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{{Short description|Swiss printer, publisher, and humanist}}
{{Short description|Swiss printer, publisher, and humanist (died 1527)}}
[[File:Hans Holbein the Younger - Johannes Froben.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Johann Froben by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], 1522–23. Froben commissioned many book illustrations from Holbein.]]
[[File:Hans Holbein the Younger - Johannes Froben.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Johann Froben by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], 1522–23. Froben commissioned many book illustrations from Holbein.]]
[[File:Printer's Device of Johannes Froben.jpg|thumb|''Printer's device of Johann Froben'', by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], ''c.'' 1523]]
[[File:Printer's Device of Johannes Froben.jpg|thumb|''Printer's device of Johann Froben'', by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], ''c.'' 1523]]
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'''Johann Froben''', in [[Latin]]: '''Johannes Frobenius''' (and combinations), (c. 1460 – 27 October 1527) was a famous printer, publisher and learned [[Humanism|Renaissance humanist]] in [[Basel]]. He was a close friend of [[Erasmus]] and cooperated closely with [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]. He made Basel one of the world's leading centres of the book trade. He passed his printing business on to his son, [[Hieronymus Froben|Hieronymus]], and grandson, [[Ambrosius Frobenius]].
'''Johann Froben''', in [[Latin]]: '''Johannes Frobenius''' (and combinations), (c. 1460 – 27 October 1527) was a famous printer, publisher and learned [[Humanism|Renaissance humanist]] in [[Basel]]. He was a close friend of [[Erasmus]] and cooperated closely with [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]. He made Basel one of the world's leading centres of the book trade. He passed his printing business on to his son, [[Hieronymus Froben|Hieronymus]], and grandson, [[Ambrosius Frobenius]].


==Early life and printing partnership==
==Biography==
Froben was born in [[Hammelburg]], [[Franconia]]. After completing his university career at Basel, where he made the acquaintance of the famous printer [[Johann Amerbach]] (c. 1440 — 1513), Froben established a printing house in that city about 1491, and this soon attained a [[Europe]]an reputation for accuracy and taste. In 1500, he married the daughter of the bookseller Wolfgang Lachner, who entered into a partnership with him.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} It was part of Froben's plan to print editions of the [[Greece|Greek]] Fathers.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Between 1496 and 1512 he was in a printing alliance together with Amerbach, and [[Johannes Petri (printer)|Johannes Petri]] for larger projects like collected works of [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Das Haus zum Sessel|url=https://unigeschichte.unibas.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Das_Haus_zum_Sessel.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=26 August 2021|website=[[University of Basel]]}}</ref> In 1507 he bought Amerbachs printing house.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last=Müller|first=Christian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vU5tQgAACAAJ|title=Hans Holbein the Younger: The Basel Years, 1515-1532|publisher=[[Prestel]]|year=2006|isbn=978-3-7913-3580-3|pages=296|language=en}}</ref>
Johann Froben was born in [[Hammelburg]], [[Franconia]] and appears the first time at the workshop of the printer of [[Anton Koberger]] of [[Nuremberg]] in 1486.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Hilgert |first=Earle |date=1971 |title=Johann Froben and the Basel University Scholars, 1513–1523 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4306069 |journal=The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=144 |doi=10.1086/619934 |jstor=4306069 |s2cid=143916969 |issn=0024-2519}}</ref> He moved to Basel in the 1480s.<ref name=":1" /> He graduated from the [[University of Basel|University in Basel]], where he made the acquaintance of the famous printer [[Johann Amerbach]] (c. 1440–1513). Froben established himself as a printer in that city about 1491, when he published the first manageable bible in the [[Octavo|octavo format]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Sebastiani |first1=Valentina |last2=Ricketts |first2=Wendell |date=2014 |title=Froben Press Editions (1505–1559) in the Holdings of the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies Library: A Brief Survey |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43446603 |journal=Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=217 |jstor=43446603 |issn=0034-429X}}</ref> He soon attained a European reputation for accuracy and taste. In 1500, he married the daughter of the bookseller Wolfgang Lachner, [[Gertrude Lachner]], who entered into a partnership with him.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} It was part of Froben's plan to print editions of the Greek Fathers.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} In 1492 he printed [[Johann Heynlin]]'s ''Resolutorum Dubiuosum.<ref name=":3" />'' For the books [[Decretum Gratiani|''Decretum'']] (1493) by [[Gratian]] and [[Decretals of Gregory IX|''Decretales'']] (1494) by [[Pope]] [[Pope Gregory IX|Gregory IX]] he employed [[Sebastian Brant]] as an editor.<ref name=":3" /> Between 1496 and 1512 he was in a printing alliance together with Amerbach, and [[Johannes Petri (printer)|Johannes Petri]] for larger projects like collected works of [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Das Haus zum Sessel|url=https://unigeschichte.unibas.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Das_Haus_zum_Sessel.pdf|access-date=26 August 2021|website=[[University of Basel]]}}</ref> The printing partnership would be known as the ''Three Hannsen''<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Wallraff |first=Martin |date=2013 |editor-last=Lanfranchi |editor-first=Corina |title=Gut zum Druck! by Schwabe Verlag |url=https://issuu.com/schwabeverlag/docs/9783796529177-4120 |access-date=2022-12-20 |page=32 |publisher=Schwabe |language=en |isbn=9783796529177}}</ref> (Hannsen meant as an abbreviation of Johannes). In 1507 he bought Amerbachs printing house in the [[House to the chair|House to the Chair]].<ref name=":0" /> But the partnership ended as by 1513, Petri and Amerbach had died.<ref name=":2" />


