and observ'd it to be printed with fusile types, he might just finish this rude edition of his, and then stop his hand until
Mentel
and he had fallen upon the same way of casting them.
4. THIS piece is printed upon the same paper that
Faust
did use, which is mark'd with the heifer's head and horns, and might either be his share of the paper-stock which they divided at parting, and which he took away with him, or else might be designedly imitated by him, to give a credit to his work. Upon the whole, its having neither titlepage, running title, signature, nor direction-word, and being altogether a rude piece of workmanship, doth plainly shew it to have been of the nature of the first essays of
Faust,
and that it is by no means antedated.
A Catalogue of some of the most eminent Persons, Authors and Editors, &c. who condescended to prepare MSS. and to correct for the Press during the 15th Century, with the Character of some of the most considerable of them.
At
BASIL
for
JOHN AMERBACK.
1. JOHN CAPNIO,
alias Reuchlin,
an eminent lawyer, who had studied at
Paris
under the famous
John de Lapide,
doctor of
Sorbonne,
at whose request he wrote three books
de verbo mirifico.
He wrote another treatise which he entitled
Oculare Speculum,
for which the universities of
Cologn, Mentz, Louvain,
and
Erphord
condemn'd him of Heresy and Judaism, and made pressing instances to that of
Paris
to do the same. To prevent which,
Reuchlin
wrote to the doctors of
Sorbonne,
and reminded them, that he had been
Lapidanus
's disciple, and that the university of
Paris
was his dear mother: but, as all his rhetorick could not prevent his book being censur'd by the
Paris
divines, he calls her afterwards an unnatural step-mother. He was one of the most diligent promoters of the study of
Hebrew,
of which himself was a good, master, tho' he did not learn it of
Lapidanus,
as some have imagin'd, but from a
Jewish
rabbi, call'd
Jacob Jehiel Loans,
to whom therefore he directs a letter inscrib'd as follows,
Johannes Reuchlin praeceptori suo Jacobo Jehiel Loans Judaeo, &c.
it is likely, therefore, that after his squabble with those universities he retir'd to
Basil,
where he became corrector to the great
Amerback,
who was himself a very learned man, and had taken his degrees of master of arts in the university of
Paris. Vide pag.
218.
2. JOHN CONN. CONUS, a native of
Nurembergh,
famous for his skill in the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues.
3. AUGUSTIN DODO, a learned canon of
Basil,
who, dying of the plague in 1513, was succeeded by
4. FRANCIS WILER, a learned franciscan.
5. CONRARD PELICAN, an eminent divine, and
6. BEATUS RHENANUS.
For
JOHN FROBEN,
ibid.
1 PETER CASTELLANUS.
2. SIGISMUND GELENIUS.
3. MARK HEILAND.
4. DES. ERASMUS of
Rotterdam.
5. WOLFGANG MUSCULUS.
6. JOHN OECOLAMPADIUS.
7. WOLFGANG LACHNER.
ALL these are sufficiently known to the learned, especially the 4th, 5th, and 6th.
At
BOLONIA.
BENEDICT HECTOR and PLATO DEI BENEDETI, both eminent and learned, who printed and corrected their own works.
At
BRESCIA
for
BONINO DE BONINIS.
MARCUS SCARAMUCCINUS, a native of
Palazolo
in the territories of
Brescia.
For
JAMES
and
ANGEL BRITANNICI,
ibid.
ANGELUS DE MONTELMO, a learned franciscan.
At
FLORENCE.
DEMETRIUS CALCONDILLA, a native of
Milan,
printed and corrected that noble and beautiful edition of
Homer
's works, fol. in 1480, of which I have given an account above, pag. 196. He corrected many other
Greek
and
Latin
works, and at length went and set up a press in his own native city, where he continued printing and correcting for himself.
For
FRANC. LAURENCE
de
ALOPA,
ibid.
JOHN ANDREAS LASCARIS, a famous critick in the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues. He was descended from an illustrious family in
Greece,
which gave birth to three
Greek
emperors. After the taking of
Constantinople
by the
Turks,
he retired into
Italy,
and some time after went into
France,
whence he was sent embassador to the republick of
Venice
by
Lewis
XII. As he was thoroughly versed in all the antient authors of his own nation, he spared no pains to procure the best manuscripts from thence, to compare, correct, and fit them either for the Press, or for translating into
Latin.
He was in such credit with
Francis
I. that
Genebrard
tells us, that he and the great
Budaeus
persuaded that monarch to erect that noble library in his own palace of
Fontainbleau,
and to found a college at
Paris
for the royal professors in the learned languages. He is also supposed to have been the corrector, if not the editor, of that noble edition of
Avicen,
which was printed at
Lyons
by
Trechsel
and
Clean
in 1498, in 3 vol. fol. to which he prefixed a dedication to Dr.
Ponceau
the king's physician.
Erasmus
thinks it a kind of miracle that any
Greeks
should ever become such masters of the
Latin
tongue as he and his two countrymen
Marcus Musurus,
of whom we shall speak by and by, and
Theodore Gaza
proved.
At
LYONS
for
JOHN TRECHSEL.
THE famous
Jodocus Badius,
sirnamed
Ascensius,
who became afterwards one of the most eminent Printers.
At
MILAN
for
ANTONY ZAROT.
PETER JUSTINUS PHILELPHUS.
For
LEONARD PACHEL,
ibid.
BENEDICT, sirnamed
Rhetoricus.
At
NAPLES
for
MATT. MORAVIUS.
JUNIANUS MAJO, professor of grammar and rhetorick.
At
NUREMBERG
for
ANT. COBURGER.
THE learned
Frederick Pistorius.
At
PARIS
for
ULRICK GERING
and his two Associates.
JOHN LAPIDANUS, or
a Lapide,
doctor of
Sorbonne,
and a great promoter of learning.
Vide supra pag.
166,
& seq.
WILLIAM FITCHET, a native of
Aulney
in
Normandy;
he was doctor of divinity, and fellow of the college of
Sorbonne. Vide supra ib.
ERHARD WINDSBERGH, doctor of physick in the university of
Paris.
For
ULRICK GERING
and
BERTOLD REMBOLT,
ibid.
THE learned
John Capuis,
editor of the
Corpus Juris Canonici,
with the gloss, short notes, index,
&c.
printed by
Gering
and his associate in 3 vol. fol. in 1501. This was a most elaborate and expensive work, every page being charged with letters ranked in five or six columns, and mix'd with red and black. This edition was so highly liked, that it was presently sold off, and a new one of a smaller size came out soon after.
At
ROME
for
CONRARD SWEYNHEYM
and
ARNOLD PANNARTZ.
1. JOHN ANDREAS, bishop of
Valeria,
and library-keeper to pope
Sixtus
IV. He wrote some learned comments on the IVth, Vth, and VIth book of decretals, and gave the world the first edition of
Pliny
's natural history, in correcting of which he had spent nine whole years. We have likewise a volume of his letters which are very curious, and the book itself scarce. His province was to furnish these two
German
Printers with the most valuable manuscripts out of the
Vatican
and other libraries, to compare, correct, and prepare for the press, and then to revise the sheets as fast as they came out. All which he perform'd with indefatigable application.
Vide supra pag.
123,
&c.
He dy'd in 1470, and was succeeded by
2. BARTHOLOMEW (by others call'd
Baptist) Platina,
famous for his history of the popes.
For
ULRICK HAN
or
GALLUS,
ibid.
1. JOHN ANTONY CAMPANUS, bishop of
Teramo.
This prelate undertook the same province for
Han
that the bishop of
Valeria
did for
Sweynheym
and
Pannariz, viz.
to procure, correct, and prepare for the press, and to revise the proofs. He was also at the pains and charges of collecting the
Latin
translations of
Plutarch
's lives, which till then did lay dispers'd, and by pieces among other manuscripts; and publish'd the first edition of it in two vol. fol. it has neither date, place, or Printer's name, and is dedicated by
Campanus
to Cardinal
Piccolomini.
In all these provinces he was so diligent and assiduous that he scarce allow'd himself time to eat, and not above three hours to sleep. He dy'd in 1477, in the 50th year of his age, and was succeeded by
2. CHARLES
de Alexandris.
For
EUCHARIUS SILBER,
ibid.
1. BARTHOLOMEW
de Salicetis.
2. LUDOVICUS
de Regiis.
3. MICHEL FERN, sirnamed
Archipoeta,
editor of bishop
Campanus
's works, and a severe satyrist against careless and incorrect Printers, plagiaries,
&c.
For
GEORGE LAVER,
ibid.
1. CELESTINE PULVERINUS.
2. POMPONIUS.
At
TREVISO
for
MICH. MANZOLI
al.
MANZOLINI. JEROME BONINI.
For
BARTHOLOM. CONSOLONERI,
ibid.
BARTHOLOMEW PEROT.
At
VENICE
for
NICOLAS JENSON.
OMNIBONUS LAODICENUS, a native of
Vincentia,
famous for his learned comments upon several antient authors. He revised and corrected some of
Cicero
's works, as likewise
Quintiliani Oratoriarum Institutionum libri,
fol. which were printed by
Jenson
in 1471, with this colophon,
Quintilianum Eloquentiae fontem ab eruditissimo Omnibono Laodiceno emendatum, M. Nicolaus Jenson miro impressit artificio, &c.
For
VINDELIN
de
SPIRA,
ibid.
GEORGIUS ALEXANDRINUS,
&
CHRISTOPHORUS BERARDUS
de Pesauro.
For
CHRISTOPHER WARDAFFER,
ibid.
THE famous
Ludovicus Carbo,
who is said to have corrected his proofs with red ink, from which one might be led to conclude that they had not yet got the method of writing their corrections on the margin of the proof.
For
BERNARD PICTOR
and
ERHARD RADOLT,
ibid.
PETER LOSLEIN
de Langencen,
who, from being their corrector, became their partner, and afterwards set up a Printing-house of his own.
For
ANTONY
della
STRADA,
ibid.
VICTOR PISANUS.
For
PETER VERONENSIS,
ibid.
JEROME CENTONE of
Padua.
For
PHILIP PINCI,
ibid.
BENEDICT BRUGNOLI, famed for his great skill in the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues.
For
ALD. P. MANUCIUS,
ibid.
1. PETER ALCION.
2. DEMETRIUS CALCONDILLA, mentioned above.
3. ALEXANDER BANDINUS.
4. BENEDICT TYRENUS, and
5. MARCUS MUSURUS, who was a native of
Candia,
and became a famous professor of the
Greek
and
Latin
tongues in the university of
Padua,
and for his great learning and merit was afterwards made bishop of
Ragusium.
We have already mention'd what
Eraesmus
said of him and his Countrymen
Laescaris
and
Theod. Gaza,
concerning their great skill in
Greek
and
Latin;
to which
Beat. Rhenanus
adds in his
Vita Erasmi,
that he was a man of such extensive reading and profound erudition, that there was nothing so obscure and intricate which he could not render plain and easy by his eloquence.
Ald. Manucius
doth likewise commend him very highly not only for his vast learning, but also for his indefatigable diligence and accuracy in comparing and correcting antient manuscripts, both
Greek
and
Latin,
and fitting them for the press. Upon which account the care and correction of that noble edition of the
Etymologicon Magnum,
printed at
Venice
by
Zacbary Caliergius
in 1499, was committed to him.
For
BENET LOCATELLI,
ibid.
MAURICIUS
de Hibernia,
afterwards bishop of
Tuamo..
At
VINCENTIA,
for
HERMAN LEVILAPIS.
AENEAS WOLPIUS, prior of the convent of the Holy Cross.
I HAVE only mention'd some of the most famous for their learning and diligence, besides whom there were many more, who, tho' of an inferior class, in comparison of the former; yet were all men of letters, and vastly superior to those, which Printers have been forced to make use of in process of time. It must be also remember'd, that many of those Printers of the 15th, and part of the 16th century, were men of great learning and parts, and indefatigable industry, able to prepare their manuscripts for the press, and to correct their own works: Such were the great
Amerback
at
Basil,
who was master of arts in the university of
Paris, Froben
his worthy partner and successor,
Ant. Coburger
at
Nurembergh, Aldus Manucius
and
Azulanus
at
Venice, Jodocus Badius
at
Lyons
and
Paris,
and many more, of whom we have given an account in this history. And yet it is observable from this table, that those, who were the most capable of correcting their own works, did still entertain the greatest number of correctors.
HOWEVER, I must not omit acquainting the readers, that those great persons whom we have mention'd in this list, were not properly correctors in the sense we now understand that word; that is, men retain'd by a proper salary to perform that function, but editors or authors, and correctors only of their own works; or if at any time they were prevail'd upon to oversee any curious edition, it was done rather out of curiosity than for gain. For 'tis certain that every Printer had besides a corrector of an inferior rank to revise and correct every proof, if he did not do it himself, before they were sent to those great men, whose corrections were generally of a higher nature. What makes me mention this distinction, is the grief which the famous
Erasmus
conceiv'd at his being upbraided by count
Carpi,
and more particularly by
Jul. Staliger,
with having serv'd as corrector in
Aldus
's Printing-house, and the pains he took to clear himself from that imputation. Every body knows that
Erasmus
had ventur'd to print a dialogue, entitled
Ciceronianus,
in which he endeavour'd to shew that
Cicero
was more cry'd up than he deserv'd; at which
Scaliger
was so enraged, that he wrote a vindication of that great master of eloquence in two different orations, which he soon after printed. In the last of which he addresses himself to
Erasmus
in words to this effect;
Did not you get a livelihood by correcting
Aldus
's proofs? and were not those errata we meet with in them more owing to your drunken carelessness than to the Printer? do they not smell stronger of your drunken cups than of the composer's dulness?
He afterwards affirm'd that he met with
Aldus
one day at
Mantua,
who told him that
Erasmus
was wont to dispatch as much business in one day as other correctors did in two, and to solace himself the rest of the time with drinking of good
Malmsy
wine.
Erasmus
was so gall'd at this oration, that, as
Merula
tells us, he bought and burnt all the copies he could possibly get of it, and that he succeeded so well that there was not one to be met with. However, in his answer to count
Carpi,
he says that he was so far from correcting for
Aldus,
unless it were his own works, that he refused that office to some eminent cardinals who desired him to revise the laft proofs of some works then printing: that if he took any thing else in hand, whilst he staid at
Venice,
it was not for lucre, but out of curiosity; and acquaints us, that
Aldus
had a constant corrector to his press named
Seraphim,
and then adds,
Can he be call'd a servant who revises only his own works? for I never did any thing else for
Aldus,
whose Printing-house I used only for my conveniency.
He has likewise been supposed to have corrected for
Theodore Martin
at
Louvain,
but it is likely that it was in the same manner, and on the same foot as he did it at
Venice.
I had not dwelt so long on this nice distinction, were it not that those annalists, who have mention'd these great and learned men as correctors, have not sufficiently taken notice of it. Besides, it ought to be consider'd that there is a vast difference between Printing and correcting the works of antient authors after a number of manuscripts, which have been mutilated and spoil'd by every hand through which they pass'd; and Printing the works of a modern author after his own manuscript-copy, who is at hand either to revise it, or to be consulted upon any difficulty. The former province requires persons of the greatest learning, abilities, and most indefatigable application, in reading and comparing their manuscripts, in order to distinguish between the genuine meaning of an author and the blunders of his transcribers; whereas the latter may be supply'd by a person of moderate parts and industry. As therefore, they have been the greatest promoters of learning, I hope the reader will not blame me, if I have endeavour'd to do them all possible justice, and to distinguish them from those lazy and ignorant ones who have been, and are still, justly reckon'd the common pests of it.
The End of the Second Book.
The EDITOR to the READER.
SOON after Mr.
Palmer
's death, I was desired to see what was still wanting to compleat his
History of Printing,
according to his first proposal, and what materials he had left behind. I found, upon enquiry, that five sheets of this last Number were already printed off; but that the third sheet in course,
viz. Q q,
was left unfinish'd, being partly compos'd, and partly in manuscript, most likely in expectation of that curious edition which
the R. H. the Earl of
Pembroke
was then in search after, which has been mention'd in the Appendix to this second Book; and this seems to have been the cause of his delaying this last Number so long, that his last sickness prevented his publishing it.
The reader will, no doubt, be as much surprised as I was myself, at finding the last page of the second book and the first of the third book so differently numbred; and that there is a retrogression from 312 to 121: but, as the signatures of each sheet do follow in their regular course, I am fully persuaded that it must have been an oversight either of the compositor or of the author, which we hope the reader will easily forgive, especially considering that there is not any thing wanting to compleat this second book; and that the materials he left behind do even exceed his computation for filling this suspended sheet. However, as there were but three sheets thus mis-number'd, having been printed off long before the author's death, I have ventured to set all the remaining ones in their due order, to avoid the confusion that would otherwise unavoidably happen in the Index; and hope the reader will be kind enough to do the same with his pen to these three following sheets. Those, who know what a tedious sickness Mr.
Palmer
did labour under during the last two years of his life, will pass by so inconsiderable an oversight, in consideration of what he has done when he enjoy'd a better state of health. As for the rest of this History, we hope to find the materials in so good an order, that there will be little to do but to print after his manuscript, excepting where the noble Lord above-mention'd, or some of his learned correspondents, have communicated some new discoveries too curious to be passed by. And this furnishes me with an opportunity of adding a new authority to what has been before advanc'd, concerning the first invention of Printing by
John Faust
at
Mentz,
omitted by Mr.
Palmer,
and since communicated to me by an ingenious friend of his. It is a paragraph extracted out of
Fox
's book of martyrs, printed in 1537, page 837, wherein that learned author gives an account of the first discovery of that art, in all the main particulars exactly agreeable to what has been advanc'd in the first part of this History, and is to this purpose; That about the year 1440, or, as others affirm, 1446 and 1450, one
John Faust
of
Stratzburg,
and since a citizen of
Mentz,
found out the way of Printing by engraving upon metals, and by degrees improv'd it to cutting of single words, and at length
single letters: that, after some essays, he communicated his discovery to
John Guttenberg
and
Peter Scheoffer;
and these three, being first sworn to inviolable secrecy, made some considerable improvements in it: that
Guttenberg
did at length, with
John Mentel,
publish the art at
Stratzburg,
which was soon after brought to greater perfection by some eminent Printers in other places; and in particular by
Ulrick Han,
or
Gallus,
at
Rome, &c.
From this short account it is plain that our
English
author had his intelligence from much better hands than many of the writers that have been quoted on that subject; and it is no small pity that he, who has so exactly informed himself with what had been done at
Mentz,
had not given us also an account of the introduction and progress of the art here in
England,
we might then have found a much more satisfactory account of it, than the reader will find in the next book from all that Mr.
Palmer
could possibly procure from other authors and records. However, as to this testimony, I doubt not but he would have been glad to have given it an honourable place in his first book, had he been apprised of it; but it is not much to be wonder'd at, that a book of martyrs should be one of the last pieces of history wherein one would have look'd for it. What Dr.
Fox
says of their cutting or engraving upon metal, and not upon wood, as Mr.
Palmer
and others have since more truly affirmed, can be only look'd upon as a pardonable mistake in the former, who could not be expected to be a judge of things of this nature; whereas, what the latter advances may be surely rely'd on, not only because it was in his own province, and that he neither wanted opportunities, nor spared any pains to inform himself aright in all those curious particulars, but also because his modesty would not suffer him to rely upon his own judgment, till he had it confirm'd by other eminent masters in the art of Printing, letter-cutting,
&c.
BOOK III. OF
ENGLISH PRINTING
AND PRINTERS.
CHAP. I.
Of the Art's being first brought to
England.
A LL our
English
historians and chroniclers, who have touch'd on this subject before
Richard Atkins,
viz.
Stowe, Baker, Howel,
&c. have proceeded only upon conjecture or common and fallacious reports; or perhaps the first of these forementioned authors led the rest into these mistakes, that printing was not invented till the year 1459, nor brought into
England
till
anno
1471; that at the
Abbey
of
Westminster
the first presses were set up; that Dr
Islip, Abbot
of
Westminster,
first introduc'd the art into
England;
and that
England
had it at least 10 years before any other city of
Europe,
except
Mentz
and
Harlem.
The falsity of several of these particulars, sufficiently appears from the first book of this history; and the others are manifestly disprov'd since I have seen a book in the Earl of
Pembroke
's library, printed at the university of
Oxford, anno
1468. However, their mistakes were unavoidable in those times; because they were ignorant of several material particulars, and of the first editions, which were absolutely necessary to determine the true periods of the invention and introduction of the art into
England.
BUT in 1664,
Richard Atkins,
Esq
publish'd an account of the foremention'd edition and an old manuscript chronicle, preserv'd at
Lambeth
in the archbishop's palace, in his
Original and Growth of
Printing, printed by order of the right honourable Mr.
Morrice
secretary of state. The design of this book, which is little more than an invective against the
Company of Stationers,
is to prove that printing is a branch of the
royal Prerogative,
and a
flower
of the
English Crown.
