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140
HISTORY OF PRINTING.
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He spared no cost nor pcuns in procuring the beat manuscripts, and always desired the judg- ment of the learned before he ventured to print them. The great Jodocus Badius says that he was indeiatigible in printing the best copies faithfully, neatly, and correctly. And John Andreas Endters affirms that he kept daily twenty-four presses at work, and employed no less than an hundred journeymen, whom he maintained without doois. They had a set hour to come to work and to leave on : he admitted none individually into his house, bnt obliged them to wait at his door until they were all together, and they were admitted, and entered upon their respective employments.
He was likewise a considerable bookseller, and kept a spacious printing-house at Lyons, in Fiance, whei^he had sundry law-books printed. He had, besides, factors and agents in every considerable city in Christendom, and kept six- teen open shops, with a vast number of ware- houses : all of which were stocked with the most correct editions published. Almost all his books relate to the canon law, and to theology ; and are distinguished for the lustre and magnificence of their execution. Of thirty-seven editions printed by him, thirteen are of the Bible, viz. twelve in Latin, and one in German, all in folio. Most of the Latin editions were accom- panied with the postills of De Lyra. But his most superb work was the edition of the German Bible, which he printed in 1489, folio. This is said to be the first German Bible printed at Nu- remberg; and is pronounced by Lichtenberger to be uie most splendid of all uie ancient Ger- man Bibles. It IS embellished with impressions from the very cdrious wood-cuts which had been previously used for the Cologne edition of the Bible, pnnted by Quentel, in 1480, and which were also employed in the Bible printed at Hal- berstadt, in the Low Saxon dialect, in 1522: and it is worthy of remark, that in one of the large wood-cuts employed by Koburger, the pope is introduced as being the principed of the fallen angels! The paper, characters, press-work, — ^all concur to prove this Bible a masterpiece of typographical excellence.
1472. The art of printing was introduced into the following places in this year : —
John de Verona set up a printing-press in the city of Verona.
Parma received the art of printing from Stephen Corali.
George and Paul de Burschbach introduced printing into Mantua.
Richard Pafradius, at Derventer.
Padua received it from Bartholomew de Val de Zachio.
Alost, in Flanders, received the art by Theod. Martens ; followed by John de Westphalia.
1473. Gunther Zainer is considered as having introduced printing into Ahgsburg ; unless that honour should be conceded to John Bemler, who is supposed to have been the printer of a Latin Btble in 2 vols. fol. in 1466. From De Murr we learn, that in an old book of entries of
benefiBctors to the Carthusiaa monaster Buxheim,' there is one of the date of __ which the name of Gunther Zainer occniiTw the printer and donor of certain jvorts, and among others of "the Bible in the vulgar tongue," (German,) " in super-royal form." Another entry informs us of the death of Gim- ther Zainer in 1478 — " impressor libiorum, cinis Augustensis benefactor hums domus," " piintei of b«oks, citizen of Augsburg, benefactor to this house."
1473. Melchior de Stamham, wishing tD es- tablish a printing office in the abbey of St.Ulric, at Augsburg, engaged a skilful workman of the same town, of the name of Saurloch. ODevhole year was occupied in making the necessary pre- parations. He bought of John Schnesseler five presses, which cost him seventy-three Kheuish florins (about two hundred and ninety Uvks of the present value;) he constructed with these materials five other smaller presses : cast pewter types, aijd commenced printmg in the year 1474. The Mirror of Vincentut de Beauvait. was tie first fruit of his press ; but he died shordv after the completion of the third part of it. fle had spent not less than seven hundred florins in es- tablising his oflice, and putting matters in a train for work. His successor, Henry de Stamham, finding the concern greatly involved sold the three parts of the Speeulttm for twenty-fo»r florins. — Lambinet, cited by Dibdin.
Almanacks compiled nearly in their present lorm by John Muller, otherwise RegiomontaDus, a printer at Nuremburg. — ««e 1476.
1473. Id this year Pierre Cssaris and Jean Stol, both also natives of Germany, and isstmct- ed by Gering, established in the city of Patis the second pre8»: and with him became the in- structors or many other artists, who in succeed- ing years exercised there the same profession.
It is doubtful to whom the merit of inventing printing ink should be ascribed ; most writeis ascribing the invention to Gutenberg, some, how- ever, give the merit to Polydore Virgil. Many experiments doubtless were made before ink ofs proper substance and quality was discovered, to which circumstance the following lines probabh allude, which are found at the end of the Decretatt printed by Schoeffer, at Mentz, in the year 1473.
Ast ■trunentom proliat hoc non ease cadnciuii Cerotnmoe rapax, ant clDenlU oqiu.
Qoamllbet In fluida carta non Uqnitar anda Tetra, neque atrior hoc taUit in arte Utuor.
1473. Printing introduced into the following places during this year : —
Brescia, by Thomas Ferrandus.
Messina, by Heniy Aiding.
Ulm, by John Zamer, of Reutlingen.
Buda, received the art by Andrew Hess.
Laugingen, printer's name not known. ' Merseburg, by Lucas Brandis.
Utrecht, by Nicholas Ketelaer and Gerard de Leempt.
Lyons, by Bartholomew Buyer.
S. Ursio, a small place near Vicenza, by Jo- annes de Rheno.
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