234
HISTORY OF PRINTING.
versifies where the doctrines of Luther were sup- posed to prevail ; and, with a view to destroy Luther's version of the New Testament, purchased as many copies of it as he could collect, and severely punished such of his subjects as refused to deliver them up.
1522. John Siberch, the person who intro- duced the art of printing into Cambridge, is supposed to have been born at Lyons, in France, where he learned the profession, and came to this country, like many other foreign typographers, to better bis fortune. He styled himself the fint Greek printer in England; vet, though there are some Greek letters in his books, there is not one that is whollv in that character ; and the types he used in his first work very much resembled Caxton's largest Notwithstanding a favourable licence* for the encouragement of the press, no books appear to have been printed at Cambridge after this year, to the year 1684, the space of sixty-two years. Siberch used this device on the books he printed at Cambridge.
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1523. Printing was introduced into the city of Amsterdam about this period ; and the many splendid editions of classical works which we possess from its presses, are evidences of the perfection to which the art has there been car- ried. William Janson Blean, one of its emi- nent printers at the early part of the seventeenth century, (a notice of whom will be given at that periodO and who is well known by several beautinilly executed volumes of diminutive size, enjoys the additional reputation of having intro- duced very considerable improvements into the structure of the printing-presses in use in his day. The first edition of^ LuUier's J<!ew Tetta- ment, translated into Dutch, is given by Panzer as the earliest specimen of printing Rom this place. It is observed by Bacnmeister that Rus- sian types were used at Amsterdam in the year 1699. — Santander, in the supplement to his Dic- tionnaire Bibliographique, adduces something like proof that t3rpography was exercised at Am- sterdam during tiie fifteenth century, a circum- stance not generally noticed. He had in his possession a small 8vo. volume, called Tractatus fratiU Dionytii de conversione peccatorit, which
- In July US*, Ung Hemjr Vin. gnmted to tbia nnlvcr-
Bity for ever, under his great inl, authority to name, and to have three stationers, or printers of boolis, alyanti and ■tnngen, not born wiUiin, or under his obedience, and they to be reputed anil taken as Hmw^t
was printed in this city, and appeared to exhibit all the marks of the filteenth century. He gives the colophon in £ac-simile at page 518 of bis third volume.
1523. A decree of the university of Cambridge relative to bookbinders, booksellers,andstationers, provides, " that every bookbinder, bookseller, and stationer, should stand severally bound to the university in the sum of £40, and that they should from time to time, provide sufScient store of all manner of books fit and requisite for the furnish- ing of students ; and that ail the books should be well bound, and be sold at all times upon reason- able prices."— flieom*.
At this period, the trades of printers, binders, stationers, and booksellers, were exercised, as at the present time, by the same persons.
1525. A printing office was established abont this time in the city of Cantebbuky; but no name or date is in the book supposed to have been printed there.
1525. Tavistock. Here was an exempt mo- nastery of Benedictines, whose abbot was a lord of parliament, and whose house was exempted from all jurisdiction except that of the pope. A school for the study and preservation of the Saxon langruage was established here, which was dis- continued about the period of the Reformation. Several of its abbots wei'e learned men ; and the encouragement in literature is evident by the introduction of printing at so early a period. The first book which was printed was Tnomas Walton's translation of Boethius, by the desire of the ladv Elizabeth Berkelev : with the follow- ing colophon, "The Boke of Comfort, called in IjiitinBoenutdeContoUtione Pkuosopkie. Em- prented in the exempt monastery of Tavutok in Demkyre. By me tkm Thomas Ry chard, monke of the sade monastery. To the irutant detyre of the ryght worshypfull esquyer Mayster Robert Langdon, anno damini MDXXV. Deogracias." It is in octave rhyme. Two copies, but neither of them perfect, are in the Bodleian library ; and a perfect one is in that of Exeter college.
A book, called theZ^on^GVamTmir, was printed at Tavistock, but no copy of it has been found. Among other productions of the same press, was printed the Stannary laws.
1525. The first person who suffered for em- bracing the tenets of Lutherianism in France, was Jean le Clerc, a wool-carder, at Meux, and who was denominated the restorer of the churches of Metz and Meux. Le Clerc had distinguished himself, by pulling down from the walls the bulls and mandates, and affixiiig in their place placards describing the pope as antichrist ; for which he was whipped and branded. After this, he again offended as an image breaker ; and for this latter crime, he was routuated, crowned with hot iron, and thrown into the flames.
1526. Jacob a Liesveldt, a famous printer at Antwerp, published an edition of the Belgie Bible, translated by certain learned men, whose names unfortunately have not been transmitted to us. The numerous editions of this transla- tion, printed by the same person, have gained
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