This chronicle however, of which a friend of his, whom he does not name, sent him a copy, is far from being of undoubted authority, since it is liable to these exceptions. 1. That neither
Atkins
nor his nameless friend pretend to have seen the original, much less to have compar'd the copy with it. 2. They give no account when and by whom this chronicle was written, and how it was bequeath'd to the
Lambeth
library. 3. No author, that I know of, besides
Atkins,
mentions this chronicle in
Lambeth
library, except those who quote it from him; tho' that author hop'd that his book would occasion the discovery and publication of it in time for publick satisfaction, p. 4. 4. It is not to be found there now; for the Earl of
Pembroke
assur'd me, that he employ'd a person for some time to search for it, but in vain. 5. It gives an account of some particulars, altogether inconsistent with the more authentic accounts, which we are now masters of, with respect to the circumstances of the first discovery of the art; so that we may suppose, that whoever the author was, he has taken some part of his account from common report, and from the
Dutch,
who have laid claim to this invention. I might add, that
Atkins
has so interspers'd the chroniclers account with his own observations, that it is very difficult to distinguish them exactly. However, imperfect and precarious as it is, since it gives us the most probable and clear account of this important affair, I shall here set it down, as I find it in the author abovemention'd; after which I shall endeavour, by reconciling some inconsistencies in it, explaining several particulars, and adding some necessary remarks upon the whole, to lead the reader, if not to a certain, at least to the most probable account of this matter.
The chronicle is as follows.
Thomas Bourcher
archbishop of
Canterbury,
mov'd the then King
[Henry 6th.]
to use all possible means for procuring a mold (for so'twas then call'd) to be brought into this kingdom; the king (a good man, and much given to works of this nature) readily hearken'd to the motion; and taking private advice, how to effect this design, concluded it could not be brought about without great secrecy, and a considerable sum of money given to such person or persons, as would draw off some of the workmen from
Harlem
in
Holland,
where
John Guthenberg
had newly invented it, and was himself personally at work. 'Twas resolv'd that less than one thousand marks would not produce the desir'd effect; towards which sum, the archbishop presented the king with three hundred marks. The money being now prepar'd, the management of the design was committed to
Mr. Robert Turnour,
who then was of the robes to the king, and a person most in favour with him, of any of his condition. Mr.
Turnour
took to his assistance Mr.
Caxton,
a citizen of good abilities, who trading much into
Holland,
might be a creditable pretence, as well for his going, as stay in the
Low Countries.
Mr.
Turnour
was in disguise (his beard and hair quite shaven off;) but Mr.
Caxton
appear'd known and publick. They having receiv'd the said sum of one thousand marks, went first to
Amsterdam,
then to
Leyden,
not daring to enter
Harlem
itself; for the town was very jealous, having imprison'd and apprehended divers persons, who came from other parts for the same purpose. They stay'd till they had spent the whole one thousand marks in gifts and expences; so as the king was fain to send five hundred marks more; Mr.
Turnour
having written to the king, that he had almost done his work; a bargain (as he said) being struck between him and two
Hollanders,
for bringing off one of the workmen, who should sufficiently discover and teach this new art: At last with much ado they got
off one of the under workmen, whose name was
Frederick Corsells
(or rather
Corsellis),
who late one night stole from his fellows in disguise into a vessel, prepar'd before for that purpose, and so the wind (favouring the design) brought him safe to
London.
'Twas not thought so prudent to set him on work at
London,
but by the archbishop's means, who had been vice-chancellor, and afterwards chancellor of the university of
Oxon, Corsellis
was carry'd with a strong guard to
Oxon;
which guard constantly watch'd to prevent
Corsellis
from any possible escape, till he had made good his promise, in teaching how to print: so that at
Oxford,
printing was first set up in
England;
which was before there was any printing-press or printer in
France, Spain, Italy
or
Germany,
except the city of
Mentz,
which claims seniority as to printing even of
Harlem
itself, calling herself
Urbem Moguntinam Artis Typographicae inventricem primam;
tho' 'tis known to be otherwise, that city gaining that art by the brother of one of the workmen of
Harlem,
who had learn'd it at home of his brother, and after set up for himself at
Mentz.
This press at
Oxon
was at least ten years before there was any printing in
Europe,
(except at
Harlem
and
Mentz),
where also it was but new born. This press at
Oxford
was afterwards found inconvenient to be the sole printing place of
England,
as being too far from
London,
and the Sea: whereupon the king set up a press at St.
Albans,
and another in the Abby of
Westminster,
where they printed several books of divinity and Physick, for the King, for reasons best known to himself and council, permitted then no law-books to be printed, nor did any Printer exercise that art, but only such as were the king's sworn servants; the king himself having the price and emolument for printing books.
THUS far the chronicle, or our author's extract from it; for, as I observ'd before, he distinguishes not his own from the chronicle, nor acquaints us whether it be literally copied from the chronicle, or an abstract of it; nor whether it mentions any other transactions besides that of bringing printing to
England.
I shall therefore follow him no further, at present, but examine the truth of the several particulars of this account: yet previous to this, I shall observe, that we have the like account of this affair in Antony Wood
's History and Antiquities of the University of
Oxford, printed in 1674,
i. e.
ten years after
Atkins
had publish'd his piece; from which the foremention'd author seems to have taken his account wholly; in many particulars, of which he has been confuted by several writers, as shall be shewn immediately. To return to
Atkins's
book; which is unknown to foreigners, and seen but by few in
England;
the author of that chronicle is mistaken in several points; 1. in supposing
Harlem
or
Harlein,
as he calls it, to be the place from whence
Corsellis
came: It is not probable, that the art was invented there, especially by
Guttenbergh,
and in the year 1459, since it appears, the psalter was prinat
Mentz
by
Faust
two years before that, besides the several books printed on wooden blocks. Again, if the book mention'd by
Atkins
and
Wood
to have been printed at
Oxford, anno
1468, be the first book printted there, 'tis plain, that city had not the art ten years before any other; because I have lately seen a book printed at
Strasburg
by
John Guttenberg,
in 1458, as I have already hinted in the postcript of the foregoing number; besides
Strasburg,
it was at
Venice,
the monastery of
Sublaco, Ausburgh, Rome
and
France
before 1468. If it be urg'd, that there might be other books printed before that at
Oxford,
or that it requir'd some time to get all the necessary materials of a printing-house; the same pleas will equally serve for those other places now mention'd.
Lastly,
if we admit
Guttenbergh
to have carried the art to
Holland,
which we shall shew hereafter to be extremely probable, it will be still false, that
Mentz
receiv'd it from the brother of one of his workmen. These are the inconsistencies and contradictions to plain facts, now certainly known, which derogate from the authority of this chronicle and of those that follow it. We shall now endeavour to clear these inconsistencies, or at least to shew how the author of it was led into these palpable errors, and from thence to discover the real truth of the whole transaction.
WE have already hinted at the probability, that he rather followed the reports spread about from
Holland,
than made a strict enquiry into this subject. This will appear more plain from the following considerations. 1. We hinted in our 1st book, that during the infancy of the art,
Faust
and
Schoeffer,
and together with them
Guttenbergh,
carry'd on the business with all possible secrecy, till the former being oblig'd to discover it at
Paris
for his own safety, and the latter having broke the partnership, and gone to set up the art elsewhere; it was thought of no further use to conceal this invention. 2. The reader may call to mind that we advanc'd a probable conjecture of Mr.
Mattaire
's, that
Guttenbergh
being cast at law, and sentenc'd to reimburse his moiety, and pay the charges of the suit, went away to
Strasburgh
to evade the sentence, which is now confirm'd by the book printed there just now mentioned; where not thinking himself fafe from further prosecution, he might really come down to
Harlem,
and there instruct
Coster,
or some others in the art. This seems to be more than probable, not only from the chronicle's mentioning
Guttenbergh,
and not
Coster,
as inventor of the art, but likewise from his dating the invention nine years later than it was discover'd; which must be ascrib'd to its not having been known at
Harlem
till the year 1459, tho' it had been practis'd at
Mentz
from the year 1450, or soon after, as has been sufficiently shewn before.
AGAIN, if we consider that
Holland
and the
Low-Countries
were the only places of
Germany,
into which we traded, whereas the city of
Mentz,
which lies very far in the continent, was then little known to us, we shall not wonder, that our first accounts of the original of printing, should be taken from the
Dutch,
agreeable to their violent claims to the invention of it, and their scandalous stories invented to deprive
Faust
of his discovery; for the chronicle acquaints us, that the city receiv'd it from a fugitive servant of
Guttenbergh,
who had learn'd it from his brother then working with him, and went to set it up there. There remains one single difficulty still; why the chronicle attributes the invention to
Guttenbergh,
when all their writers make no mention of him, but ascribe it wholly to their countryman
Coster.
To solve this, if we suppose this account given to the author by
Frederick Corsellis,
or even by Mr.
Caxton
or
Turnour,
which is very probable; we may justly presume, that they spoke as they were inform'd on the spot, agreeably to the account which
Guttenbergh
gave of himself and of his invention, which the
Dutch
dar'd not to contradict, till after his death or departure from
Holland,
when they assum'd the whole discovery to themselves, and represented
Coster
as the sole inventor, exclusive of every other pretension. I have dwelt longer on these circumstances, because they notoriously demonstrate, that those contradictions to plain facts, universally known and assented to by all but the
Dutch
writers, confirm the authority of the rest of the chronicle; since they are exactly drawn from the legends of that nation, which were then generally believ'd over all the
Low-Countries,
and were the only accounts that our merchants, and particularly the two gentlemen employ'd by the king, could procure concerning the original of printing. And 'tis not improbable that what the chronicle mentions of the imprisonment of several persons at
Harlem,
on suspicion of a design to steal the art, might be done rather out of fear least any of those strangers should rob them of their honour by exposing the vantiy of their pretensions; since themselves could not be ignorant of what was done at
Mentz
long before that time.
BEFORE I dismiss this chronicle,) which, as I observ'd, was unknown till Mr.
Atkins
publish'd it, I shall give an account, which I found in a manuscript now in my possession, which seems to be much older than the year 1664, when Mr.
Atkins
publish'd his account, and which, a few Circumstances excepted, entirely agrees with that of the chronicle. The part relating to the introducing of printing into
England
being very short, I believe will be acceptable to the reader, and is as follows.
The rise and progress of printing in
England.
The art of printing was first brought into
England
in the time of
Hen. vi.
at the charges of the archbishop of
Canterbury (Bourchier,)
who employ'd one
Turner
master of the robes to the king, and one Mr.
Caxton
a mercer of
London,
but using the trade of a merchant, to go to
Harlem
to endeavour to bring over some of the workmen, that had then newly practis'd the art there, who prevail'd upon some of the under-workmen to come over with them into
England,
and to teach them their trade. As soon as they were landed, they were convey'd under a guard to the university of
Oxford
for fear they should run back again; and there they set up a press about the year
1467,
as appears by several books that were printed there about that time. The names of those workmen were
Rood
an
Almayn
(or
German)
and
Winken de Worde;
and the charges of the journey cost the archbishop
1500
marks, as appears by several papers and memorials relating to this matter, that are still extant in the library at
Lambeth.
Shortly after there was a press set up at the Abbey of St.
Albans,
which continued till the dissolution,
&c.
THE remainder being foreign to this chapter, shall be communicated in some of the following, to which it more properly belongs. I need not observe that this manuscript ascribes all the honour of this transaction to the archbishoshp; whereas the chronicle assures us that the king contributed the greatest sum towards it. The date mention'd in my manuscript is a year before the
Oxford
edition came out.
It may be here objected that the year 1467 cannot bring it within the reign of
Henry
VI. who had been depos'd six years before; but I answer that the manuscript does not assert that the
Dutch
printers came not into
England
till that year, but that their press was not set up till then; and tho' this happen'd in another reign, yet it will still be true that king
Henry
caus'd them to be brought over, whilst he was upon the throne, tho' the civil wars, and his being depos'd, put a stop to their proceedings for six or seven years. We shall have occasion to remark further upon this in the next chapter. As for its complementing the archbishop with having been at the whole expence of the journey; it may be ascrib'd to want of better information, or partiality to that prelate, who might still be in great esteem under king
Edward;
whilst the good king
Henry
was strip'd of the royal dignity and wholly neglected. With respect to the two printers mention'd there; the first is probably the same,
Theodoric Rood,
who printed afterwards by himself, and of whom we have but two editions printed at
Oxford
in 1480, and 1481, of which we shall give a further account in the next chapter. Whether he came along with
Corsellis
as an under-workman, is difficult to determine,
I am of opinion that
Winken de Worde
came not to
England
till some years after; tho' he might easily be confounded by the author of the M. S. with the other, on account of his
Dutch
name, and of his having signaliz'd himself afterwards by the number and elegance of his editions, which he printed both under
Caxton
and by himself. Thus 'tis
ain that the few records, which we have, agree in the following particulars; that archbishop
Bourchier
sollicited king
Henry
VI. to procure the establishment of the art of printing in this kingdom; that the king not only consented, but contributed largely to it; that
Turner
and
Caxton
were employ'd in this design; that it cost 1500 marks to execute it; that it was happily effected during the reign of
Henry
VI. i. e. before the year 1461, since in the beginning of that year he was depos'd by
Edward
IV. and lastly, that
Oxford
was fix'd upon by the king and Archbishop to set up the first press in, and make the first essays of this art; which city therefore shall be the subject of our next chapter.
CHAP. II.
Printing at
Oxford
by
Frederic Corsellis.
SOME
English
authors, and particularly Mr.
Howel,
are of opinion, that the first trials of this art were made in the
Ambry
belonging to
Westminster-Abby,
where Mr.
Caxton
afterwards carry'd on the business with good success for a considerable time; as shall be related in its place. But as they affirm this upon the supposition, that the Abbot of that place,
[Islip],
was the person, who procur'd the art to be brought to
England;
whereas the chronicle abovemention'd, which they knew nothing of, asserts the contrary; in both these respects, I think it more reasonable to follow it, than those writers: nor indeed is it probable, that any but a crown'd head, or some persons employ'd by him, would venture upon such a dangerous project. Besides, this account of the chronicle is confirm'd by the edition of 1468, mention'd in the preceding chapter, of which we shall speak more fully hereafter: for tho' this comes short in date of the last year of
Henry
VI, by seven or eight years, yet it is older by at least as many, than any impression of
Caxton
's at
Westminster,
as far as has been yet discover'd. Add to this, that according to their Supposition, that Mr.
Caxton
learn'd the art from the workman brought over from
Holland,
we must necessarily suppose the latter to have made several essays, and printed a volume or two at least, before the former could be perfect enough in it to engage in that province. But I am far from thinking, that
Caxton
either learn'd the art from him, or even came over to
England
with him; since 'tis much more probable, that he dispatch'd Mr.
Turnour
with
Corsellis
thither, and carried on his commerce as well as his studies beyond sea. I am inclin'd to this opinion, by a passage in the preface to the second book of his
history of Troy,
which he tells us he translated from the
French
at the desire of the
Dutchess of Burgundy,
the King's sister; which translation, he says, he began at
Bruges,
anno 1468, continued at
Gaunt,
and finish'd at
Cologn,
anno
a thousand four honderd
lxxi. Hence 'tis plain, that he was still travelling in
Flanders
and
Germany
three years after the first edition printed by
Corsellis
at
Oxford:
nor does it appear, that
Caxton
came presently after to
England,
but stay'd to write a third book in the last mention'd place,
Cologn,
as he informs us in these words;
"
The third book of the destruction of
Troy
—I have now good leyzer in
Cologn
—I have delibered in my self beyng—to take thislaboure in hand
"
'Tis unreasonable to imagine, that a man of his years, (of which he complains in the same preface, saying, that
age crept on him daily and feebled all the body,)
should come along with the
Dutch
Printer, and learn the art from him, and then go travelling again, having one book to translate, and another to write,
viz.
his
Fruits of Time.
I am of opinion therefore, that he learn'd the art, at least got a good insight into it abroad, and perhaps at
Cologn;
tho' he might make himself master of the practical part of it after his return into
England.
THUS far therefore 'tis plain, that
Caxton
had been on his travels some time, when
Corsellis
printed that first edition at
Oxford;
that the latter was the first Printer in
England;
and that
Oxford
was the place, where the first press was set up. The chronicle gives these reasons why that Printer was sent thither; 1. Because it was an inland town, out of which it would be less possible for him to escape, than from
London
or any place near the sea; 2. Archbishop
Bourchier,
who had been vice-chancellor, and was then chancellor of that university, may be suppos'd to have had a more than ordinary regard for it, and, in consequence of that, to have prevail'd upon the King to honour it with the first press. To these we may add the two following,
viz.
1. That an university was the most proper place for such a work; because it would still be under the eye and direction of the learned men there, who could make choice of the best works to be printed, the best MSS. to print from, and the most skilful persons to correct them; 2. the city of
London,
and almost the whole kingdom being disturb'd and divided by the
Earl of March
's party▪ and the court engag'd in opposing his measures, an university was a much safer and quieter place to lay the foundation of this art in, than any other in the kingdom.
Corsellis
therefore, and those to whom he was to discover the secret, having sworn fidelity to the king and his successors, and being admitted into the number of the king's servants and houshold, began to exercise this art as soon as they had got all things ready for it. How long they were thus employ'd in their preparations, and what progress they made after I shall next enquire.
THE reader will have just cause to admire, that, if they began so soon as the latter end of
Henry
VI's reign,
viz.
before
anna
1461, they should have publish'd no work yet discover'd till seven years after,
viz.
1468; and that there are but three editions extant between that time and the year 1481, the edition of 1468 included; and, what is still more admirable, that from that year to 1585, which is above 100 years, thee is not one volume to be found printed at
Oxford,
tho' the art flourish'd in several other parts of
England,
as will appear in the progress of this history. This last particular I can by no means account for; but the other, I mean their slow progress at first, is easily solv'd by what has been hinted before,
viz.
the troubles which were then breaking forth, and fell upon the king and court, as well as his deposition, which happen'd immediately after their first settlement in that university, together with the opposition made continually by his Queen and friends against his victorious rival. Besides, if we consider that the Printers were sworn servants to the crown, and consequently incapable to act without the king's special order, or at least his licence, whilst
Henry
their Patron was out of power, and the reigning monarch otherwise employ'd, it will be very easy to account for these delays, and the small progress which they made in those troublesome times. We may likewise with great probability suppose, that most of their works were such as were adapted to those times of superstition, as prayer-books, manuals, legends,
&c.
which perish'd soon after the reformation.
IT must be own'd indeed, that the author of the chronicle, so often mention'd, tells us, that as soon as
Corsellis
had perform'd his promise, and instructed a sufficient number of others in the art, it was thought proper to disperse them, some to
Westminster,
others to
St. Albans,
&c. Yet it is still very surprizing, that so considerable a place as
Oxford
could not detain one of them by a sufficient encouragement. However, 'tis plain, that except
Theodoric Rood,
a
German,
and native of
Cologn,
who very probably came over with Mr.
Caxton
from thence, and of whom we have discover'd but two editions, there are no other footsteps of printing in this university extant from that time to 1585, nor any tolerable account among the writers of those times for such a wonderful scarcity. But this is not the only thing which the reader will be surpriz'd at, with relation to the slow progress which printing made at
Oxford.
I have, in the former book, given an account of vast improvements made to that art in foreign countries, and to what a degree of perfection the
Italians
and
French,
in particular, had brought it, not only with respect to the exquisite beauty and variety of characters, richness and elegancy of composition,
&c.
but likewise by their introducing the learned and eastern languages, as
Greek, Hebrew, Arabic,
&c. into their printing-houses, even before the year 1520, and printing several curious polyglot works in all these tongues, besides the
Latin.
But tho' I have extended this
English
history thirty years further than theirs,
viz.
to the year 1550, yet the reader must not expect to find any thing of this nature done in
England
during that time. Our first Printers, tho' excellent men in their way, contented themselves with printing in their own tongue; and if they ventur'd sometimes either upon
Latin
or
French,
their productions in those languages were few and inconsiderable: but with respect to
Greek
and
Hebrew,
either thro' want of due encouragement from the learned, or of courage in them, 'tis certain they never attempted any thing of that kind till a long time after.
THE reader may remember with what difficulty the
Parisian
Printers were prevail'd upon to venture upon such works; what objections and obstacles they rais'd against so expensive and hazardous an undertaking: yet a learned
Frenchman
so far prevail'd with some of them, that he had the pleasure of seeing several of his own works printed in those languages; the reception of which soon encourag'd them to proceed in several noble undertakings. But the case was far different in
England:
for the learned Dr.
Wakefield,
having made an oration in 1584, to recommend the study of the
Hebrew
and
Arabic
tongues, and shew the usefulness and necessity of them, was oblig'd to publish it maim'd and imperfect, wanting near a third part, because, as he tells us, the Printers of that time had no
Hebrew
types; tho' it was printed by
Wynken de Worde,
one of the most eminent Printers in
Europe
of that age. Printing in
Greek
made no great figure in
England
before the 16th century; and the most learned work, which we have to boast of, was the polyglot bible of Dr.
Walton,
mention'd at the latter end of the last book, which was not printed till after the restoration by Mr.
Thomas Roycroft,
of whom I shall say more hereafter.