== Printing career ==
⚫
Froben was friends with [[Erasmus]], who lived in his house when in Basel, and not only had his own works printed by him from 1514,<ref name=":8" /> but superintended Froben's editions of [[Jerome]], [[Cyprian]], [[Tertullian]], [[Hilary of Poitiers]] and [[Ambrose]]. His printing of Erasmus' ''[[Novum Instrumentum omne|Novum Testamentum]]'' (1516) was used by [[Martin Luther]] for his translation.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} He and later his son have published more than 200 works by Erasmus of Rotterdam.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last=Müller|first=Christian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vU5tQgAACAAJ|title=Hans Holbein the Younger: The Basel Years, 1515-1532|publisher=[[Prestel]]|year=2006|isbn=978-3-7913-3580-3|pages=296|language=en}}</ref>
In 1513, he carefully published a copy of Erasmus ''[[Adagia]]'' with a cover designed by [[Urs Graf]] depicting the gods [[Nemesis]] and [[Caerus]] with an allegory of a triumphant [[Humanitas]] in a chariot pulled by [[Homer]] and [[Demosthenes]] and pushed by [[Cicero]] and [[Virgil|Vergil]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=1513 |title=Erasmi Roterodami Germaniae decoris Adagiorum chiliades tres, ac centuriae fere totidem |url=http://www.e-rara.ch/bau_1/12665446 |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=www.e-rara.ch |language=en}}</ref> In 1514 Erasmus settled to Basel.<ref name=":2">Sebastiani, Valentina; Ricketts, Wendell (2014), p. 219</ref>
[[File:Froben Printer's Mark.jpg|thumb|Froben Printer's Mark on the Johann Froben Memorial in Basel Peterskirche.]]

