This bible was published by Erasmus of Rotterdam and printed by Johannes Froben in 1519 in Basel, Switzerland. Photo: Swiss National Museum

It was a no lesser figure than Erasmus of Rotterdam who, in his Adagia (1st ed. pub. 1500), sang a song of praise under the heading “Festina lente” (make haste slowly) to the two Humanist printers Aldus Manutius of Venice and Johannes Froben of Basel, both of whom had accomplished a great deal through their efforts to promote the literature of Classical Antiquity: What Aldus set in motion in Italy — for he passed away, while his successors continue to profit from the fine reputation associated with his name even today — is now being pursued north of the Alps by Johannes Froben with no less fervor than Aldus and by no means unsuccessfully, although, as no one can deny, with much less profit.

Froben not only specialized in the literature of Classical Antiquity, he also became Erasmus’ house printer. The Friesian scholar Wigle fen Aytta fen Swigchem (Vigilius ab Aytta Zuichemus), who was staying in Basel in 1533 saw that as the reason why Froben gained recognition beyond the borders of his own country. Regardless of whether Froben’s name stood for Classical authors or for Erasmus, or both, there can be no doubt that the retention of the program of printed works for years on end supports the conclusion that correspondingly large numbers of the titles in question were produced. The demand for those books remained more or less stable, and the printers of long sellers claimed that field and those authors to a certain extent as their own property, from which good money could be earned. The substantial editions, some of which were published in several thousand copies thus ensuring sales over an extended period of time, required sufficient storage space, which was not always readily available or affordable, as indicated, for example, in correspondence with the printer Johannes Oporinus of Basel.

The famous book-printing centers in the age of incunabula, including Augsburg, Basel, Cologne, Lyon, Paris, and Venice, maintained their leading roles in the book business. Newcomers to the group were Wittenberg and Geneva, the cities in which the Reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin did most of their work and were most often published. Antwerp rose to the status of a commercial metropolis, as reflected in book production as well, and London dominated the growing English market. Following the bloody Spanish occupation of the Southern Netherlands, various printers escaped from Antwerp to the freer north in 1585 and made Amsterdam the new book-printing center, which would later come to full bloom in the seventeenth century.

Barbara Bonhage

My Nazi grandmother