EXCEPT this, I don't find any footsteps of any works in the polyglot kind, but what were small and inconsiderable. However, we, like the
Dutch,
have sufficiently since atton'd for the slow progress which our ancestors made in those noble branches of printing.
I shall now give an account of the editions before mention'd between the years 1468 and 1585.
1.
Sancti Hieronymi expositio in Symbolum Apostolorum,
4to, (without the Printer's name.)
Oxon, 1468.
THIS antient piece begins with the following title.
Incipit Expositio Sancti Jeronimi in Symbolum Apostolorum ad Papam Laurentium.
At the end are the following words:
Explicit Expositio Sancti Jeronimi in Symbolo Apostolorum ad Papam Laurentium, Impressus Oxonie & finita Anno Domini
MCCCCLXVIII. xvii.
die Decembris.
There is one in the
Bodleian
library, given by the learned bishop
Barlow,
who wrote with his own hand, in the first page, that this
exposition
was not St.
Jerom
's, but
Rufinus
's:
Rufini est haec Expositio, non Hieronymi:
and in the last page he wrote as follows,
Stephen Bateman
doctor of divinity, and chaplain to
Hen. Cary
Ld.
Hunsden
upon Bartholomaeus de proprietatibus rerum [the book was writ in Latin anno
1366,
translated into English in
1397,] in the last he tells us,
that Bartholomeus was first printed in English
in 1471, and then he adds,
—at which time printing began first in
England,
the 37th year of
Hen. VI. but he is manifestly mistaken, for this foregoing book was printed in 1468 at
Oxford,
at least two years before. This remark of Dr.
Bateman
has another gross mistake, besides that observ'd by bishop
Barlow;
which is, that the year 1471 was far from being the 37th of
Henry
VI. who had been depos'd 10 years before. The 37th year of that King's reign was the year 1459; in which 'tis probable some foundations of printing had been laid in
England,
tho', for the aforemention'd reasons, we meet with nothing done in that kind till eight or nine years after. We shall affirm nothing concerning this
English
edition of
Barth. de Propriet. Rer.
(tho' 'tis reasonable to suppose it printed at
Oxford,)
since we have no other account of it but this manuscript note of bishop
Barlow.
2.
Leonardus Aretinus in Aristot. Ethic. Comment.
Oxon, 1479.
I THINK 'twill not be amiss to insert here what is wrote before these two books, which are in the
Pembroke
library, 'tis as follows.
'Here are the only two books to be seen by
Corsellis,
the first Printer at
Oxford;
tho' there are other copies of the first, of the second we know of only this. These are printed on the same shap'd letters as the
Rationale
and
Catholicon
by
Faust
(vulgarly doctor
Faustus.)
The civil wars in
Edward
IV's time might probably hinder the progress of the press; the third book,
viz.
'
3.
Aegidius de Romd,
alias
Aegidius Columna Romanus Archiep. Bituricens. Ord. Eremit. S. Aug. de Peccato Originali,
4to. Oxon, 1479,
'was printed about the time of the second, and, 'tis probable, this was printed by
Corsellis,
for the next Printer at
Oxford
was
Rood,
as appears by the following book.'
4. The destruction of
Troy
in
Latin,
by
Guido de Columna,
by T. R. Oxon, 1480.
THERE is also one more printed by
Rood
at
Oxford,
mention'd by
Orlandi,
viz.
5.
Alexandri ab Hales Angli Sententiosa, atque studio digna expositio super tertium Librum de Anima. Impressum per me Theodoricum Rood
[Road]
de Colonia
xi.
Octob, in Alma Universitate.
Oxon, 1481.
'Both
Corsellis
and
Rood
are mention'd by our historians, to have been brought over by
Caxton. Caxton
with Sir
Richard Whetehilt
were sent, after he brought
in the art,
by
Edward
IV. to settle a commerce" with the
Duke
of
Burgundy,
in 1464.
Vide Rymer
's
Faedera.
'
THUS much for
Oxford
in the infancy of the art.
CHAP. III.
Westminster.
MCCCCLXXIV.
WESTMINSTER being the most considerable place on several accounts, and particularly for its productions, and the great applause with which Mr.
Caxton
carry'd on the business of printing there for above 21 years; we have for this reason given it the priority; yet hope I shall be excus'd for this digression concerning St.
Albans,
which has been far less eminent on this account, and as a history of the two books printed there, I shall here relate as I found it wrote before the Book of Miscellanies, printed at St.
Albans,
in the
Pembroke
library. 'Tis as follows.
'IT is agreed, that
Corsellis
was the first who printed in
England,
and that
Oxford
and St.
Albans
were the two first places; the types, as may be seen in my Lord's books, at
Oxford
were like those of
Faust;
the types of this at St.
Albans
are like the
Dutch Spieghel. Junius
argues for the first printing to be at
Harlem
from the
Dutch Spieghel;
but it appears from what is writ before the five books, call'd
Paginae Conglutinatoe,
that the
Latin
one of this
Dutch
was before it, the which he had not seen, neither does it conclude where it was printed; however, this book of St.
Albans
affords an argument, which
Junius
could not then know of, that the
Dutch
letter might be before 1460, and it favours what
Atkins
says of a press brought over from
Harlem
in the time of
Henry
VI. who dy'd in 1460. This is the same letter, and we read that
Frederick Corsellis
did at St.
Albans
instruct an old learned school-master to print, and
Corsellis
was of a considerable age when
Theodoric de Rood
of
Colen
succeeded him at
Oxford,
by whom we have two books printed; the first as old as 1480, already taken notice of. It has been a doubt, whether they first printed at St.
Albans
or at
Oxford,
the oldest book of St.
Albans
with a date is here; but we cannot prove this book of
Miscellanies
to be older than the dissolution of the Abbies by K.
Henry
VIII. 'till when a press remain'd, and the first letter us'd as late as 1490, such a year appearing in this book. We know of but one more book at St.
Albans,
the which my Lord also has; it discovers that there was another press set up at St.
Albans
after this, with the letter of the
Spieghel,
because that is printed with
Caxton
's types, and hath (as
Caxton
's books have) the two improvements of indenting paragraphs, and dividing words by hyphens at the ends of the lines; the Printers of this, with the letter of the
Spieghel,
continu'd to print as they began, without the two improvements, even after the press of
Caxton;
tho' even here that press us'd his improvements. This other book is dated 1486 in words at length, at the end of the book of hunting, besides the arms of that monastery, which are at the end of the whole book.
Spelman
in his
Aspilogia,
quotes the whole book, as wrote by
Juliana Barnes,
and is so referr'd to by
Bale
in his
Scriptores,
tho' she appears to be the author only of the piece of hunting; the treatise in that book of coat arms, is only a translation of
Upton de re Militari.
That printed by
Caxton
at
Westminster
in 1496, was a second edition of this book.
OF this, with the types of the
Spieghel,
there is a second edition in 1529, printed by
Winken de Worde;
it consists of miscellanies, and has something very remarkable, as the old tryal in K.
Henry
VI's time at
Leicester,
(not taken notice of in our great collection of state-tryals) of the cardinal of
Winchester,
impeach'd by the Duke of
Gloucester
before the
House of Lords,
in which appears the names of the mitred Abbots among the Lords spiritual and temporal, and the form of the clerks entring as they came in, and at different times took the oaths. The names of the thirty six churches in
London
and suburbs that were not parochial; also of the hundred and eighteen parish churches and their patrons. In this is the
Nut brown maid,
suppos'd by
Chaucer,
as
Skelton
confirms, by having had a copy given him by
Lidgate,
Monk of
Bury.
Mr.
Prior
has made a paraphrase on it, and has also printed it from the old
English,
but knew not that it was by
Chaucer;
besides, in his, each verse is divided into two, as the first verse ends with
among,
and the second ends with
it is,
&c.
Also in his,
Woman
and
Man,
is printed at the beginning of each Stanza [here they are suppos'd] as they speak. Also the last Stanza (which makes twelve lines by his division) is wanting.'
THUS far we have copied from my Lord's manuscript notes before his books of St.
Albans.
We now proceed to
Westminster;
and here 'tis requisite to observe, that Dr.
Islip,
abbot of
Westminster,
having very liberally promoted this art, and encourag'd Mr.
Caxton,
to whom he assign'd that part of the Abby, suppos'd by some of our historians to be the Ambry or Eleemosinary. As a confirmation of this opinion, Mr.
Newcourt
in his
Repertorium,
tom. i. pag. 721, has it thus:
'St.
Ann
's, an old chappel, over against which the Lady
Margaret,
mother to king
Henry
VII, erected an alms-house for poor women, which is now turned into lodgings for the singing-men of the college. The place, wherein this chapel and alms-house stood, was called the Eleemosinary or Almonry, now corruptly the Ambry, [Aumbry] for that the alms of the Abby were the
e distributed to the poor; in which
Islip,
abbot of
Westminster
erected the first press for book-printing, that ever was in
England,
about the year of
Christ
1471, and where
William Caxton,
citizen and mercer of
London,
who first brought it into
England,
practis'd it.'
This might occasion the report, that this abbot first brought printing to
England
at his own charges. This notion of his introducing the art into our nation, which has prevail'd among several of our writers, is not only contradicted by the author of the chronicle, but seems to be groundless on this account, that if there had been any truth, in it, Mr.
Caxton
would have been oblig'd in gratitude to have taken notice of this singular piece of merit of his friend and patron, in some of the prefaces to his works.
I HAVE follow'd the same method in this book, as I did in the former, dating the places according to the oldest edition extant, that bears any certain date; tho' I am not ignorant that some of them may come short of being the first that were printed there. Mr.
Bagford
(whose papers are now in the possession of the right honourable the Earl of
Oxford,
at
Wimpole
in
Cambridgeshire)
tells us, in a proposal he publish'd for a History of Printing, that
Caxton
's first impression seems to be that of
Game of Chess,
in 1474; because it carries that date in the device, as the reader may see under his picture at the front of the second volume, tho' he owns there was another impression of it without that device, as well as several other of his works without any date at all. However, the oldest that has a certain date, ought in reason to fix our epocha, according to our method.
WILLIAM CAXTON. 1474.
MR.
Caxton
was born, as he writes himself, in the
Weeld
of
Kent,
where the broadest
English
is spoken; but as
Fuller,
in his
English Worthies
asserts, he was born at
Caxton
in
Hertfordshire,
being perhaps lead into that error by his sirname, since it was the custom of that time for persons to denominate themselves from the place of their birth. I think it will be necessary to subjoin his own account of himself in this respect, from his preface to the
Recule of the Historyes of Troye,
translated by him out of the
French
of
Raoul le Fevre, Priest.—
'When I remember myself of my unperfitness in both languages.—In
Fraunce
was I never, and was born and lerned myne
English
in
Kente
in the Weeld, where
English
is spoken broad and rude.—I have continued for the most part in the countries of
Brabant, Flanders, Holland
and
Zeland.—
The Dutchesse of BOURGOGNE sister of the king of
England,
when she had seen v or vi quairs, found default in myn
English,
which she commaunded me to ammand, and to continue and make an end of the residue,—whose commaund I durst not disobey.'
—Thus far Mr.
Caxton:
and I can't but observe, that the faults of his
English
are owing more to his long continuance abroad, than to the place of his birth; which will easily appear from an accurate observation of his language and manner of spelling, which discover the foreigner more than a broad-spoken
Kentish
man. His education was owing to his mother, and extended no farther than to read and write, which, he says, procur'd him a good maintenance. Mr.
Bale
tells us indeed, that he understood the
Latin
tongue; which is plain, from his translations out of that language. But, as he does not mention it as a part of his youthful education, 'tis very probable that he did not apply himself to the study of it till a long time after. He was bred a mercer of the city of
London,
and became a
Conjurys
thereof,
I have indeed, thro' the favour of Mr.
Crump,
at
Mercer
's hall, search'd their book of freemen, but could not find his name there. There was one
Richard Caxton
made free about that time, whether it was a relation of his, or a mistake in transcribing his christian name, I cannot be sure of; but however, as he calls himself a
Mercer
of
London,
we have no reason to doubt it.
as he stiles himself in his preface to
Cato,
that is, a sworn member of that company, which in those days consisted of very considerable merchants, trading more particularly into the
Low-Countries,
and some of the maritime parts of
Germany.
To these he was frequently sent, but never had the fortune to visit
France;
tho' he became so good a master of that language, as to translate several volumes into
English,
of which we shall give an account hereafter. His travels likewise so well accomplish'd him in the
High
and
Low-Dutch,
that upon the account of this, and his knowledge of those countries and their trade, the king chose him as a fit person to undertake the bringing printing to
England.
This task, how difficult and hazardous soever, he acquitted himself with great integrity.
Mr.
Caxton,
besides his accomplishments as a merchant, acquired a great deal of politeness, partly by his travels for 30 years, and partly by his frequent residence at the court of the dutchess of
Burgundy,
sister to king
Edward
IV, who caress'd and patroniz'd him very much; for, in the preface abovemention'd, he tells us, that he was
a servant to her grace, and received of her a yearly fee, and other many good and greate benefits.
He was likewise a favourite to several of our kings, particularly
Henry
VI,
Edward
IV,
Richard
III, and
Henry
VII; and highly esteem'd by the prime of our nobility, and especially by the duke of
Clarence,
the king's uncle, to whom he dedicated some of his works; the countess of
Derby,
king
Henry
VII's mother; the earl of
Rivers, Arundel,
with many others. As he was a person indefatigable and ambitious of applause, as well as earnest in promoting the glory of his own country, he read incessantly the histories of his own and other nations; which at proper times he digested into order. At his return to
England,
he became acquainted with a learned schoolmaster of
St. Albans,
suppos'd by some writers upon good grounds to have been the printer of
Juliana Barnes.
This person, having laid the foundation of a compleat body of
English
history, kept a constant correspondence with Mr.
Caxton,
and was assisted by him in his translations; but, being prevented by death from finishing his work, Mr.
Caxtom
procur'd his papers, examin'd, and reduc'd them to order, and compar'd them with the best authors he could get, as
Livy, St. Austin, Gildas, Beda, Isidorus, Cassiodorus, Geoffrey of Monmouth, William of Malmesbury, Martin Cansulanus,
and others; from whom he also extracted many considerable passages, which he added to the history. This work he entitled
Fructus temporum,
or the fruits of time, in seven books; to which he subjoin'd a chronology. The history begins with the giants, the first suppos'd inhabitants of this island, and concludes with the 23d year of
Edward
IV. viz.
ann.
1483. What share our author had in this performance, and how great a part was done by the schoolmaster, is impossible to determine. This book was often reprinted and much valued at that time; yet, tho' it is the most considerable piece which Mr.
Caxton
publish'd, we have several others written and printed by himself, which are as follow:
2.
An appendix to Trevisa's English translation of Randulph's polychronicon,
1 book;
3.
The image of the world,
1 book;
4.
The description of Great Britain,
1 book;
5.
The life of Edward the Confessor,
1 book;
6.
The history of king Arthur,
21 books;
and some others, all in
English.
The appendix to
Trevisa
is continued, from the year 1397, in which the supplement of
Trevisa
to the
polychronicon
ends, to the year 1460, in which he wrote it. The learned Mr.
Selden
indeed ascribes the whole to
Trevisa;
but, besides that,
Caxton
takes the supplement and other additions and interpretations to himself; but 'tis plain, as Dr.
Nicholson
observes, that
Trevisa,
according to that supposition, must have wrote near a hundred years after his death. Those which he translated out of
Latin
and
French
are as follows:
Out of
Latin.
1.
Vegetius de re militari, or of the art of war,
4 books;
2.
Joannita of the game of chess,
4 books;
3.
The history of the destruction of Troy,
3 books;
4.
Bonaventure of the Life of Christ,
1 book;
5.
The history of Lombardy,
1 book;
6.
John Tinmouth's Sanctilogium Britanniae, epitomiz'd by Capgrave.
From
French.
1.
The siege and conquest of Jerusalem, by Geodfrey of Bologne,
dedicated to King
Edward
IV.
2.
The royal book, entitled in French le livre royal.
BESIDES these, there are several others in the list of his printed works subjoin'd to the account of his life. He printed likewise some books in
French,
as
La legende doree,
&c. and some in
Latin,
as
Vita patruum
and
Boetius de consolatione philosophiae,
&c. This catalogue of his works, as an author, I have taken from
Pitts
and
Bale;
the latter of whom gives him the character of
vir non omnino stupidus nec ignavia torpens,
neither a perfect dunce nor abandon'd to laziness: I shall more readily assent to the judgment of a much later and more judicious writer, Dr.
Nicholson
who says of
Bale
(p. 177) that he gives the account of men and their labours at random; and of
Caxton
(p. 190) that the opportunities he had, of being acquainted with the court-transactions of his own time, would encourage his reader to hope for greater matters from him; but that his fancy seems to have lead him into an undertaking (with respect to his
Fructus temporum)
above his strength. There is one thing very observable concerning this excellent Printer and author, that he translated, printed, corrected, illuminated and bound all his Books within his own office or printing-house. As he printed long before the method of adding the errata at the end of books was in use, so his extraordinary exactness oblig'd him to a great deal more trouble than can easily be imagin'd; for he tells us, in the preface to some of his books, that his chief care, after a work was printed off, was to revise it, and mend all the faults with his own hand with red ink; which being done to one copy, he caus'd some of his journey-men to do the same throughout the whole impression; which he afterwards compar'd with his first sheet, to see that they had not omitted any of his corrections. 'Tis true, they did not print off so large a number of books as now; for 250 or 300 were thought a large impression; but even that number made it very tedious to correct throughout: tho' this was practis'd by several eminent Printers of other nations, 'till they found out the way of printing the errata in some blank leaves of the book.
MR.
Caxton
having made himself a perfect master of the Art of Printing (not at
Oxford
under
Fred. Corsellis,
as some authors imagine, but during his travels beyond sea, as will appear hereafter) came and settled at
Westminster,
where abbot
Islip
(as some say) his friend and patron, assign'd him one of the chapels belonging to the abby, as we have before quoted from
Newcourt,
as being retir'd and free from interruption; and from this or some other chapel, 'tis suppos'd that the name of chapel has been given to all printing-houses in
England
ever since. And notwithstanding it is by some reported, that it was set up in the chapel there, I can trace no footsteps of its having been practis'd in that place. My manuscript beforemention'd says,
'that a press was set up in
Westminster
abby by abbot
Islip,
in the little ambry, where
William Caxton
was master.'
Mr.
Bagford
assigns the house in the ambry which was formerly the king's head, as the place where
Caxton
carried on his printing, but had I been early enough in my enquiry before 'twas pull'd down, as Mr.
Bagford
was, I flatter my self I could have found some remains. I have great reason to think it had been a printing-house, by having been inform'd, that some persons found among the rubbish some remains of printing materials; but, thro' ignorance of the curiosity of them, they are either lost or destroy'd. As I have given my reasons against the arts being practis'd in the chapel at
Westminster,
I rather think, that our technical terms in printing, such as a printing-house being call'd a chapel; and where printing is grey in one place, and too black in another, the grey is call'd a fryar, and the black a monk; I think, I say, that these terms took their original from the art's being practis'd in other religious houses besides that at
Westminster:
for 'tis evident, by the book hereafter mention'd, printed in the exempt monastery of
Tavistock
in
Devonshire,
by
Dan Thomas Richard,
monk of the said monastery, that several of the religious orders exercis'd this art, perhaps in some outer chapel, which, being dedicated to some saint, was only us'd once a year on the anniversary of that saint.
THE reader will find, that printing-houses were set up in several cities and towns in
England,
where they had any considerable religious house. Thus we see the abby of St.
Albans
had printing there very soon, as before notic'd. Nor was this the only religious house where printing was practis'd, and that very early; for time has discover'd to us several others, such as
Tavistock,
as aforesaid,
Worcester, Canterbury, Ipswich;
which were chosen for that purpose. We have already hinted, that the first Printers were sworn servants to the Crown; and in particular Mr.
Caxton
not only printed as such, but all his impressions were recommended either by the king, or princes of the blood, or by some eminent patron amongst the nobility, who bore the charges of the whole. The types with which he printed were peculiar to himself, and easily distinguish'd from any other, being a mixture of secretary and Gothic in shape, the size great primer. He had several eminent workmen under him; particularly
Winken de Worde,
a Dutchman, and
Rich. Pynson,
a citizen of
London,
who afterwards printed for themselves many valuable pieces, which shall be mention'd in their proper place. They likewise us'd a letter peculiar to themselves, which as I shall take notice, differ'd from their master's, and was more refin'd and moderniz'd. Mr.
Caxton,
besides his other valuable qualifications, was a person of exemplary piety and strictness of life. He continu'd printing from before the year 1474 to 1495, as is evident from the end of the
Vita patrum
and
Hilton
's
scale,
printed, or rather finish'd, in that year by
Winken de Worde.
Mr. auditor
Jett
deceas'd, assur'd me, that he was bury'd in St.
Margaret
's church,
Westminster;
and that he saw the remains of his tomb-stone, but I have not as yet been able to find it.
THE list of his works is as follows; in which I could not possibly recover the right titles of each book; but such as I could meet with, I have set down exactly as printed by him. Those which have no certain date are put at the end.
1.
The Game of chess.
fol. translated out of the Latin of
Joannita,
and by him dedicated to the duke of
Florence,
brother to king
Edward
IV, who was murther'd in the tower,
ann.
1477. There are two editions of
Caxtons
of this book; one which has a kind of cypher or device, bearing the date of 74, and the other without both. The former therefore I suppose to be first printed, which has the date,
VVestminster,
1474.
IT is now in the
Pembroke
library, nor do I know of one any where else.
2.
A book of sayings of the philosopher Socrates,
translated out of
Latin
into
French,
by
Johan. de Tronville,
provost of
Paris,
and out of the
French
into
English,
by
Wydewyll, Earl of
Ryvers
—emprinted by me William Caxton at Westmestre.
1477.
The work was by the Earl's desire overseen by
Caxton. Caxton me fieri fecit.
This book is in the library of my worthy friend and promoter of this work Mr.
Granger.
3.
Memorare novissima,
which entreateth of the four last things, the first of death, the second of the last judgment, the third of the pains of hell, the fourth of the joys of heaven; translated out of the
French
by
Antony, Earl of Rivers,
Lorde
Scales,
and of the
Isle of Weight,
defensor and dictator of the causes apostolique for our holy father the pope, uncle and governour to my lord, prince of
VVales:
printed by
VVillam Caxton,
in the year of
Edward
IV.
4to.
Ibid. 1478.
4.
Ovid's metamorphosis.
Ibid. 1479.
5.
Thymage or mirrour of the world, translated from the French into English. ibid.
fol. 1480.
BEGAN the second of
January,
1480, and finish'd it the 8th of
March
in the same year.
Caxton me fieri fecit.
6.
The history of England, together with the history of Ireland, taken out of the polychronicon.
fol. ibid. 1480.
THERE are two editions of this book, both by
Caxton,
and since then it has been frequently reprinted by others till the year 1530.
7.
The life and history of king Arthur, &c. in
21
books, written and printed by Caxton.
ibid. 1480.
8.
The history of the last siege and conquest of Jerusalem, translated from the French of Godfrey of Bologn.
With many histories therein compriz'd translated, and reduc'd out of
French
into
English
by me simple person
William Caxton,
which book I present unto the most christian king
Edward
IV.—which book I began in
march
7, and finish'd the 7th of
juin,
1481. and the 21st year of king
Edward
IV. and in this month set in form and emprinted the 20th of
november
the year aforesaid in the abby of
Westminster
by the said
William Caxton.
ibid. 1481.
9.
The history of Reynard the fox.
4to. ibid.1481.
10.
Tully of old-age and of friendship, in English.
fol. 1481.
11.
The continuation of Ranulph's polychronicon, English'd by Trevisa.
fol.
without the place's name. by W. Caxton.
1482.
First translated out of
Latin
by
John Trevisa,
chaplain to the lord
Berkley,
and then continued by me simple person
William Caxton,
&c. printed
july
2.
12.
Bartholomeus de proprietatibus rerum Anglicé.
fol. ibid.
THIS was communicated to me whilst I was printing this list, so that I had not time to enquire after the English title of it.
13.
Cathone's exhortations or precepts, with comments,
fol. ibid.
At the end are these words:
Cathon translated out of
French
into
English
by
William Caxton,
in the abby of
Westmynstre,
1483, first yere of our king
Richard
the thyrd, 23d of
decembre.
december
xxiii. 1483.
14.
The history of the knights of the tower.
ibid. 1483.
15.
The pilgrimage of the soul, translated out of French into English with somewhat of additions.
fol.
emprinted by me William Caxton at Westmestre.
1483.
Finish'd the sixth day of
juyn,
the first yere of king
Edward
the fifth.
16.
Cato English'd by Caxton.
fol. 1483.
17.
Confessio amantis, the confession of the lover made by Johan. Gower, born in Walys, in the time of king Richard the second.
fol.
emprinted by me William Caxton at Westmestre.
1483.
Finish'd the second of
september,
the first yere of
Richard
the 3d, in the yere a thousand CCCCXXXXIII.
In this date 'tis plain, by the king's reign, that the
X
's must be taken for twenties and not for tens.
18.
The book of homilies in English.
fol. ibid. 1483.
19.
La legende dorée.
ibid. 1re
année de Richard
III. 1483.
20.
Directions for keeping the feasts of the whole year.
fol. ibid.
June the last.
1483.
21.
The lives of the saints.
ibid. 1484.
22.
The royal book, entitled in French, Le livre royal.
A special book to know all vices and the branches of them, and also all virtues. This book sheweth and enseigneth it so subtilly, so shortly, so perceivingly, and so perfectly, that for so short comprehension of the noble cleargie, and of the right great substance that is therein compris'd, it may be call'd above other books, the royal book, or book for a king.
fol.
translated and printed by William Caxton, in the second year of king Richard
III.
without the place's name.
23.
Walter Hilton's scale of perfection.
ibid. 1484.
24.
The history of the noble and valiant knyght Paris, and the fair Vienne, the daughter of the doulphin of Viennes.
fol. ibid. 1485.
Translated out of
French
into
English
by
William Caxton
of
Westminster,
finish'd the last of
august,
1485, and emprinted the 19th of
december
the same year.
25.
The life of Charles the great.
ibid. 1485.
26.
Vita patrum.
ibid. 1485.
27.
Malvire's history of king Arthur.
ibid.
julii ult. in the year
1485.
28.
The book of good manners.
ibid. 1486.
Compos'd by frere
Jacques le Graunt,
religious of the order of St.
Augustin.
29.
A treatise against pride.
ibid. 1486.
30.
Dives and Lazarus, a dialogue on the decalogue.
fol. ibid. 1488.
31.
The book of
,
(Christian) of Pysedracon, out of Vegetius de re militari, and out of the arbre of battaile, with many other things setten to the same, requisite to warre and battailes; which book was delivered to translate and print, to William Caxton by king Henry the seventh, in the fourth year of his reign.
fol. ibid. 1489.
Which Translation was began the 23d of
january,
and finished the 7th of
july
the same year, and emprinted the 14th of
july
next following.
32.
The book of feats of arms.
ibid. 1489.
33.
Virgil's aeneid translated, or rather epitomiz'd, from the French in prose by William Caxton:
printed by him. fol. ibid. 1490.
34.
The history of Jason.
ibid. 1492.
35.
Confessio amantis, or the confession of the lover, of Johan. Gower, &c.
ibid. This is the second edition, with the same colophon as the former. 1493.
36.
Vita patrum.
Second edition. ibid. 1495.
37.
Recueil of the history of Troy, per Caxton.
1502.
THIS edition, with some others, were communicated to me by a learned antiquary, in those very words, but whether he was really the Printer of it, or only the author, and the book Printed by some other, is what I cannot determine, unless I could have seen the book.
Those that follow are without date.
1.
Liber festialis.
THIS edition, though I have given it no higher rank, upon the account of its having no date, doth yet manifestly appear to me to have been the first book extant of
Caxton
's Printing. I have seen it at my Lord
Pembroke
's library, and compar'd it with those of the
Game of Chess,
his three books of the history of
Troy,
and his
Polychronicon;
all which have been severally look'd upon as his oldest edition by one annalist or other, and find in it these two unquestionable marks of antiquity above the other three,
viz
1. The types on which it is printed appear to be entirely new, though they be the very same which he used in all his other works; whereas, in the others they seem to be more used and worn. 2. This edition is the only one whose lines are not spaced out to the end; this being an improvement and elegancy introduced by him in imitation of foreign Printers; whereas all the first editions had the same defect with this.
As for the three books of the history of
Troy,
the second is that which I imagine to have been printed first. I have seen it very perfect in several libraries, but the first and third I never could meet with any where, but in the noble library above mention'd. And even here they are somewhat imperfect, the first book wanting a few leaves at the beginning, and the third at the end. However, they all bear alike the mark of antiquity, and are unquestionably done with
Caxton
's types. The oldest book I could ever meet with that bears a date is his second edition of the
Game at Chess,
in 1474, as may be seen by the catalogue above; and what inclines me to believe it to have been the first of that kind, is that the same date 74 is continued in his following works that are dated, to which he sometimes added the two initial letters of his name, as in the mark or rebus here subjoined.
We have met with but five editions without date, though we have ventured to add several more upon the authority of Mr.
Maunsel
and other authors, who we think may be rely'd on.
2.
The game of Chess.
Part of
Caxton
's Preface to the Game of Chess, in the hands of
Maurice Johnson,
Esq
is as follows;
'And when I so had acheved the said Translacion I dyde do sette in emprynte a certein nomore of theym whiche anone were depeshed and solde, and wherefore by cause thys sayd book is sul of holsom Wysedom and requysyte unto every astate and degree, I have purposed to emprynte it, shewing therein the figures of such persones as longen to the Playe.'
3.
The rule of the monks of St. Bennet.
fol. ibid.
4.
The life of our Lady.
fol.
Written in verse by
John Lidgate,
monk of
Bury.
5.
The life of St. Winifred.
4to.
translated and printed by William Caxton.
6.
St. Austin raising two dead persons.
4to.
7.
An exposition on the Lord's Prayer, Belief, Commandments, seven sacraments, seven virtues, seven deadly sins:
item,
the general sentence, or sentence of cursing,
modus fulminandi sententiam:
the beads on sonday.
fol.
Printed by William Caxton at Westminster.
This book begins thus;
The maister of sentences in the second book and first distinct. saith, that the soveraigne cause why God made all creatures in heaven, earth, or water, was his own goodness.
8.
The fruit of time.
fol.
collected, compil'd, and Printed by William Caxton.
ibid.
9.
The spousage of a virgin.
4to. ibid.
10.
The siege of Rhodes.
fol. ibid.
11.
Boetius de consolatione philosophiae.
ibid.
12.
The mirrour of the blessed life of Jesus Christ, written in Latin by the worshipful Dr. Bonaventure; translated into English in
1410,
and brought to the reverend father Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Caunterbury, who commanding and allowing the same, was afterwards printed by William Caxton.
ibid.
13.
Chaucer's Canterbury-tales, collected into one volume by Mr. Caxton.
14.
The book of arts and sciences by Mr. Caxton.
15.
The Curiace of Master Alayn Charetier, translated by Caxton.
Belonging to
Maurice Johnson,
Esq
16.
Parvus chato—Cato's precepts in Latin and English verse.
17.
De fide & cantû samule sue.
II. WINKEN DE WORDE. MCCCCXCV.
WINKEN
de Worde,
the
Dutchman,
is suppos'd to have come over with Mr.
Caxton,
and was his servant and journey-man. He succeeded him in his Printing-house, as appears from some of his first impressions done by him, as he tells us,
in the house of Mr. Caxton.
It's difficult to assign the exact time when he came to
England;
whether with
Frederick Corsellis,
as my manuscript affirms, or some years after, which is more probable. After Mr.
Caxton
's death, he carry'd on the business, and finish'd some volumes begun by his master, as the
Canterbury-tales
and
Hilton's scale of perfection.
This last Mr.
Mattaire
dates in the year 1494, and Mr.
Bagford
1465, who gives it as the first impression done in
Winken de Worde
's name. I have chosen to follow Mr.
Bagford,
who was very exact, as far as he could procure materials; for I have not yet met with the book my self. Though the list of this Printer's works is very large, yet I am certain there are many more either lost or still latent in some libraries; for he was a person of vast industry, and receiv'd all imaginable encouragement; so that he publish'd several volumes in one year, though we meet with some considerable chasms in others, during which time we cannot suppose him idle. He left
Westminster,
and set up his Printing-house in
Fleet-street,
at the sign of the
Sun,
in the parish of
St Bride.
I cannot determine the year of his removal; though his first impression there was done,
anno
1503. He printed several
Latin,
as well as
English
volumes, but no
Greek,
as I can find. He continued Printing with great applause till the year 1533, if not beyond that time. At his death he left a sum of money for an annual
obiit
for his soul to the parish of
St. Bride's,
of which he was an inhabitant. He was a person of great accomplishments in learning, as well as strictness of morals; and though he was the immediate successor of
Caxton,
yet he improv'd the art to a very great perfection. At his first setting up for himself, his first care was to cut a new sett of puncheons, which he sunk into matrices, and cast several sorts of Printing-letter, which he afterwards us'd. As
Caxton
us'd but two sizes,
Double Pica
and
Great Primmer,
viz.
Begun and finished by me simple Man, W. C.
Begun and finished by me simple Man, W. C.
Winken de Worde
gave a greater scope to his fancy, and form'd such a variety of sorts and sizes of letter, that for several years after him, none of his successors attempted to imitate him therein. If he was the manual operator in cutting and casting in his own founding-house, 'tis an incredible improvement which he made to the art; but, if he had his letter from any other Printer abroad, though it robs him of this glory, yet his excellent method of disposition, composition, and presswork, shews him to have far excell'd his master, and even to rival any of of his contemporaries abroad. There is one circumstance that induces me to think that he was his own letter-founder; which is, that in some of his first Printed books, the very letter he made use of, is the same us'd by all the Printers in
London
to this day; and I believe were struck from his puncheons.
The first is the two lin'd
Great Primmer
black,
by me Winken de Worde
The next is the
Great Primmer
black,
This Work was finished by me, Winken de Worde.
He is the first
English
Printer, who introduc'd the
Roman
letter in
England,
which he us'd with his
Gothic
or black letter, to distinguish any thing remarkable, as we do the
Italic
with the
Roman
at this time. His letter is different from most other Printers, and is cast so true, and stands so well in line, as not to be excell'd by any ever since: in his
Gothic
and
Roman
letter he fell in with the custom of those times by using abbreviations, even in his small siz'd letters. One circumstance I would observe is, that he is the only Printer I can find in
England
that us'd very small body'd letters in the infancy of the art, and he was fond even to the very last of using his master
Caxton
's rebus, of which we have given a specimen at the bottom of page 340. Upon the whole, he was a very curious, laborious, and indefatigable Printer; and I doubt not but time will add to his character, by bringing to light some noble testimonies of so great a man, which for want of, I am obliged to say so little here. He is the first Printer I have yet discover'd who began to print the year-books.
He and his Successor
Richard Pinson Lincoln's-Inn
Manuscript-library, being inprinted above 40 year-books, which are in scrib'd
Libri manuscripti.
The List of his Works, as far as I have been able to collect them, are as follows.
1.
Polychronicon.
1495.
2.
Chaucer's Canterbury-tales collected by William Caxton, and printed by Wynken de Worde at Westmestre.
fol. 1495.
3.
The lives of the holy faders hermits, translated by Caxton, with cuts,
10.
Hen.
7.
Westmynstre.
1495.
4.
Walter Hylton's scale of perfection, printed in William Caxton's house.
1495.
5.
Meditations of St. Bernard, translated from Latin into English by a devout student of the university of Cambridge, and has been put to be imprynted by W. de W.
4to.
Westmynster the
ix.
of March.
1496.
5.
A compendyouse treatise, dialogue of Dives and Pauper, viz. the ryche and the poore, fructuously treatynge upon the tenne commaundements, emprynted at Westmonstre,
111.
Decembre.
1496.
6.
Treatyses pertaynynge to hawkynge and huntynge, and a treatyse of cotarmours.
ibid. 1496.
7.
Nicholas Uptonus Sarisberienfis canonicus, & scriptor haraldicus: de re haraldica Anglicé. Westmynster.
1496.
8.
Frute of tymes, compyled and emprynted by one sometyme Scholemayster of Saynt Albons; and in
1497
emprinted at Westmestre.
1497.
9.
Contemplation of sinners, for every day in the week, a singular meditation, compyled at the request of Richard Lord Bishop of Duresme, Lord Privie seal of England, by dit.
ib. 4to.
July
10. 1499.
10.
Jo. Gubriand. sinonima.
4to. 1500.
11.
The Hill of perfection intituled in Latin, Mons Perfectionis, writen by John Alcocke, Bishop of Ely, by ditto,
ibid. 4to. 1501.
12.
Vobabula Magistri Stanbrigi.
1501.
13.
The Ordinary of Christen men.
4to. 1502.
14.
Hore Beate Marie Virginis, cum fig.
printed upon Vellum. 1502.
15.
John Gerson's three books of the Imitation of Christ, translated into English, by Will. Atkinson,
DD.
at King Henry VII th's Mother's desire.
1502.
16.
Aesopi fabulae, cum comm.
1503.
18.
The boke of the Recules of the siege of Troy, emprynted in London in Fleetstreet, at the sign of the Sonne, with figures.
1503.
19.
Garlandia vocabulorum interpretatio.
1505.
20.
The Ordinarye of Christen men.
1506.
21.
Ars moriendi, that is the craft to dye, for the health of man's soul, by ditto.
4to. 1506.
22.
The castle of honour, a poem.
1506.
23.
The Festival, or sermons on sondays and holidais, taken out of the Golden Legende,
4to. 1508.
24.
The book of carving.
1508.
25.
The golden legende, reprinted.
4to. 1508.
26.
The parliament of devils.
1509.
27.
The court of sapience, a poem.
1510.
28.
Demands joyous.
1511.
29.
Promptuarium parvul. clericor.
4to. 1512.
30.
History of Hilyas, knight of the swans, with figures, on parchment.
4to. 1512.
31.
Bucolica Virgilii.
1512.
32.
The long Accydence.
1513.
33.
The fruit of redemption. Approved by Richard, bishop of London.
1514.
34.
Liber Theodeli, cum comm.
4to. 1515.
35
Expositio Sequentiarum secundum usum Sarum.
1515.
36.
The Chronicle of the world, or the fruit of time, in
7
books.
1515.
37.
Virgilii bucolica, cum comm. 2d. edition.
1516.
38.
Seneca de
4
virtutibus cardinalibus.
1516.
39.
Ortus vocabulorum alphabetico ordine ferè omnia quae in catholicon, Breviloquio, cornucopia, gemma vocabulorum atque medullâ grammaticae ponuntur; cum vernaculae linguae Anglicanae expositione continens, impressus per Wincandum de Worde, ac in urbe in parochia Sanctae Brigidae
(de Fletestrete)
ad signum solis moram trahentem,
4to. 1516.
40.
Fabulae Aesopi, cum comm.
4to. 1516.
41.
Rob. Whittintoni Litchfield. gramm. lucub.
4to. 1517.
42.
Parabole Alami, cum comm.
1517.
43.
Sulpitius Verulamus de moribus puerorum.
1518.
44.
Whittintonus de concin. gram. construct.
1518.
45.
—de
8
partibus orat.
4to. 1519.
46.
Familiaria colloquia Erasmi.
1519.
47.
The Orcharde of Syon, with the revelations of Saynt Catherine of Sene, translated by Dane James, at the cost of master Richard Sutton
Founder of the
Charter-house.
,
Steward of the monastery of Sion.
1519.
48.
The passion of our Lord, translated from the French, by Andrew Chertsey, Gent.
1519.
49.
The dietary of ghostly health.
1520.
50.
History of England.
fol. 1520.
51.
Vocabula Magistri Stanbrigi (2d Edition)
1521.
52.
Whittintonus de nominum generibus.
1521.
53.
Vulgaria Rob. Whittintoni Lichfeldiensis.
1521.
54.
The mirrour of the Church of St. Edmond of Abyndon.
1521.
55.
The flower of the commaundments of God, with many examples and authorities drawn out of the holy scriptures and ancient Doctors, translated out of French.
fol. 1521.
56.
Whittintonus de syllabarum quantitate.
1522.
57.
—lucubrationes.
1523.
58.
—Verborum praeterita & supina.
1524.
59.
—Declinationes nominum.
1524.
60.
Roberti Wakefeldi oratio de utilitate ling. Arabicae & Hebraicae.
4to.
The Author excuses himself to the king
[Hen.
VIII.] to whom he dedicates this speech, that he is forced to omit one third part of it for want of
Hebrew
types, which he says his Printer had none of; and it is very probable that there were none as yet in
England,
since nothing of that nature had been attempted, that ever I could hear of; no doubt the Author made enquiry whether any such types were in
England,
before he resolv'd to let it go maim'd of its best and most curious part. I have seen this book, and find the
Arabic
and
Hebrew
types cut on wood.
1524.
61.
Vulgaria Rob. Whitintoni. (2d Edition)
1525.
62.
The image of love.
1525.
63.
Whitintonus de heteroclitis nominibus.
1526.
64.
The lives of the three kings of Colein,
4to. 1526.
65.
The mirrour of gold for a sinful soul, translated out of the French by the ryght excellent Princesse Margaret Mother to King Hen.
7.
Countess of Richmond and Derbie.
4to. 1526.
66.
The golden legende, wherein beene contayned all the high feasts of our Lord, and of our Ladie, the lives, passions, and many other miracles of many other saintes histories, finished the 27th of August.
fol. 1527.
67.
Whitintoni vulgaria, & de instit. gram.
4to. 1527.
68.
—de syllabarum quantitate.
1528.
69.
—lucubrationes. 2d. edit.
1529.
70.
—syntaxis.
1529.
71.
—de partibus orationum.
1529.
72.
Constitutiones Othonis.
8vo. 1529.
73.
The miracles of our Ladie.
4to. 1530.
74.
Grad. Comparat. cum verb. anomal.
1530.
75.
Parvulorum. inst. ex Stranbrig. collect.
1530.
76.
The pilgrimage of perfection.
fol. 1531.
77.
The plowman's prayer and complaint.
1531.
78.
Abby of the Holy Ghost.
4to. 1531.
79.
Bonaventure's lessons.
4to. 1532.
80.
Life of Edward the confessor.
4to. 1533.
81.
Virgil's Bucolica, Lat.
4to. 1533.
82.
Whitintoni syntaxis.
8vo. 1533.
83.
—de Heteroclitis.
4to. 1533.
84.
A work for housholders and governours of families, &c.
4to. 1533.
85.
Life of Hildebrande.
1534.
86.
The Rosary of our Saviour Jesus.
4to. 1536.
BOOKS Printed by W. de WORDE. without dates.
1.
The life of Johan Picus, earl of Myrandula.
2.
Bartholom. de proprietatibus, or the proprieties of things.
3.
Donatus minor ad Anglican. scholar. usum.
4.
The rose and mirrour of consolation and comfort.
4to.
5.
Vulgaria Stanbrigi.
6.
Whitinton. de
8
partib. orat.
4to.
7.
Quaestiones magistri Alberti de modis significandi, by W. de Worde in Fleet-street.
8.
Nichodemus's gospel, with other tracts,
4to.
9.
Gradus comparationis, &c.
8vo.
10.
The book named the Royal, English'd by Caxton.
11.
Sermones declamati coram Univer. Cantab. per Steph. Baron.
12. A treatise call'd
Parvula
in
Caxton
's house.
13.
Accidence. Westmustre.
ibid. in
Caxton
's house,
Remov'd into Fleet-street at the Sun.
14.
A morning remembrance had at the month-mind of the noble Princess Margareth, Countess of Richmond and Derby, Mother to King Henry
VII.
To which is added a funeral sermon to King Henry
VII.
his body being present, preached May
10, 1509,
by John Lord bishop of Rochester, and printed at the special request of the Countess of Richmond, the mother of the deceased.
15.
A short treatise of contemplation taught by our Lord Jesus Christ, or taken out of Margery Kempe of Lynn.
16.
The life of Joseph of Arimathy, taken out of a book found by Theodosius the Emperor in Jerusalem, in the pretory of Pilate.
17.
The comfort against tribulations.
18.
Richard Rolle, hermit, of Hampull's contemplation of the dread and love of God; with other divers titles.
19.
The meditations of St. Bernard.
20.
A little instruction out of St. Jerom, drawn by Tho. Botton.
21.
Hornodeus, or the remorse of conscience, a poem.
22.
The Abbaye of the Holy Ghost, with
29
ghostly ladies in it.
[i. e.
a good conscience] printed at Westminster.
23.
The lamentation of our Lady.
24.
A collection from Gerson and several authors, by Tho. Botton.
25.
The Bewge of court, a poem.
26.
Against pestilence, and of infirmities.
27.
Stans puer ad mensam.
28.
Bishop Grosshead's treatise of husbandry, or rather a translation of his out of the French.
29.
The life of Robert the devil, afterwards called the servant of the Lord.
30.
The history of Jacob and his twelve sons.
31.
The proverbs of Lydgate, a poem upon the fall of princes.
32.
King Edward, and Robin Hoode, and Little John.
33.
The assembly of the gods.
34.
The merry jest of the Fryer and the Boy.
35.
How the plowman learn'd his Paternoster, a poem.
36.
The Churl and the Bird, a poem.
37.
The Horse, and Sheep, and the Goose, a poem.
38.
The governal of health.
39.
The eleven grammars by Winken de Worde.
THIS curious piece is in the Lord
Pembroke
's library, and has some observations written on a blank page at the beginning, which are to this effect;
'The eleven grammars printed by
Winken de Worde,
who was the 2d Printer in
Westminster,
he lived afterwards within the walls of
London,
at the sign of the
Sun
in
Fleet-street. Richard Pinson,
afterwards his worthy successor, and he printed above 40 year-books which are in
Lincoln's Inn
Manuscript library; they being inscribed
Libri Manuscripti.
He was son-in-law to
Caxton,
who first printed at
Westminster
in the Almonry beyond
Westminster-School.
These eleven grammars were all printed above 100 years before
Lily
's grammar, and appear to be the foundation of his.'
WE shall have occasion to give a further account of these year-books, when we come to speak of
R. Pinson,
who continued printing them a considerable time after
Winken de Worde
's death. As for the eleven grammars they are in one volume in the form of a very small quarto and neatly printed, and it is judiciously observed that they were printed above a century before that famous one of
Lylly,
which has been thought (and is still, by those who never heard of this edition,) to be the first grammar that ever was printed in
England.
FROM this large catalogue of
Winken de Worde
's works, it is plain that he must have been an indefatigable Printer; and that the chasms that frequently happen in some years must be owing to the books being either lost, or as yet undiscover'd; but more probably the former: and whoever considers that the greatest part of them were either school-books, classics, prayer-books,
&c.
(besides a vast number of popish ones, which might daily perish soon after the Reformation) and of how short duration the former are in the hands of school-boys and devotees such as that age abounded with, will rather wonder that so great a number of them have escaped the common fate of such performances. So that we may justly conclude, that the preservation of these books is more owing to the character and excellency of the Printer than of the authors, and to the neatness and correctness of the work, rather than the goodness or usefulness of the subject. After he was removed from
Westminster
to
London,
we do not hear of any other Printers at the former; if there were any, they were such whose works and memory in all probability died with, or soon after them.
The City of LONDON, MCCCCLXXXI.
THO'
Richard Pinson
be the first known Printer that set up his Press in this famous city, and all former annalists have ranked it in their list from his first edition, 1493; yet father
Orlandi
has since discover'd to us a much more antient one which was printed in
London, anno
1481, that is 12 years before the former; which makes me hope that time may still discover more, if not of older date, yet at least to fill up the chasm between this and the first of
Pinson.
For it is scarce to be supposed that
Westminster
should begin so soon to encourage the art, as we have seen in the last article, and that
London
should wholly neglect it. However, be that how it will, it is certain that if it was but slow in receiving it, it made ample amends for it afterwards, and that
Pinson
and
De Worde,
when he removed thither, gave a new life to it; so that in a little time there were several considerable Printing-houses set up in the most convenient parts of this large metropolis, wherein it has flourished and improved ever since. Some of those eminent Printers received likewise great encouragement from the Crown, particularly by patents for printing of Bibles, and other works, of which I shall give an account under the names of the Printers to whom they were granted.
N. B.
As
Caxton
printed all his works in the old letter, and
W. de Worde
in a mix'd character of Roman and Black, we have distinguish'd their works in the two former catalogues, from those that follow, by printing them in Italic: but, as the Roman types became by this time more common, we shall give the list of the following Printers works in that character.
THIS antient and curious edition above mention'd is as follows;
Valdesius super Psalterium Londini.
1481.
I. RICHARD PINSON. Anno MCCCCXCIII.
RICHARD PINSON,
alias
PYNSON, is the first known Printer in the city of
London,
no edition having been hitherto discover'd, except that anonymous one mention'd above, of older date than his dialogue of
Dives
and
Pauper
in 1493. Besides, as we have about 15 editions of his that are without date, we may more reasonably suppose that they were printed before than after this year, in which he began to put a date. He was brought up under Mr.
Caxton,
as well as
Winken de Worde,
and being become a thorough master of the art, went and set up a Press of his own at
Temple-bar,
as the inscription of his first edition shews. The friendship which he had contracted with
De Worde,
whilst these two wrought under
Caxton,
was so far from being disturb'd by any mutual emulation or rivalship, that it continued to their death; and it is thought that after their master's death,
Pynson
prevail'd upon him to leave
Westminster,
and to come and settle nearer to him, which he accordingly did. What makes this more than probable is, that the last edition of
Caxton
is dated, as we have shewn,
anno
1502, and the first that
De Worde
printed in
London,
as far as we have been able to discover, is dated 1503. These two were joined in the Printing of the king's year-books, as long as
De Worde
lived, which were afterwards continued by
Pinson;
and this is a sufficient testimony of his having been an excellent Printer, were there nothing else to assure us of it: for it is not to be suppos'd that he would have associated himself to any other.
Pynson
stiles himself Printer to the king in some of his editions, probably from a grant he had for the printing of those year-books above mention'd. For we neither find that he printed any bibles, or other books, for which patents were granted by the crown. I don't find that he used any rebus, but he either printed his name at length, or else only the two initial letters R. P. The list of his works is nothing so copious as those of his associate, tho' he continued Printing at least 34 years, as appears from the dates of his first and last edition, which makes me conclude that a great part of them are lost. Those I have been able to recover are as follow;
1. Dialogue of
Dives
and
Pauper
upon the X Commandements, emprinted by
Richard Pynson
at
Temple-bar
of
London,
V. day of
July.
1493.
2. Sulpitii Verulami opus grammaticum.
4to.
1494.
3.
Boetius
's Fall of Princes,
&c.
by
John Lydgate,
Monk of
St. Edmund's Bury:
1494.
4.
Gerson
's Imitation of Xt.
English'd
by
Atkinson.
4to. 1503.
5.
Navis stultifera,
or the ship of fools; done into
English
by
Barclay.
fol. 1509.
6. Liber intrationum. 1510.
7. An Exposition of the 7 penitential Psalms, compyled by the Ryghte Reverende Fader in God
Johan. Fyffer
D. D.
&c.
Bp. of
Rochester,
at the Exortation and Storyinge of the most Excellente Pryncesse
Margaret,
Countesse of
Rychemont
and
Darby,
and Moder to our Soveraigne Lord King
Henry
the Seventh, on whose Soule Jesu have Mercy. 1510.
8.
John Beckham,
Arch.
Cant. de summa Trinitat. & Fide Cathol.
1510.
9
Colet;
Dean of
Paul
's Sermon to the Convocation.
Lat. 8vo.
1511.
10. The Hist. Siege & Destruction of
Troy, English'd
by
J. Lidgate,
with Cuts. 1513.
11. Textus Alexandri,
&c.
1516.
12. The Kalendre of the newe Legende of
Englande,
compyled by Master
Walter Hylton,
emprynted at
London
in
Flete-strete,
at the signe of the
George,
by
Richard Pinson,
Prynter unto the King's Noble Grace, in the Yere of our Lorde God 1516, and endy'd in the last Day of
February.
1516.
13. Guil. Hormain. Vulgaria. 4to. 1519.
14. The Life of St.
Verburge. Virg.
4to. 1521.
15. Assertio Septem Sacramentorum adversus
Marin. Luther.
edita ab invictissimo
Angliae
&
Franciae
Rege, & de
Hyberniâ Henrico
hujus Nominis octavo. Apud inclytam urbem
Londinum
in aedibus
Pinsonianis,
an. M. D. XXI. quarto Idus
Julii,
Cum privilegio a rege indulto. Editio prima. 1521.
16.
Cutberd.
Tonstalis Ars supputandi. 4to. 1522.
17.
Froissard
's first Volume. 4to. 1523.
18.
Powel
's Propugnaculum summi Sacerdotii contra
Lutherum.
4to. 1523.
19.
Tho. Linacr.
de emendata Latini Sermonis structura. 4to. 1524.
20.
Froissard
's second Volume. 4to. 1525.
21.
Whittintoni
Vulgaria & de Institutione partium. 4to. 1525.
22. Olde Tenurs newly corrected. 1525.
23. Accidence. 1526.
24. Magna Charta. 8vo. 1527.
25. The Book of
John Bochas
on the Fall of Princes,
English'd.
1527.
26. Literarum quibus, &c. or K.
Henry
VIII's Epistolary Answers to
Luther.
8vo. 1527.
Those that follow are without date.
1.
Salust
translated by Syr
Alexander Barclay,
Priest, at the Commaundement of
Thomas
Duke of
Norfolke.
2.
Littleton
's Teners newe corrected.
3. Natura Brevium.
4.
Tonney
's Rules of Grammar,
&c.
5. How yong Scholers now adays emboldened in the Flyblown Blast of the moch vayne glorious pipplying Wind, whan they have delectably lycked a lytell of the lycorous Electurry of lusty Lernyng, in the moche studious Scole House of scrupulous Philology, countyng themselfs Clerkes excellently informed, & transcendingly sped in moche high conyng, & whan they have ones superciliously caught. By
Skelton
Poets Laureat. By
R. Pynson.
6.
Littleton
's Tenures.
French.
7.
Barclay
's Figure of Mother Church oppress'd by the
Fr.
King. 4to.
8. The Ch. of Evil Men, where Lucifer is head,
&c.
8vo.
9.
Henry
VIII's Answer to
M. Luther.
8vo.
10.
Bonaventure
's Life of J. Christ, translat. by
Caxton,
& reprinted. fol.
11. The Life of St.
Alborow Virg.
4to.
12. A Sermon preach'd long ago at
Paul's Cross, He that hath Ears to hear,
&c. 4to.
13. The Mirrour of good Manners,
&c.
fol.
14. Speculum Vitae Christi, or Mirrour of the Life of Christ.
15. The Destruction of
Hierusalem
by
Vespatian
and
Titus.
Printed by
Richd. Pinson
the King's Printer.
BESIDES these he printed a considerable number of Year, or Law-Books that pass'd under several Kings Reigns, as was hinted before; some with
Winken de Worde,
and others after his death; some with the dates of the Year and Month in which they were printed, and his name at the end, and some without either. However, it must be observed that a great part of the oldest of them have the name
(Guilelmus Rastell)
written at the head, by which we conjecture that they only printed them for him. For
Rastel
was Printer to the King, and a very considerable person at that time, and in great credit at Court upon the account of his having marry'd Sir
Thomas More
's Sister. So that it is very likely he had the Privilege of printing all these Royal Books, and gave them a sanction by prefixing his name to them, whilst the others only acted under him. What seems to confirm it, is that those earlier ones with
Pynson
's name mention only
Ex Officinâ Pynsonianâ;
whereas in those of later date he calls himself Printer to his Majesty, in which Office he probably succeeded
Rastell,
who died according to Dr.
Nicholson, an.
1536. Thus at the end of the 2d Edition of that of the 2 of
Edward
IV. We find this Colophon,
Explicit annus 2dus
Ed. iiij.
Townsend de novo impressus in Academia, &c. ac Impensis honesti viri
Richardi Pynson
Regii Impressoris.
These Year-Books were of different Bulks, tho' all Folio's, some of them containing but 4 on 5, others 10, 20, 50, and even as far as 90 Sheets. They are as follows;
Years of
Edward
III. 7th, 21, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43. 2d Edition, ditto 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50.
—Henry
VI. 2, 8, 9, 10, 12, 20, 21,
&c.
—Edward
IV. 1, 2, 3,
&c.
—Edward
V. 1.
—Richard
III. 2.
—Henry
VII. 9.
—Henry
VIII. 14.
WHETHER those that are wanting in the List are lost, or were printed by others, we cannot affirm, but more probably the latter; because we find some few printed by
Graston, &c.
But, as these are only of use to the Lawyers, this Specimen shall suffice. Those who want a more particular account of them, may have recourse to the
Lincoln's-Inn-Library,
where they are carefully preserv'd in a large wooden Chest.
II. WILLIAM FANQUE. MD IV.
William Fanque
stiles himself the King's Printer in the only Edition I have been able to find of his,
viz.
Psalterium ex mandato victoriosissimi
Angliae
Regis
Henrici
Septimi.
Per
Guillelmum Fanque,
Impressorem regium anno MD IIII. septimo
Februarii.
III. JULIAN NOTARY. MD XV.
We have two Editions of the same work printed by him,
viz.
1. The Chronicle of
England,
with the fruit of Tymes,
newly imprinted by me
Julian Notary,
dwelling in St.
Powlis
Churchyard, besyde the West-dore by the Lordes Palyese.
fol. in the yere M CCCCC & XV. 1515.
2. The same with Cuts,
&c.
reprinted an. 1537.
IV. HENRY PEPWELL. MD XXI.
The Dietary of ghostly health divided into twenty four Considerations. 4to.
London,
by
Henry Pepwel.
1521.
V. PETER TREVERIS. MD XXV.
Who lived in
Southwark,
d subsc
b
d the place of his abode as follows; Dwelling in the sign of the Wodow's in
Southwark.
We have but the three following Editions of his.
1.
Jherom
of
Brunswick
's Surgery. fol. 1525.
2. The
Polichronicon
corrected by
Winken de Worde.
fol. 1527.
3. The great Hearbal, with Cuts. fol. 1527.
VI. THOMAS BERTHELET. MD XXX.
T. BERTHELET was Printer and Bookseller to K.
Henry
VIII. had a Patent for printing the
English
Bible, and some other Books relating to the King's Divorce; the first of which has the following pompous Title.
1. Gravissimae atque exactissimae illustrissimarum totius
Italiae
&
Galliae
Academiarum Censu
ae, efficacissimis etiam quorundam Doctissimorum Virorum Argumentationibus explicatae, de Veritate illius propositionis,
videlicet;
quod ducere Relictam Fratris mortui sine liberis ita sit de Jure Divino & Naturali prohibitum, ut nullus Pontifex super hujusmodi Matrimoniis contractis sive contrahendis dispensare possit.
In Officina
Thomae Berthleti
Impressoris Regii.
4to. Londini,
mense
Aprili, An. 1530.
2. The same in
English,
translated and published by the King's Command, & printed by
T. Berthlet.
1531.
3. The same in
Latin
and
English.
8vo. by ditto. 1531.
4. The New Additions, by ditto. 1531.
5.
Salem
and
Bizance,
a Dialogue against Sir
Tho. Moore
's Apology. 8vo. 1533.
6. A Treatise writen by
Johan. Valerian,
a greatte Clerke of
Italy,
which is intitled in
Latin, pro Sacerdotum Barbis,
translated into
Englyshe,
with a Preface of the Translatour to the Reader. 8vo.
Londin.
in Aedibus
Tho. Berthleti.
1533. This is a scarce and curious Piece.
At the End of the Book is the Picture of
Lucrece,
with these Words in Capitals, LUCRETIA ROMANA. THOMAS BERTHELETUS.
Then follow these Words;
Endloss Grace, Blysse, Thankyng and Praysing unto our Lord God Omnipotent, by whose Ayde and Helpe this Translation was ended at
Berkeley, the vi daye of Feverer, the yere of
our Lorde,
M CCC LXXXXVII.
the yere of Kyng
Richard
the Second after the Conquest
XXII.
the yere of My Lordes Age Syre
Thomas Berkeley, that made me make this Translation XL VII.
7. De Contemptu Mundi, or Contempt of the World. 8vo. 1533.
8. Sir
Thomas Knight
's Translation of
Cyprian
's Sermon on Mortality. 8vo. 1534.
9. Additions to
Salem
&
Bizance.
8vo. 1534.
10.
Matthews
's Sermon at St.
Paul
's 8vo. 1535.
11. Barthol. de Proprietatibus Rerum. Cum Privilegio a Rege indulto. Translated into
English.
fol. 1535.
12. Dives & Pauper, a Dialogue on the 10 Comm. reprinted. 8vo. 1536.
13. Comparison of a Virgin and a Marry'd Woman. 8vo. 1537.
14. Sturmius's Epistle to the Cardinals and Bishops of
Rome.
8vo. 1538.
15. A Treatise, that by the King's Laws the Bishops of
Rome
have no Supremacy in
England.
8vo. 1538.
16. The Most Sacred Byble, which is the holy Scripture, conteyning the Old and New Testament, translated into
English,
and newly recognised with great diligence after most faithful Exemplars by
Richard Taverner. Dedicated to
K. Henry VIII.
with decent Humility.
Prynted at
London
in
Fleet street
at the sygne of the
Sonne,
by
John Byddel
for
Thomas Barthlet.
1539.
At the End are these Words;
To the honour and praise of God was this Byble prynted and fynished in the yere of our Lorde God. M D XXXIX.
A very scarce Edition.
17. St.
Cyprian
's Exposition of the Lord's Prayer, &c. 8vo. 1539.
18.
Henry
Ld.
Parker
's Declaration of the 94th Psalm. 8vo. 1539.
19.
Tonstal,
Bishop of
Duresm
's Sermons. 8vo. 1539.
20 Of
Guaccum
Wood against the
French
Pox, Stone, and Gout, 8vo. 1539.
21.
R. Taverner
's Recognition of the Bible. fol. 1539.
22.
Frontine
's Stratagems of War,
English'd.
8vo. 1539.
23. The necessary Erudition of a Christen Man, &c. 1543.
24.
Cope
's History of
Hannibal
and
Scipio.
4to. 1544.
25. St.
Tho. Eliot
's Banquet of Sapience. 8vo. 1545.
26.
Ant. Gisbie
's Answer to
Steph. Gardiner,
Bp. of
Winchester.
8vo. 1547.
27.
Erasmus
's Sermon on God's Mercy. 8vo. 1547.
The following are without date.
1. Dean
Colet
's Sermon to the Convocation. 8vo.
2.
Tho. Starkey
's Exhortation to the People to Unity,
&c.
3. A Dialogue between a Knight and a Clarck about Power.
4.
Erasmus
's treatise on
Pater Noster. English'd by a Young Win.
19 Years old. 4to.
5.
Ricardi Sampsonis
Regii Sacelli Decani Oratio contra Papam. 4to. in Pergam.
VII. WILLIAM RASTEL, Printer to the King, as was mention'd before, was an eminent Citizen of
London,
and a good Historian. We find an
English
Chronicle of his quoted by
Athen. Oxoniens. John Petit,
and other antient Historians, but now lost, in Dr.
Nicholson
's Opinion. He liv'd in St.
Bride
's Church-Yard,
Fleet-street.
M D XXX.
1. A Dialogue of Sir
Tho. More
touching the pestilent doctrine of
Luther
and
Tyndal.
Prented by
Willyam Rastel.
fol.
Lond.
1530.
2. Registrum Omnium brevium tam Originalium quam judicialium.
Londini
apud
Guillelmum Rastel.
Cum privilegio. 1531.
At the Beginning of the Book are these Words printed in Capitals;
Hunc librum Regiis litteris ne quis alius in hoc Regno impune imprimat infra septennium cautum est.
At the End of the Book thus;
Thus endyth thys Book callyd the Regyster of the Wrytyngs orygynal and judycyal. Prentyd at
London
by
Wyllyam Rastell,
and it is to sell in
Fleet street,
at the house of the sayde
Wyllyam,
or in
Poulys
Chyrch yarde, or els at
Temple-bar,
at the house of
Robert Redman.
Cum privilegio.
3. The second part of the Confutation of
Tyndal
's Answer by Sir
Tho. More.
Prentyd by
W. Rastel.
fol. 1533.
4.
Fabyan
's Chronycle newly prentyd. Cum privilegio. 1533.
5. A merry Play between the Pardoner and the Frere, the Curate and Neighbour
Patte.
4to. 1533.
6. The Apologye of Syr
Thomas More
Knyght. 1533.
Without date.
1.
German Gardiner
's Letter against
John Fryth
lately burnt. 8vo.
2. A New Commodye in
Englysh,
in manner of an interlude, ryght elegant and full of Craft and Rethoryke, wherein is shew'd and descrybed as well the Bewte and good properties of Women as their Vices.
VIII. ROBERT REDMAN, against St.
Dunstan
's Church in
Fleet-street.
MD XXX III.
1. A playne and godly Exposition or Declaration of the Crede, (which in the
Latin
tongue is called
Symbolum Apostolorum)
and of the X Commandementes of Goddes Law. 1533.
Newly made and put forth by the famouse Clerke Mayster ERASMUS of
Roterdame.
At the Requeste of the moste honorable Lorde,
Thomas
Erle of
Wyltshyre:
Father to the most gratious and vertuous Quene
Anne,
Wyf to our most gratyous Lorde Kinge
Henry
the viii.
Cum privilegio.
At the End thus;
Imprinted at
London
in
Flete strete
by me
Robert Redman,
dwellynge at the signe of the
George,
next to Saynt
Dunstone
's Churche.
Cum privilegio Regali.
2.
Otho
and
Othobone
's Provincial Constitutions. 8vo. 1534.
3. Mirrour of Xt's Passion, translated by
John Fruterer.
fol. 1534.
4. Sum of Xtianity out of the Scriptures. 8vo. 1536.
5.
Erasmus
in
Latin
and
English.
4to. 1538.
6.
Magna Carta
in
French,
whereunto is added more Status than ever was imprynted in any one Boke before this tyme: with an Alminacke & a Calender to know the Mootes. Necessarye for all young Studiers of the Lawe.
At the End thus,
Here endeth
Magna Charta,
and divers other Statutes. Imprynted at
London
in
Fleetstreet
by me
Robert Redman
dwellynge at the sygne of the
George
next to Saynt
Dunstones
Church. 1539. in 12mo. in the Front 1529. 1539.
7.
John Standish
against the Protestation of
Robert Barnes
at the time of his Death, by the Widow of
Robert Redman.
1540.
Without date.
1. Confession exhibited by the
Germans
to the Emperor
Charles
V. with
Milington
's Apology for it. 8vo.
2. Of the Lives of Priests, Canons, Clerks, and Church-Ministers. 8vo.
3. Sermon on the Child Jesus. 8vo.
4. Lantorn of Light. 8vo.
5. A Book of Medicine of King
Boetius.
4to.
6.
Littletons
Tenures.
7. The Paradox of
Marcus Tullius Cicero,
translated lately out of the
Latin
Tongue into
English
by
Robert Whittinton
Poet Laureat.
8.
Tho. Moulton
Doctoure of Dyvynyte, of the Order of
rere-Preachours
Myrrour or Glasse of Healthe, necessary for every persone to look in that will kepe theyr body frome Syckness of the Pestilence. 8vo.
The Author tells us that he wrote this Treatise whilst the plague raged.
9. Returna Brevium, vel si mavis, Rescripta Vice Comitum eum aliis scitû dignioribꝰ. 8vo.
At the End,
Rob. Redman me fecit.
10.
Littleton
's Tenures.
11. A Work for Housholders, by
Rich. Whitford.
12. The Year-Books printed by him are as follows;
24 of
Edward
III. 25 Sheets ½
40— 26 Sheets ½
And above 30 more.
At the End are the Words following;
Imprimé a
Londres
par moy
Robert Redman
le X. jour de
Marche
l'an de grace M CCCCC XXXIII. Cum privilegio Regali.
IX. JOHN BYDDEL. MD XXXIV.
1. Of the olde God and the new, of the olde Fayth and the newe, of the olde Doctryne and the newe, or the original Begyning of Idolatry; imprinted at
London
by
John Byddle,
at the Sign of our Lady of
Pise, &c.
M VC XXXIIIJ. the XX day of
June.
1534.
2.
Rob. Whittingtonus
de nominum Gener. 4to. 1536.
3. A Bible in
Engl.
fol. Printed by him for
Berthelet.
1539.
4. Of the olde and new God, olde and new Fayth,
&c.
8vo. 1539.
5.
Cupito
's Prayers and Meditations on the
Psalms, Eng.
8vo. 1539.
6. A Chronicle of Yeres from the beginning of the World, wherein ye shall find of al the Kinges of
England,
of the Mayrs & Shiriffs of the Citie of
London,
& briefly of many notable Actes done in & sith the reigne of Kyng
Henry
the fourth, newly augmented & corrected,
Anno Domini,
M VC XLII. by
John Biddle.
1542.
Without date.
1.
John Roberts
Master of Schismatick Bps. of
Rome.
8vo.
2. A Book of Feasts Royal and Cookery for Princes. 4to.
3. Accidentia ex Stanbrigiana Editione nuper recognita a
Whittinglono
Laureato.
4. A Seraphick Dirige of 7 Secrets granted to St.
Francis.
8vo.
5. The Lives of Pope
Hildebrand
and
Henry
IV. Emperour of
Germany.
8vo.
X. ROBERT WYRE. M D XXXV.
He lived at the sign of Saynt
John the Evangelyste
in Seynt
Martyn
's Paryshe in the Filds besyde
Charynge-Cross,
in the Byshop of
Norwytche
's Rents, as he says himself, and used to subscribe some of his Works, especially the Year-Books, with his name in large Capitals thus, ROBERT WYRE.
We have but one Piece of his that bears a sure Date, which is as follows;
1. The Deffence of Peace, lately translated out of
Latin
into
Englyshe:
with the Kynges moste gracious priviledge.
The Author, Marsilius
of
Padway. Imprynted and published, and set forth abrode in the
Englishe
tonge by
Wylliam Marshal,
who prays for our Soveragne Lorde Kynge
Henry the Eight,
of his most vertuous Lady Quene
Anne,
and of the Lady Pryncess
Elyzabeth,
Daughter and Heyre to them both.
1535.
N. B.
This Book appears by its date to have been published about the time when King
Henry 8.
had resolv'd to break with the Court of
Rome.
At the End are these Words;
Prynted by me
Robert Wyer
for
Wylliam Marshal,
&c. with the King's priviledge for 6. years.
2. The Debates between the Heralds of
England
and
Fraunce,
compyled by
Jn. Coke,
Clarke of the Kynge's Recognysances, or vulgarly called Clarke of the Statutes of the Staple of
Westmynster,
and finished in the year of our Lorde M D L.
At the End as follows;
1550.
Finished by me
John Coke le dernier jour Doctobre den yaer ons here duissent venf hundred negen en viertick
(that is
thousand five hundred and fourty nine.)
Finis Laudat opus. Imprinted by me
R. Wyer, &c.
Without date
3. Ten Places of Scripture against the Traditions of Men. 8vo.
4. Wm. Hunnis Abridgement of Meditat. on certain Psalms in meter. 8vo.
5.
Antithesis
comparing the Word of God and Mens Inventions by
Th. Beacon.
8vo.
6.
Antidotarius
or the way of making Salves, Ointments,
&c.
8vo.
7.
Macer
's Herbal. 8vo.
8.
Th. Linacre.
M. D. Compend. regimen of Health used at
Montpelier.
9. The Castle of Love, translated out of
Spanyshe
into
Englyshe,
by
John Bowrchier
Knyght, Lord
Bernes,
at the Instance of the Lady
Elyzabeth Carew,
which book treateth of Love betwene
Leriano
and
Laureola
Daughter to the Kinge of
Masedonia.
10. The Breviary of Healthe.
11. The Signs in the Zodiac.
12. Erra Pater.
13. A Piece of
Tycho Brahe
upon the Heavens.
14. A Year-Book for the 9th of
Henry
IV. printed by
Robert Wyre
dwellynge at the sygne of St.
John
the Evangelyst,
&c.
XI. THOMAS GIBSON. M D XXXVI.
A Treatise against the Pestilence, written by a
Danish
Bp. & Phisician. 4to. 1536.
XII. JAMES NICHOLSON, at
Southwark.
M D XXX.
1. Exposition on the 1. 2. & 3 Canonical Epistles of St.
John.
8vo. 1537.
2. The New Testament both in
Latin
and
Englyshe,
eche correspondente to the other after the Vulgare Texte communely called St.
Jerome
's, faithfully translated by
Johan. Hollybushe.
By
James Nicholson
dwellyng in
Southwarke.
1538.
3. Invectives against Cardinal
Wolsey,
by
L. R.
at
Wesel.
1546.
N. B.
Maunsel
affirms it to have been printed by
Nicholson;
no doubt but he compar'd it with some other of his Works, and it is certain that nothing was more common in those ticklish times than to date any dangerous Book from some place abroad, or to inscribe it printed—beyond Sea.
4. A Treatise of Measuring, without date.
The Title runs thus,
This Book sheweth the manner of Measurynge of all manner of Land, as well of Woodlande, as of Land in the Felde, and comptynge the true Nombre of Acres of the same, By Syr
Richard Benese,
Chanon of
Marton Abbay
besyde
London.
Printed in
Southwarke
by
James Nicholson.
XIII. THOMAS PETIT. MDXXXVIII.
1.
Longland
Bp. of
Lincoln
's Sermon before the King. 4to. 1538.
2. Treasure of poor men, a Book of good Medicine 8vo. 1540.
3. St.
Bernard
's fruitful Treatise of living well. Translated by
Th. Paynel.
8vo.
4.
Chaucer
's Works dedicated to
Henry
VIII. no date.
XIV. JOHN WAYLAND. MDXXXVIII.
1.
Nicholas Wise
's Chrystian Consolation, 8vo. 1538.
2.
James Chanceller
's Path to Obedience.
3. The Tragedies of
John Bochas,
translated into
Eng
she
by
John Lydgate,
Monke of
Bury.
without date.
XV. RICHARD GRAFTON. MDXXXIX.
RICHARD GRAFTON, Citizen of
London,
from an indifferent Author and Historian, became a famous and eminent Printer. Among other of his works under the former character, we have his Abridgement of the Chronicle of
England,
in which he is a constant borrower from the bulkier work of
Edward Hall
Recorder of
London,
who wrote the History of the Wars between the Houses of
York
and
Lancaster,
wherein the Reader will find little worth notice, if we may believe Dr.
Nicholson,
than the fashions and changes of Dress in each King's Reign. As
Grafton
was not over judicious in the choice of this Author, so neither was he in the compiling of his Abridgement; in so much that the learned
Buchanan,
in his History of
Scotland,
doth not scruple to call him
a very headless and unskilful Writer,
tho' he has had the honour of being quoted by
Stow,
and other Historians.
THE occasion of his turning Printer was his being pitch'd upon to procure an Edition of
William Tyndal,
alias
Hickins
Version of the New Testament, and afterwards of his Bible revised and corrected by
Myles Coverdal,
a learned
Franciscan
Fryar, well learned in the
Hebrew, Greek
and
Latin
tongues. Some impressions of the former had already been dispersed about
England
and elsewhere, but were bought up by
Tonstal
Bishop of
London,
and Sir
Thomas More,
and been burnt at St.
Paul's Cross;
and it was very dangerous to undertake the reprinting of such a work in
London
upon that account. This made
Grafton
and his associate
Edward Whitchurch
resolve to get it done at
Hamburgh,
whither they likewise sent
Coverdal
to correct the Press. This proved a very expensive work, and the impression of the Bible alone cost them
500l.
a great sum in those days. When it was brought over into
England,
it met with great opposition from the
Romish
Priests, they having some time before obtain'd a Royal Proclamation, to prohibit and abolish that among other heretical books; and, had not
Bonner
Bishop of
Hereford
bought up the greatest part of the Copies in order to destroy them, the undertakers must have been infallibly ruin'd. This Edition is suppos'd to have been printed
anno
1535.
HIS New Testament met with worse fate, of which we have an authentick testimony extant in the Library of the Honourable Earl of
Pembroke, viz.
two Editions of it printed at
Antwerp
in the same year,
viz. anno
1434, one of which has a Preface prefix'd to it, to justify that Edition, from the other of the same year printed under his name, but strangely mutilated and misprinted. A more particular account of which is given in the Introduction to
Wickliff
's Bible lately publish'd.
FINDING that a version of the Bible was as much desir'd by the favourers of the Reformation, as it was cry'd down by the enemies of it, they ventur'd to print a second edition of it under the patronage of Archbishop
Cranmer
and the Lord
Cromwell.
But
Tyndal
having been by that time burnt as a heretick in
Flanders,
and his name growing then somewhat ignominious, they thought fit to publish it under the name of
Matthews
's Bible, tho'
Tyndal
is affirm'd to have finish'd all but the
Apocrypha
as some, or as far as
Nehemiah,
as others affirm.
Grafton
having finish'd the printing of it presented it to his two great Patrons, by whom, at his request, it was likewise presented to the King to whom it was dedicated. It had these words in red letters printed at the bottom of the title-page
set forth with the King's most gracious licence.
But, as they were suspected to have been foisted in,
Grafton
obtain'd leave to have it further licensed under the privy seal. Soon after this it being observed how acceptable an
English
Bible was to the people, some persons form'd a design to print it in a smaller volume, in order to undersell
Grafton
's, which obliged him to apply to
Cromwell,
and to obtain a patent from the King, that none should print it for three years; and for the better sale of this, that noble man did likewise procure him an order that every Curate of a parish should be obliged to have one, and every Abby six of them; so that this second impression, wherever printed, was very soon bought up.
GRAFTON and his partners in the work observing that there was still a call for them, resolved to reprint it a third time, and in a larger volume, but without these notes and prologues which they observ'd had given some offence.
Paris
was the place pitch'd upon to print it at, and
Cromwell,
who favour'd the enterprize, procured letters from King
Henry
to the
French
King,
to permit a subject of his to print the
English
Bible in the university of
Paris,
because of the goodness of the
French
paper and workmen. Bonner,
then Ambassador from
England
to the Court, had likewise orders
to assist the undertakers of that good work in all reasonable suits. Bonner
obtain'd not only the desir'd licence, but likewise letters patents for printing this Bible, and for conveying it safe over to
England.
This edition, being thus encourag'd, went briskly on to the end; but
Bonner,
who never liked the work, and did only promote it to make his court to
Cromwell,
found means to obstruct it privately, notwithstanding the King's patents.
ACCORDINGLY,
anno
1438, the Printers were taken up, and charged with heresy, by order of the Faculty, and
Coverdale
the corrector,
Grafton
the Head Printer, and other
Englishmen,
who contributed to the charges of the impression, were sent for; but they foreseeing the consequences, fled away as fast as they could, and left the whole impression which was just finish'd, and consisted of 2500 Copies, behind them. This was immediately seiz'd by the Lieutenant Criminal, and order'd to be burnt, except some few which he sold, through covetousness, for waste-paper, which were afterwards bought up again, being about four fats or chests full.
MY Lord
Pembroke
favour'd me with the sight of an
English
Bible printed in
Gothic
characters,
an.
1537. without place or Printer's name, with these words at the end;
The end of the New Testament, and of the whole Byble.
¶ To the Honoure and Prayse of Gode was this Byble prynted and fyneshed in the yere of oure Lorde Gode. a M D XXXVII.
BUT whether this is one of them that were printed at
Paris,
or one of the former edition I cannot determine; but it is more probable to be the latter, because it has a Concordance of the most remarkable texts of Scripture against the errors of Popery: whereas, as I observ'd before, they had suppress'd most things of that nature in the
Paris
one. But let this be of what edition it will, it is very probable that the Concordance proved the cause of the almost total destruction of it, in so much that I question whether there be any other copy of it left except this above mention'd. However,
Grafton
and his associates, by
Cromwell
's encouragement, went soon after to
Paris,
and got the presses, letters and workmen, and brought them over to
London,
and so set up for Printers themselves, which they never intended before, and began to reprint the same Bible, which they finish'd in 1537; an account of which you'll find in the following list of
Grafton
's works.
His works are as follows.
1. The New Testament in
English
and
Latin.
8vo.
London,
printed by
Rich. Grafton
and
Ed. Whitchurch.
1439.
2. The Bible in
English,
that is to say, the contents of all the holy scripture, both of the Old and New Testament, truly translated out of the veryty of the
Hebrew
and
Greke textes,
by the dylygent studye of dyvers excellent learned men, expert in the foresayd tongues. Printed by
Richard Grafton
and
Edward Whitchurch.
Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. fol.
At the end is as follows;
1539.
Fynished in
Apryll, Anno
M CCCC XXXIX.
The Title is adorn'd with a noble piece of History, supposed to be done by
Holbein,
of King
Henry
8. Archbishop
Cranmer,
and Vicar-general
Cromwell,
with their Coats of Arms.
3. The Primmer in
Latin
and
English.
4to. Printed in the precinct of the dissolved house of Grey Fryars, by
Richard Grafton,
Printer to the Prince's Grace the VI. day of
Septemb.
M D XLIII. Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. 1543.
4.
Plutarch
's Precepts for the preservation of health. 8vo. 1543.
5. The Chronicle of
John Hardyng, &c.
with a Supplement in prose.
Londini ex officina
Ric. Graftoni,
mense Januario.
1543.
6. The Answer of
Charles fift, Emperour,
ever more
August,
unto the Letters Convocatory of
Paule the thyrde bishop of Rome,
concerning a general Councel to be celebrated at
Trident.
1543.
Ex officina
Rich. Graftoni 8vo. 1543.
With a remarkable Preface to the Reader.
7. The Primer in
English
and
Latin.
4to. Printed in the precincte of the dissolved house of Grey Fryars, by
Richard Grafton,
Printer to the Prince's Grace the VI day of
Sept.
M D XLV. Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. 1545.
8. An Abridgement of
Polidore Virgil
of the Divisers,
&c.
of Artes, by
T. Langley.
1546.
9.
Philip Gerard
's Invective against stopping the free passage of the
English
Bible. 8vo. 1547.
10. Certain Homilies or Sermons appoynted by the King's Majesty to be redde by all Persons, Vicars, or Curates, every Sondaye in their Churches where they have Cure. 4to. 1543.
11. Articles to be enquired into in the Visitation to be had within the Diocese of
Canterbury,
in the second yere of the Reign of our most dred Sovereigne Lord
Edward
VI. by the Grace of God King of
England, Fraunce
and
Ireland,
Deffender of the Faith, and in the Yearth of the Church of
England,
and also of
Ireland
the supreme Hedde. 4to. 1548.
12. Expedition into
Scotland
of the most worthy fortunate Prince
Edward
Duke of
Somerset,
Uncle to our most noble Sovereign Lord
Edward
VI.
&c.
by way of Diarie, by
W. Paten.
1548.
13. Alcoran of the Barefoot-Fryars. 8vo. 1550.
14.
John Marbeck
's Concordance of the Bible. fol. 1550.
15.
Hall
's Chronicle. fol. 1550.
Besides a number of Year-Books.
XVI. EDWARD WHITCHURCH. MDXXXIX.
HE was also one of the King's Printers, and a famous one. We have mention'd him already in the last article, as having printed,
1.
Coverdale
's New Testament
Lat.
&
Engl.
2. The
English
Bible. fol. with
Rich. Grafton.
The rest of his Works are as follows;
3. Earl of
Purlilia
's Precepts of War.
English'd
by
Philip Betham.
8vo. 1544.
4. A Treatise of Moral Philosophy, containing the Sayings of the Wise, gathered and
Englyshed
by
Wylliam Baldwyn. London,
Imprinted by
Edward Whitchurch,
the 10 day of
January.
8vo. 1547.
5.
Christ. Langton
's Treatise of Naturals and Non-naturals,
&c.
8vo. 1547.
6.
Melancton
upon weighing & considering the Interim.
English'd
by
John Rogers.
8vo. 1548.
7. Paraphrase on St.
Paul
's Epistles and
Revelations,
by several hands. fol. 1549.
8. The Booke of the Common Prayer and administration of the Sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the Church; after the use of the Church of
England.
Londini in Officina
Edouardi Whitchurch,
cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. Anno Do. 1549,
Mense Junii.
1549.
The King's Majestie by the advise of his most dear Uncle the Lord Protector, & other his highness's Counsel, strictly charg
th & commaundeth, that no manner of Person do sell this present booke bounde, above the pr
ce of ii Shyllynges & ii pence the piece. And the same bounde in paste or in boordes, not above the price of three Shyllynges & VIII pence the piece.
God save the King.
Imprinted at
London
in
Fleet-street,
at the signe of the Sunne over against the Conduyte by
Edward Whitchurch,
the XXVI daye of
June,
the year of our Lord 1549.
9. Epistle of Consolation and Advertisement to the Duke of
Somerset
before his troubles, and translated by him in his Imprisonment. 8vo. 1550.
10.
Edmund Allen
's Catechism. 8vo. 1550.
11. Form of Common Prayer used at
Geneva,
with
Calvin
's Catechism. 8vo. 1550.
12. Paraphrase on the Gospels and Acts.
English'd
by
N. Udal.
fol. 1550.
XVII. WILLIAM MIDDLETON. MDXXXIXI.
Richard Whitford,
a Brother of
Sion,
his Treatise on Patience, and the Lets and Impediments to Perfection. 4to. Imprinted at
London
by me
Wylliam Middleton.
1541.
XVIII. JOHN MAYLER. M D XXXIXII.
1. A Sermon, that no Man can be hurt but by himself. 8vo. 1542.
2. Necessary Doctrine & Erudition for a Christen Man. By the King. 8vo. 1543.
XIX. JOHN DAY. M D XXXIXVI.
HE was a curious and diligent Printer; how soon he began to print is not easy to guess, because I find several of his editions without date. He continued printing till the year 1575; however, I shall carry the list of his works no farther than 1550.
1.
R. Crowley
's Confutation of
Nich. Saxton,
Bishop of
Sarum.
8vo.
London
1546.
2. A godly Meditation upon xx select and chosen Psalms of the Prophet
David, &c.
4to. By Sir
Ant. Cope.
Dedicated to Quene
Catherine.
1547.
3. Heavenly Acts of Parliament made by Father, Son and Holy Ghost, how Men ought to live. 8vo. 1547.
4.
John Bancroft
's translation of the
Basil
Preacher's Answer. By
J. Day
and
W. Seres.
1548.
5. Confutation of
Miles Hoggard
's Ballads in defence of Transubstantiation. 8vo. by
J. Day
and
W. Seres.
1548.
6. A simple and religous Consultation about making a present Reformation till God send a better by a general Council,
&c.
1548.
7.
Fr. Lambert
's Judgment against the Freedom of Man's Will. 8vo. 1548.
8.
Rob. Hutton
's Sum of Divinitie. 1548.
9. A Warning against the Anabaptists. 8vo. by
J. Day
and
W. Seres.
1549.
10. St.
Austin
's 12 Steps to Abuses, by
J. Day
and
W. Seres.
1550.
11. An Apology of
Johan. Bale
agaynste a rank Papist, answering both him and his Doctors, that neyther their Wowes, nor yet their Priesthood, are of the Gospel but of Antichrist. 8vo. 1550.
12. Homilies on the 6th of St.
John.
8vo. 1550.
13. Confession of the Christian Faith, with respect to God, the King,
&c.
4to. 1550.
14. Exposition of
Daniel
's Prophecies out of
Melangton, &c.
1550.
Without date.
1. Expostulation against a phrentic Papist of
Hamshire.
8vo.
2.
Basil
the Great to
Gregory Nazianzen
about a Monastic Life.
3. 25 Sermons on Predestination.
English'd
by a Gentlewoman. 8vo.
4. Communication between a poor Man and his Wife,
&c.
8vo.
5. Brief Exhortation in the time of Visitation.
6. Auncient Testimonies about the Faith of the Church of
England
about the Sacrament. 8vo.
7. A verie familiare and fruitefull Exposition of the Apostles Crede, made in Dialogues, wherein thou maiste learne all Things necessarie to be beleved, Compyled by
Peter Viret
a
Frenchman,
and translated into
Englishe.
8vo.
8.
Thomas Norton
's Warning against the dangerous practices of Papists, and specially the Parteners of the late Rebellion.
Lond.
by
John Day,
no date, but supposed to be printed about the year 1549. 4to.
XX. JOHN HERTFORD. M D XXXIXVI. at St.
Alban
's.
HE printed at first at St.
Alban
's, and we have two editions of his printed there, one without date, and the other done in 1538, of which we need not give any further account here. What I have been able to recover of his Works, after he removed to
London,
is as follows;
1.
Richard Smith,
D. D. Defence of the Sacrament of the Mass. 8vo.
London.
1546.
2.
Stephen Gardner
Bysshoppe of
Wynchester
's Declaration of such true Articles as
George Joye
has gone about to confute as false. 4to. 1546.
Without date.
1. St.
Jerom
's Exposition. Printed at
London
in
Aldersgate-street,
by
John Hertforde
for
Robert Toy.
2. The Epistles and Gospels, in 4to. by
John Hertforde
in
Aldersgate-street.
The following was printed by his Widdow.
The Censure and judgement of the famous Clark
Erasmus
of
Roterodam;
whyther Dyvoursemente betwene Man and Wyfe stondeth with the law of God, with dyvers Causes wherefore it is permitted; with the mynde of the olde Doctours,
&c. London,
Prynted by the Wydowe of
John Hertforde
for
Robert Stoughton,
without date. 8vo.
XXI. ROBERT TOY. MD XXXIXVI.
1.
Stephen Gardner
Bishop of
Winchester
's Declaration of such true Articles as
George Joy
hath gone about to confute as false. 4to. 1546.
2. Detection of the Devil's Sophistry,
&c.
8vo. 1546.
3. Of the Resurrection of the Dead, and last Judgment, by
John Clarke.
4to. 1547.
Without date.
4. The Workes of
Geffray Chaucer
newly printed, with dyvers workes whiche were never in Print before.
Imprinted at
London
by
Robert Toy.
fol.
N. B. There was afterwards a much fuller Edition of
Chaucer's
Works publish'd by
John Stowe,
and printed by
John Kyngston
for
John Wight, in 1561. fol.
XXII. NICHOLAS HILL. MDXLVI.
John Clark
's Declaration of certain Articles and capital Errors,
&c.
8vo. 1546.
XXIII. WILLIAM SERES. MDXLVI.
WILLIAM SERES was a very eminent Printer, curious and correct; but he was much excell'd by his Successor and Assignee
Henry Denham,
who kept the sign of the
Star
in
Pater-Noster-Row,
and became an extraordinary Master of his Art, not only for his wonderful Correctness, but for the beauty of his Types, whether
Greek, Roman, Italic,
or
Gothic,
of which he had a great variety of sizes as neat and beautiful as any now in use. I have seen a Dictionary of his printed in 1580, under the title of An Alviarie (Beehive) or a quadruple Dictionarie in
Greek, Latin, French,
and
English;
which I think a masterpiece of art for beauty and correctness, as well as great rarity for its order, method, and disposition, it being the only one of that kind I ever met with.
As for
William Seres
he lived without
Aldersgate,
and went partner in some works with
John Day,
and in some with
Ant. Scholoker;
as the list of his works doth shew, which is as follows.
1.
Robert Crowley
's Confutation of
Shaxton
's Recantation. Printed by
W. Seres
&
J. Day.
1546.
2.
Bancroft
's Translation of the
Basil
Divines on the Lord's Supper. By ditto 1548.
3. Confutation of
Miles Hoggard
's Ballad in defence of Transubstantiation. By ditto. 1548.
4.
Peter Viret
's Collection of Scriptures which explain the Lord's Prayer. 8vo. By
Seres
&
A. Scholoker.
1548.
5. A Warning against the Anabaptists 8vo. with
Day.
1549.
6. St.
Austin
's 12 Steps to Abuses,
&c.
8vo. ditto. 1550.
Without date.
7. The Tryal, Examination, & Death of Sir
John Oldcastle.
8vo. with
A. Scholoker.
8. Private Prayers for every Day of the Week, first printed in King
Edward
's days. 8vo.
9. The right Institution of Baptism, by
Herman
Archbp. of
Cologne.
By
Anthony Scholoker
&
Wyllyam Seres,
dwelling wythout
Aldersgate.
XXIV. REYNOLD WOLF. MDXLVII.
HE was chosen Printer to the King
(Edward
IV.) for the
Hebrew, Greek
and
Latin
tongues. His Patent, which is extant in
Rymer's Faedera,
15 Vol. p. 150, is dated from
Westminster April
19, 1547. But I have not been able to meet with any thing done by him in any of those learned languages. His other works are as follows.
1. Dr.
Smith
's Declaration upon his Retraction at St.
Paul's Cross.
8vo. 1547.
2. A Deffence for Marriage of Priests by Scripture and auncient Writers,
before the
Bishop of Rome
by his wicked decrees ordeined the contrary;
made by
John Pouel,
Doctour of Divinite. Imprinted at
London,
by
Reynold Wolf.
Cum serenissimi Regis privilegio. 8vo. 1549.
3. Ant. Corvinus's Postils on the Gospels of Sundays & Holydays. 4to. 1550.
4.
Coverdale
's New Testament conferr'd with that of
W. Tindal.
8vo. 1550.
5. Defence of the Catholick Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood,
&c.
4to. 1550.
6. Injunctions of
Nicholas Ridley
Bishop of
London
to his Diocese. 4to. 1550.
1. Advertisements partly for the order of publick prayer, and partly for regulating the Ministers apparel. 4to.
2. An Answer to Doctour
Smith
's Calumnyes in his confutation of the said book. 8vo.
XXV. WILLIAM POWEL. MDXLVII.
At the sygne of the
George,
next to St.
Dunstan
's Church, in
Fleet-street.
1. A Treatise of Justification by Faith, translated by
Nich. Lesse.
8vo. 1547.
2. The Fall of the late
Arrian.
8vo. 1549.
3. The Voice of the People against such Parsons, as fly away from their Cures. 8vo. 1549.
4. St.
Augustin
to
Pollentius
against adulterous Marriages. 8vo. 1550.
5.
Anto. Ascham
's Treatise of Astronomy, and of Medicines under each planet. 8vo. 1550.
6. Proverbs or Adagies gathered out of the
Chiliades
of
Erasmus,
by
Richard Taverner,
as well
Latyn
proverbs as
Englyshe. London,
Imprinted by
Willyam Powel
XX day of
April. anno
M D L. 1550.
7. The A B C set forth by the King's Majesty
(Hen.
viij) & his Clergy, & commanded to be taught out all his Realm, and all other utterly set apart, as the Teachers thereof tender his Grace's favour. 8vo.
London,
by
Willyam Powell.
without date.
XXVI. HUMPHREY POWEL. MDXLVIII.
1. The Harvest is at hand. By
John Champneis.
8vo. 1548.
2. The Sin & abominable Blasphemy of the Mass. 8vo. 1548.
3.
John Proctor
's Fall of the late
Arrian.
8vo. 1549.
4. The ordinary fashion of good living. 8vo. no date.
XXVII. GUALTER LINNE. M D LXVIII.
1.
Richard Bonner
's Treatise of worshipping Christ in the Sacrament. 8vo. 1548.
2. Archbp.
Cranmer
's Catechism. 8vo. 1548.
3.
Urban. Regis
Epistle to his friend about the causes of Church Controversy. 8vo. 1548.
4.
Bern. Ochinus
's Dialogue of the unjust Supremacy of the Pope. 4to. 1549.
5.
Peter Martyr
's Epistle to the Duke of
Somerset.
8vo. 1550.
6.
John Ponet
's Sermon before the King. 8vo. 1550.
XXVIII. WILLIAM HILL. M D XLVIII.
1.
Heron. Bodin
's Collection out of St.
Austin
de Essent. Divinitatis. 8vo. 1548.
2. The Endightement of Mother Mass, by way of Dialogue. 8vo. 1548.
3. The Soul's solace against Sickness & Death. 8vo. 1548.
4. Sum of the H. Scripture about Xtian Faith, Baptism, & gospel-life. 8vo. 1548.
XXIX. THOMAS RAYNOLD. M D XLVIII
1. Declaration of God's power in the Sacrament against the Mass. 8vo. 1548.
2. Lesson of the Incarnation of J. Christ. 8vo. 1549.
3. The Bible translated by
Tho. Mathews, anno
1537, & new imprinted by
Tho. Raynold
&
Will. Hyll.
1549.
4.
John Mardey
's Instructions to the Rich and Covetous. 8vo.
Addenda to the Article of GRAFTON.
We are since inform'd that the Edition of the
New Testament
against which
Tyndal
justifyes himself in the Preface mentioned
pag. 370.
was a third Edition privately printed under his name in the same year and place by
Joyce,
and designedly corrupted, in order to make him pass for a Heretick, as he shows in that Preface, which was the occasion of his publishing this second Edition in the same year.
XXX. ANTHONY SCHOLOKER. M D XLVIII.
1. Sermon on the Keys & Absolution.
English'd
at
Ipswich.
8vo. 1548.
2.
Zuinglius
's Instructions of Youth. ibid. 8vo. 1548.
3.
Scholoker
's Translation of
Peter Viret
's Collection of Scripture-places explaining the Lord's Prayer. 8vo. with
W. Series.
1548.
4.
John Olde
of the old Faith of
Great Britain.
8vo.
5.
Pyor
's Plowman's Exhortation unto the Lordes, Knightes & Burgoysses of the Parlyment-house.
Lond. temp. Ed.
VI.
XXXI. ROBERT STOUGHTON. M D XLVIII.
1. Two Epistles of
Henry Bullinger,
and two of
Calvin
about assisting at the Mass. 8vo. 1548.
2.
Urban. Regius
's Comparison between old and new Learning. 8vo. 1548.
3. The Censure and Judgement of the famous Clark
Erasmus
of
Roterdam;
whyther Dyvoursement betwene Man and Wyfe stondeth with the law of God, with dyvers Causes wherefore it is permitted; with the mynde of the olde Doctoures,
&c.
4.
Peter Martyr
's Judgment of the Lord's Supper. 4to.
XXXII. ROBERT CROWLEY. M D XLIX. an Author and Printer.
1. Voice of the Trumpet, containing 12 Lessons for 12 several estates in meter. 1549.
2. A New Year's Gift, wherein is taught the knowledge of God, of our self, and the fear of God, worthy to be geven and thankefully receyved by all Christen men. 1549.
3. Psalter of
David.
1549.
4. Voice of the Trumpet,
&c.
1550.
5. Battery of the Pope's Boteveux, or the high Altar. 8vo. 1550.
6. The Way to Wealth, teaching a most present remedy for sedition. Wrytten and imprinted by
R. Crowley. Lond.
1550.
7. Lady
Eliz. Fane
's Psalms and goodly Meditations, with 102 Proverbs. 1550.
8. Prologue for the understanding of the Bible.
It is by Crowley intitled the Pathway to Knowledge.
8vo. 1550.
9. An Information and Petition against the Oppression of the pore Commons of this Realme,
&c.
to the Parliament. no date.
XXXIII. WILLIAM TILLY. M D XLIX.
Coverdale
's Testament. By
Wylliam. Tilly,
dwellynge in St.
Anne
&
Agnes
Parishe at
Aldrishgate.
1549.
XXXIV. RICHARD KELE. M D XLVX.
1. Translation of a
Dutch
Prognostication out of the Script. and Proph. 8vo.
London, Rycharde Kele.
1549.
2. Image of Both Pastors, by
Zuinglius.
8vo. By
Richard Kele
&
W. Seres.
1550.
3. Exposition on the Epistle of St.
Jude.
8vo.
4. Mirrour or glass of Helth, 8vo. nedeful for every person to loke in that wyll kepe their Body from the Sykenesse of the Pestylence, and it showeth how the planets do raygne.
XXXV. ANDREW HESTER. M D L.
The
English
Bible corrected and revised by
Miles Coverdale.
4to. 1550.
XXXVI. JOHN CAWOOD. M D L.
John Cawode
or
Cawood.—
I can find but one of his works extant, tho' he was appointed by the King to print the Patents. His Patent is in
Rymer's Faedera,
and the Book is,
A spiritual and most precious perle,
&c.
Dedicated to
Edward
Duke of
Somerset.
A most fruitfull Treatise of behaviour in the danger of Death.
Somerset-Place,
6
May,
1550.
XXXVII. RICHARD JUGGE. M D L.
1.
Tertullian
's 2d. Book to his Wife about the choice of a Husband and Wife. 8vo. 1550.
2. The New Testament of King
Edward
VI.
3. Whether it be mortal sin to transgress the Civil Laws, with the judgement of
Melangton
and other Divines thereupon. 8vo.
XXXVIII. RICHARD CHARLTON. M D L.
A Treatise of all the Arguments of the Old and New Testament. 8vo. 1550.
XXXIX. STEPHEN MIERMAN. M D L.
The Market or Fair of Usurers, a new Pasquil or Dialogue against Usury,
&c.
8vo.
Lond.
by
Steph. Mierman.
1550.
XL. JOHN TISDALE.
Sermons on
Jonas.
8vo. 1550.
Abridgment of
Polydore Virgil.
BESIDES these we meet with a Patent in
Rymer's Faedera,
Vol. XIV. pag. 745, granted to
Stephen Merlar
for the sole printing the
English
Bible. It is dated at
Westminster, March
12.
an.
1542. but I never could meet with this Bible, nor any other of his works. I found moreover about half a score more who printed for, or under some of the more eminent masters above mentioned, some of whose works have dates, and others not, beside a very considerable number of other anonymous editions, not worth swelling this list with.
The City of
YORK.
M D XVI.
I have seen in the late Mr.
Rawlinson
's library the following edition printed at
York,
viz.
Whyttintonus de Concinnat. Grammat. & Construct. 4to. Eboraci
1516.
THIS is the only one I have seen or heard of printed there so early, and did not the Types convince me of its being an ancient piece, I should have thought that the date had been misprinted,
i. e.
1516 for 1616.
At
CAMBRIDGE.
M D XXI.
THIS University seems to have given but small encouragement to the Art of Printing, either by the earliness of its reception, or the continuance of it there. Mr.
Maittaire
tells us that he has not been able to meet with any thing printed there of earlier date than 1521, and all that either he, the late Mr.
Bagford,
or any of my correspondents from thence have been able to procure, is only four editions, all printed in the same year, by
John Siberch,
and one in 1522 without Printer's name, though probably done by him. This
Siberch
used to put the King'sarms to the title of his books, and to style himself in some of them,
Primus utrius
que
linguae in
Anglia
impressor,
meaning
Greek
and
Latin.
These Editions are as follows;
1. Libellus de conscribendis Epistolis Autore
D. Erasmo
opus olim ab eodem caeptum, sed primâ manu, mox expoliri caeptum sed intermissum, Nunc primum prodit in lucem. 1521.
Apud praeclaram
Cantabrigiensem
Academiam.
Cum gratiâ & privilegio.
At the End,
Impressum
Cantabrigiae
per
Joannem Siberch,
Anno
M D XXI.
mense
Octobri.
It is dedicated by
J. Siberch, Cantabrigiensis Typographus
to
J. Fisher,
Bishop of
Rochester.
2.
Henry Bullock
's Oration against Cardinal
Wolsey,
by dicto. ib. 1521.
3.
Lepidissimum.
Luciani opusculum
Henrico Bulloco interprete
Oratio ejusdem cum annotationibus marginalibus
Ex praeclara Academiâ
Cantabrigiensi
An. M D XXI.
At the End,
Impressum est hoc opusculum
Cantabrigiae
per
Joannem Siberch,
&c.
4. Galeni de temperamentis & de inequali intemperie libri tres. Thoma Linacro Anglo interprete. 4to.
per
Jo. Siberch,
apud praeclaram
Cantabrigiam. 1521.
5. Papyrii Gemini
Eleatis
Hermathena, seu de Eloquentiae victoria. 4to. ex praeclara
Cantabrigiâ.
1522.
Tavistock
in
Devonshire.
M D XXV.
The Boke of Confort called in laten
Boetius
de consolatione philosophie. Translated into
Englesse
tonge.
At the End thus, Here endeth the boke of Confort called in latyn
Boecius
de consolatione phil. Emprented in the exempt Monastery of
Tavestok
in
Denshyre
by me
Thomas Rychard
Monk of the said Monastery. To the instant desyre of the ryght worshypful Esquyer Mayster
Robert Langdon,
Anno D' MDXXV.
Deo gratias Robertus
Langdon.
This is supposed to have been
Esq
Langdon
's Mark.
JOHN OSWIN at
Ipswich
and
Worcester.
MDXLVIII.
1. Mind or Opinion what a Xtian ought to do that duells with the Papists. 8vo. By
John Oswin
at
Ipswich.
1548.
2.
Christopher Hegendorphine
's houshold Sermons.
English'd
at
Ipswich.
8vo. 1548.
3. Of the true Authority of the Church. ibid. 16o . 1548.
4.
John Ecolampadius
's Epistle against respect to persons. 16o . ibid. 1548.
5. Invective against Drunkenness. ibid. no date.
6.
Hegendorphine
's houshold Sermons. 8vo. at
Worcester.
1549.
7. The Book of Common Prayer,
&c.
fol. ibid. 1549.
8. Spiritual Matrimony between Xt and his Church. 16o . ibid. 1549.
9. Consolatory for all Xtians. 8vo. ibid. 1549.
10. Dialogue between the seditious Anabaptist and the true Xtian about Obedience to Magistrates,
&c.
8vo. ibid. 1550.
11. Short Pathway to understand the Scriptures.
English'd
by
John Vernon.
8vo. ibid. 1550.
12. St.
Ambrose
of Oppression. Translated by
John Oswin;
intitled Poor
Naboth
oppressed by rich
Ahab.
no place's name.
JOHN MYCHEL.
THOUGH this Printer put no dates to these few Editions of his I have been able to meet with, yet they seem both by the language, types,
&c.
to be older by much than 1550.
1. Two Dialogues of
Erasmus
in
English.
Translated by
Ed. Beke.
8vo. Emprynted by me
John Mychel,
dwellynge in St.
Paules
Parysh in
Canterbury.
8vo.
2.
Randal Hurleston
's Dialogue against the Papists. 8vo. at
Canterbury.
3.
Lan. Ridley
of
Canterbury
's Exposition of the Epistle to the
Philippians.
8vo.
N. B.
I designed to have enlarged this Catalogue with the compleat list of all the curious editions of the most ancient Printers, such as printed only from Manuscripts as I have seen in my Lord
Pembroke
's library,
&c.
but am glad to find that Mr.
Maittaire
has been beforehand with me in favouring the world with it in his
Annales Typographici.
IN the conclusion of the second book of this History, pag. 257. I ventur'd to affirm after
Orlandi
and other Annalists, that the invention of ingraving began much about the same time with that of Printing; but I have been since convinced, that the former began much earlier, from a curious collection which my Lord
Pembroke
was pleased to show me, in which the whole progress of that invention is set down in writing under each print. Having therefore obtain'd his Lordship's leave to copy it from his own book, and to give it a place in this work, I think I cannot better conclude this History than by obliging the curious with this valuable collection.
AN APPENDIX To the GENERAL HISTORY of PRINTING of BOOKS: BEING AN ADDITIONAL HISTORY OF THE RISE and PROGRESS of
PRINTS,
Which are Incus'd.
Exactly copy'd from the R. H. the Earl of
Pembroke
's curious Book of those PRINTS, in which each Piece hath its own particular account of its manner,
&c.
in Manuscript, in a right progressive order, as follows.
1. ANTONIO POLLAIOLOLO nat. 1426. ob. 1498.
Baldinucci
says that he engraved the Battle at
Florence
about 1460, and that
Andrea Montegna
graved his Triumph at
Rome
soon after his being there. They both graved upon Pewter. The former printed his name on it thus,
Opus Antonij Pollaiololo Florentini.
2.
Israel van Meckenem
his own Effigies.
3. This
Israel van Meckenem
is by some authors called
Van Mecklin
&
Mentz
&
Moguntin. Lomazero
says he was the first that engraved; he was Master to
Bon Martino,
who was Master to
Albert Durer,
whose first Print was a Copy after this of
Israel
's
an.
1497. and as
Baldinucci
says
Israel
did not engrave till he had seen the Triumph of
Ant. Montegno, anno
1467, which is the oldest date that any author has mention'd, and the termination being
Spanish,
shows that the art spread very soon.
4.
A. M.
was, as is supposed,
Andrea de Murano
1412. This Print is upon that mixt metal on which Goldsmiths used to engrave their first proofs. It is now likewise used by other artists. Founders call it the hard metal, and Printers the Type-metal, tho' the latter has a greater proportion of Iron. The other materials are Lead, Block-tin, and Regulus of Antimony.
Albert Durer
began by copying of old Prints, as you will see when you come to him; this Print is older than that of 1467, which stands by it, which was taken to be the oldest of any one with a date by the author, who mentions this for want of knowing of that. As for the year 1412 above mention'd it agrees with the time in which
A. de Murano
flourish'd; and
Baldinucci
speaks in one place as if other authors were uncertain how near 1400 the invention of Prints was. Yet he seems to say that
Maso Finiguerri
was not long before
Pollaiololo,
who follow'd
Baccio Baldini,
who imitated
Maso
the inventor of Prints, by taking off some from engraved silver work to see the impression: but, unless he did so some years before, this Print must be older.
5.
Andrea Montegna
N. 1431.
an.
1517. The next after
Pollaiololo
who engraved in
Italy.
His best works were after the Antique. But this first is none of the nine which he composed from the Antiques.
6. The sixth in order of his painting. This is his original Print; they have since finished (within these outlines) the Prints that are commonly sold for it.
7. This was printed when they used the smoke of a candle instead of
mp-black ink.
8.
Mich. Angelo
on silk. This is only from a drawing, the painting of which has much more in it, and is to be seen in my Lord's Gallery. This is the first Print that is not upon Paper.
9. The
Suavius
was the first Print done on two Copper-plates. This Print, besides the blue ground, has the figure of old
Time
clipping
Cupid
's wings. After this
Perrier
did engrave this, and then the five more on three Copper-plates, as
Carpi
did upon wood.
10. The Head of
Lutma
the Father, done with the hammer; the black and white disposed contrary to Mezotinto.
Per Janum Lutma.
11. In this
John Lutma
has added graving to the hammering.
12.
Jacobus Lutma
mixed etching with engraving.
13.
Venus
and
Mavors (Mars)
by
Joannes Collaert.
This is the only Print that ever was graved on Steel.
14.
Dominico Campagnola,
the first that printed with red on a black ground.
15. This manner, which was invented in
Germany,
differs from all Prints, because the ink rises upon the paper.
16. This, done by
J. S.
(as in the shield) came from
Venice;
the lines are not engraved, but made by Points.
17. Four Mezotinto's varying from the common manner of those Prints. In this the figure (our Saviour on the Cross) is engraved, the rest is done in Mezotinto, the other three are each in a different colour.
18. Mr.
Tayler
a Painter, who improved the printing of Stuffs in
Holland,
he invented this Art of printing in colours; and Mr.
Le Blond
(though he might take the hint from this) has further improved it by printing his pieces so as to look like painting; the first that he did in this kind was after the
Baroccio
in my Lord
Pembroke
's gallery.
19. The first Print of
Martin Sch
n, (al. Chon,
as the
French
write and pronounce it) and called
Bon Martino
by the
Italians, Bon
being a kind of a translation of
Sch
n;
which in the
High-German
signifies
sine
beautiful. Martin
was Master to
Albert Durer,
but learned his Art at first by copying after the Print next to it of
Israel van Meckenem.
20.
Israel van Meckenem.
This is the only one of his that has the place's name,
viz. Tzù
(at)
Boackholt.
21. The first Print of
Albert Durer
1497, which is a Copy after
Israel
's. He engraved this also upon Pewter.
Albert Durer nat.
1470,
ob.
1528, was famous for cutting on Wood, and all other manners of ingraving, as may be seen by these four that follow,
viz.
1st. Engraved on Pewter, which was his first manner.
2d. Cut on Wood, and on three planches.
3d. Engraved on Copper, in which he was the first and the best, and was imitated by
Mark Antonio.
4th. Etched, being the first of that kind.
22.
Maso Finiguerra,
a Goldsmith at
Florence,
the inventer of Prints, tho' he made no Print till after
A. Pollaiololo. Albert Durer
copy'd this so as to stand the same way as the Original. They stand each by the other in the book.
23.
Albert Durer
made this piece in imitation of the oldest Print, which was graved,
anno
1412.
24. This bears the oldest date of all his, whether on Wood or Copper. This is also dated 1502, but the mark differs from his usual mark.
25. If
Hugo Carpi
was the inventor of Printing upon three planches, he must have been very young; for he was but 18 years old when
A. Durer
did this in 1522, which is the Head of
Ulricus Var
buler
very large from three planches, with his own name to it
Albert Durer.
26. The first Print etch'd upon Iron by
A. Durer.
27. Another of his of
anno
1518, in which he perfected the Art of etching on Iron, even before
Parmigiano;
tho' this last in
Italy
is affirmed to have been the first Etcher.
28.
Albert Durer
before his he used a mark, the manner of this
that of his Master.
29. The first Print on Copper by
A. Durer,
with his mark before he began to date; this is his first manner.
30. This is without cross-strokes;
Melaine
's manner is a fine improvement of this.
31. This piece is dated 1502, and bears the oldest date either on Copper or Wood.
32. One of 1504. This
Adam
and
Eve
were the chief of his last manner, vastly neat, and imitated by
Marc Antonio
in
Germany.
This is reckoned more scarce than his St.
Jerom.
33. The St.
Jerom.
This the
Bolonia
edition of
Vasari
calls
La Maraviglia,
or the prodigy of Art.
34. The last piece that
Durer
engrav'd. It is the head of
Erasmus,
and is dated 1526.
35. A Crucifix engraved on a golden head of the Emperor's Cane. It was sold for 150 Gilders, and is the only Print taken from Gold; that of
An. Caracci
is only from a silver salver. My Lord has it: there is but this one Print of it, which he took off as a proof before it was gilt.
36. The famous Bag-piper by
Lucas van Leyden.
This is the Original, which was sold for 60 Duccatoons. The Copy, which stands next to it, is pretty scarce. These two, and that on the gold cane, were on one Cartoon in the
Arundel
Collection.
N. B. Incused
is the proper term to signify those plates which bear the ink between the lines of the graving, as
excused
is of those that have it on the face of the line. Thus the prints in the
Paginae Conglutinatae
were
excused,
but those of
Albert Durer incused,
he being the first inventor of this manner, as being cheaper, and easier cut than upon copper.
The following is a List of XVI Volumes of DRAWINGS and PRINTS in the same Library relating to the same subject as the former, and copy'd from the Manuscript-Titles of the Books themselves.
THESE DRAWINGS and PRINTS consist but of a very few, in comparison of many numerous collections; for here are chiefly
Italian
designs, and only one of each master, to see the variety of manners, except of the most noted
Italian
masters a pretty many, and all of such
Italian
Painters, as also themselves graved, etched, or cut in Wood: of original Drawings here are but two volumes of 220;
Italian
Painters (except a few who were also esteem'd in
Italy)
in a chronological order, The 1st Vol. has 200 Painters, one of each; the 2d Vol. has 20 of the chief Painters, of each five, but of
Rasael Urbin
and
Correggio
20 of each. As to Prints,
Marolles
had more than 50 times as many. In his 1st book he says he had above 120,000; and in his 2d he added about 50,000 more. (The King of
France
has since bought them). But he gathered all, and of all sorts that he could find, well or ill preserv'd: as for intire books graved, there are very many, but here are only those of
Italian
Painters, antiquities excepted; as for loose Prints, only 14 volumes, as follows.
IN the first 4 volumes of Prints are above 1500, each by a different master, ending with
Edelinck, Andran,
and their disciples, engraving and etching being brought to perfection by them.
Vol. III. but the first of PRINTS.
Part I.
The Introduction comprehends the first inventors of all the different manners, many of them now disus'd, or the Art lost.
Part II.
Gravers, all of
Italian
Pictures.
Vol. IV.
Part 1.
Etchers, all of
Italian
Pictures.
2. Cut on Wood, all of
Italian
Pictures.
3. Mezotinto, all of
Italian
Pictures.
Vol. V.
Gravers by Pictures of other nations not
Italian.
Vol. VI.
Part 1.
Etchers, by Pictures of other nations not
Italian.
Part 2.
Cut in Wood, by Pictures of other nations not
Italian.
Part 3.
Mezotinto, by Pictures of other nations not
Italian.
Vol. VII.
The 17 chief Gravers, their principal Prints all after
Italian
Paintings of
Rafael Urbin,
and all that they graved.
Vol. VIII.
23 Etchers, who were also Painters; and at the end are all that
Ang. Caracci
graved, the other two
Caracci
's being in this book.
Vol. IX.
12 More noted Etchers who were also Painters; most of these are famous for Landskips, and some also for little figures.
Vol. X.
The 5 chief Artists who cut in Wood, and only after great
Italian
Painters, all that they did both single, and as intire books.
Vol. XI.
All these are after
Rafael Urbin
by many Gravers and Etchers, different from those before-mention'd, at the end of which are many Drawings by
Santo Bartholi,
after such of
Rafael
's Pictures as were never graved, he intending, had he liv'd, to have graved them, they were sold by his Widow. Of
Raphael
and the following three, here are collections of single Prints also, the other great Painters have been graved chiefly in entire books.
Vol. XII.
All these are after
Correggio,
both single Prints, and as entire books.
Vol. XIII.
All these are after
Guido Rheni
of single Prints.
Vol. XIV.
All these are after
Barocci:
but the 2d part is of the
Arundel
collection, only of the
Italian
historical Pictures or Drawings.
Vol. XV. in two parts.
The heads of
Vandyke,
both those which he etched himself, and that were done by others, of which here are above 300. Part I. hath 100 of them, 19 of which are etched by
Vandyke,
the rest of the 100 are of M.
Vander Enden.
Vol. XVI.
Single Prints of Antiquities, and chiefly those by
Lafreri,
being by the largest scale, as well as before they were mended, and some are also as mended, by which one may compare what parts were truly antique; I have also the book of
Lafreri
with the Title-page, but tho' scarce, and of an old date, yet after these, some body got an imperfect collection of some of his Plates, and mix'd them with others of less value.
These Volumes of DRAWINGS and PRINTS my Lord tells me were collected by his Father, except some few, agreeable to his design, which were afterwards added by my Lord himself, especially such as related to the origine of Prints.
AN ALPHABETICAL and CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE Of all the CITIES and PLACES in which the
ART of PRINTING
Began to be exercised before the Year 1500, and in ENGLAND to 1500.
The first Number is the Date of their first known Edition, and the second is the Page in which they are mention'd.
A.
ABBEVILLE
an.
1486
pag.
252
Alban St.
an.
1486
pag.
327
Alost
an.
1487
pag.
215
Amberg
an.
1471
pag.
191
Angoulesme
an.
1493
pag.
256
Antwerp
an.
1485
pag.
250
Aquila
an.
1482
pag.
245
Argentina, al.
Stratzburg
&
Argentoratum an.
1458
pag.
183
pag.
299
Augusta Vindelicorum, alias
Ausburgh an.
1466
pag.
121
Avignon
an.
1497
pag.
257
B.
BAMBERG
an.
1499
pag.
257
Barcelona
an.
1494
pag.
256
Basil
an.
1475
pag.
216
Bergamo
an.
1498
pag.
257
Boisleduc
an.
1487
pag.
253
Bolonia
an.
1471
pag.
186
Brescia
an.
1474
pag.
214
Brudges
an.
1477
pag.
231
Brussels
an.
1478
pag.
242
C.
CAEN, al.
Cadomus an.
1480
pag.
243
Cambridge
an.
1521
pag.
386
Canterbury
an.
1550
pag.
389
Ceulen
an.
1480
pag.
243
Colle
an.
1471
pag.
191
Cologn
an.
1470
pag.
178
Coscence
an.
1478
pag.
242
Cremona
an.
1485
pag.
250
D.
DAVENTER, alias
Deventria an.
1472
pag.
209
Delft
an.
1477
pag.
232
Dole
an.
1492
pag.
255
E.
ERFORD
an.
1482
pag.
245
Esling
an.
1475
pag.
228
Eychstadt
an.
1488
pag.
253
F.
FERRARA
an.
1471
pag.
197
Florence
an.
1471
pag.
193
Friburg
an.
1493
pag.
256
G.
GAETA
an.
1488
pag.
254
Gaunt,
Gandavum an.
1483
pag.
246
Geneva
an.
1478
pag.
242
Genoa,
Janua an.
1474
pag.
213
Gentia,
Genzano an.
1480
pag.
243
Goude
an.
1479
pag.
243
Granada,
Grenata an.
1496
pag.
256
H.
HAGENAW
an.
1489
pag.
254
Harlem
an.
1485
pag.
250
Hasselet
an.
1481
pag.
244
Heidelbergh
an.
1485
pag.
251
Herbipolis,
Wortzburgh an.
1481
pag.
240
Hispal, alias
Sevil an.
1491
pag.
255
I.
INGOLSTADT
an.
1492
pag.
255
Ipswich
an.
1548
pag.
388
L.
LANGRES
an.
1482
pag.
245
Leipsick,
Lipsia an.
1484
pag.
249
Leiden
an.
1497
pag.
257
Ligniz
an.
1481
pag.
244
Liria
an.
1494
pag.
256
Lisbon,
Ulisipone an.
1491
pag.
255
London
an.
1481
pag.
352
Louvain,
Lovanium an.
1473
pag.
210
Lubeck
an.
1475
pag.
230
Luneburg
an.
1493
pag.
256
Lyons,
Lugdunum an.
1477
pag.
233
Lypswick,
vid.
Leipsick
M.
MADRID
an.
1494
pag.
256
Magdeburgh
an.
1494
pag.
ib.
Mantua
an.
1472
pag.
208
Memmining
an.
1483
pag.
246
MENTZ,
Moguntia
& seq. 115 & seq.
an.
1457
pag.
71
Messina
an.
1486
pag.
252
Milan,
Mediolanum an.
1470
pag.
180
Mirandula
an.
1496
pag.
256
Modena
an.
1488
pag.
253
Mountferrat
an.
1496
pag.
256
Mount Real, or Royal
an.
1481
pag.
244
Munster,
Monasterium an.
1486
pag.
252
N.
NAPLES,
Neapolis an.
1471
pag.
191
Nurembergh,
an.
4172
pag.
199
Norimberga
O.
OXFORD
an.
1468
pag.
321
P.
PADUA,
Patavium an.
1472
pag.
209
Pampelona
an.
1496
pag.
256
Paris
an.
1469
pag.
165
Parma
an.
1472
pag.
207
Pavia
an.
1478
pag.
242
Pignerol
an.
1475
pag.
228
Pisa
an.
1482
pag.
245
Placentia
an.
1475
pag.
228
Provinz
an.
1497
pag.
257
Q.
QUILAMBOURG
an.
1480
pag.
243
R.
RATISBON
an.
1471
pag.
191
Reggio,
Regium an.
1481
pag.
244
Reutling
an.
1469
pag.
140
Rimino,
Riminium an.
1486
pag.
252
Rome
an.
1467
pag.
122
Rostoch
an.
1476
pag.
231
Rouen,
Rothomagum an.
1488
pag.
253
S.
SIENA
an.
5489
pag.
254
Sevil,
vide Hispal
Soncino
an.
1484
pag.
246
Spire,
Norimagium an.
1477
pag.
232
Stratzburgh,
vide Argentina
Subiaco
an.
1465
pag.
120
T.
TAVISTOCK
an.
1525
pag.
387
Thessalonica,
an.
1493
pag.
256
Salonich
Toledo
an.
1486
pag.
252
Toulouse
an.
1488
pag.
253
Treviso
an.
1471
pag.
189
Tubingen
an.
1488
pag.
253
Turin,
Taurinum an.
1474
pag.
213
Turon, Gall.
Tours an.
1467
pag.
139
V.
VALENTIA
an.
1475
pag.
230
Venice
an.
1461
pag.
140
Verona
an.
1472
pag.
206
Villa St. Albano
an.
1480
pag.
244
Vienna,
Vindebona an.
1484
pag.
250
Vincentia
an.
1475
pag.
229
U.
ULMS
an.
1473
pag.
212
Urbino
an.
1414
pag.
250
Utrecht,
Ultra-trajectum an.
1473
pag.
212
W.
WARTZBURGH,
Vid. Herbipolis
Wesiminster
an.
1474
pag.
327
Worcester
an.
1548
pag.
388
YORK
an.
1516
pag.
386
ZWOL
an.
1479
pag.
243
FINIS.
Explicit Liber quartus
Dialogorum Gregorii.
Finding in this Book of My Lord's, that what was in Red was Printed, made me Print what I have say'd of it; but my Lord, not approving of it, I promised to Print at the end of the Errata what his Lordship had writ at the beginning of his Book, as follows:
I bought this Book, because it is Printed before they made use of Matrices to cast single Letters. From the variation of the Shapes of the same Letters, it appears to be Wooden Movable Types: As for the Red I told the man, that I believ'd there was some Cheat in it, because I had some Months before such a Book, printed without the Red, brought to me by an other Person, who ask'd me more for it then I car'd to give. The Paper has the Bull's Head, on which
Faust,
&c. printed, and is reckon'd to be older than any dated by
Faust,
and so older than the Date here in Red.