[[File:Froben Alternate Closeup -2.jpg|thumb|Alternate closeup #2 of Froben Memorial, Basel Peterskirche.]]
⚫
Froben became friends with [[Erasmus]], who lived in his house when in Basel, and not only had his own works printed by him from 1514,<ref name=":8"/> but superintended Froben's editions of [[Jerome]], [[Cyprian]], [[Tertullian]], [[Hilary of Poitiers]] and [[Ambrose]]. His printing of Erasmus' ''[[Novum Instrumentum omne|Novum Testamentum]]'' (1516) was used by [[Martin Luther]] for his translation.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} He and later his son have published more than 200 works by Erasmus of Rotterdam.<ref name=":8"/> Through a deeply ramificated web of distributors the works of the Frobens reached the European book market in Venice, London, Frankfurt or Paris in a timely manner.<ref>Sebastiani, Valentina; Ricketts, Wendell (2014), p. 220</ref>
⚫
Froben employed [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], [[Urs Graf]] and [[Albrecht Dürer]] to illustrate his texts.<ref name=":0" /> Graf was the one who designed his device.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Werthmüller |first=Hans |url=https://books.google.ch/books/about/Tausend_Jahre_Literatur_in_Basel.html?id=18OeBgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y |title=Tausend Jahre Literatur in Basel |date=2013-12-11 |publisher=Springer-Verlag |isbn=978-3-0348-6561-6 |pages=127 |language=de}}</ref> Besides he also employed well known [[formschneider]]s like [[Jakob Faber]] (the "Master IF"){{citation needed|date= May 2013}} and [[Hans Lützelburger]], who was regarded as one of the finest formscheiders of his time.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Stein|first=Wilhelm|title=Holbein der Jüngere|publisher=Julius Bard Verlag|year=1920|location=Berlin|pages=108}}</ref> Holbein painted a portrait of Froben in the 1520s.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last=Müller|first=Christian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vU5tQgAACAAJ|title=Hans Holbein the Younger: The Basel Years, 1515-1532|publisher=[[Prestel]]|year=2006|isbn=978-3-7913-3580-3|pages=296|language=en}}</ref>Holbein also painted the device with [[Hermes]] [[caduceus]] which Froben used from 1523 onwards.<ref>Müller, Christian (2006) p.295</ref>
[[File:Johann Froben's 11th great-granddaughter standing before his memorial plaque.jpg|thumb|Johann Froben's 11th great-granddaughter standing before his memorial plaque.]]
[[File:Grabplatte für Johann Froben.jpg|thumb|Epitaph for Johann Froben in Basel Peterskirche.]]
⚫
Froben employed [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], Urs Graf and [[Albrecht Dürer]] to illustrate his texts.<ref name=":0" /> Graf was the one who designed his device.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Werthmüller |first=Hans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18OeBgAAQBAJ |title=Tausend Jahre Literatur in Basel |date=2013 |publisher=Springer-Verlag |isbn=978-3-0348-6561-6 |pages=127 |language=de}}</ref> Besides he also employed well known [[formschneider]]s like [[Jakob Faber]] (the "Master IF"){{citation needed|date= May 2013}} and [[Hans Lützelburger]], who was regarded as one of the finest formscheiders of his time.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Stein|first=Wilhelm|title=Holbein der Jüngere|publisher=Julius Bard Verlag|year=1920|location=Berlin|pages=108}}</ref> Holbein painted a portrait of Froben in the 1520s.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last=Müller|first=Christian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vU5tQgAACAAJ|title=Hans Holbein the Younger: The Basel Years, 1515–1532|publisher=[[Prestel]]|year=2006|isbn=978-3-7913-3580-3|page=296|language=en}}</ref> Holbein also painted the device with [[Hermes]] [[caduceus]] which Froben used from 1523 onwards.<ref>Müller, Christian (2006), p. 295</ref>
⚫
Dying in October 1527, Froben did not, however, live to carry out this work, but it was very creditably executed by his son [[Hieronymus Froben]] and his son-in-law Nikolaus Episcopius. Froben died in October 1527 in Basel.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} His [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] – [[Greek language|Greek]] – [[Latin language|Latin]] [[Epitaph|memorial plaque]] is located in the [[:de:Peterskirche (Basel)|Peters Church]] in Basel<ref name=":13" /> which has been used as a [[Swiss Reformed Church|reformed]] church since 1529. The church does not contain the remains of those who are memorialized within. The park across the street from the church was once a graveyard and it is believed that it is there where the now unmarked remains lay.

== Death ==
⚫
Upon his death in October 1527 in Basel,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Froben was succeeded by his son [[Hieronymus Froben]] who carried on the business in collaboration with [[Johann Herwagen]] and later Nikolaus Episcopius.<ref>Sebastiani, Valentina; Ricketts, Wendell (2014), p. 224</ref> Johannes Frobens memorial plaque in the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] – [[Greek language|Greek]] – [[Latin language|Latin]] languages is located in the [[:de:Peterskirche (Basel)|Peters Church]] in Basel<ref name=":13" /> which has been used as a [[Swiss Reformed Church|reformed]] church since 1529. The church does not contain the remains of those who are memorialized within. The park across the street from the church was once a graveyard and it is believed that it is there where the now unmarked remains lay.


Froben is, through his descendant [[Anna Catharina Bischoff]] a direct ancestor of the former British Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]]. The young woman pictured with his memorial plaque in the notes section below is his American 11th great-granddaughter whose mother's maiden name is Frobenius.
Froben is, through his descendant [[Anna Catharina Bischoff]] a direct ancestor of the former British Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]]. The young woman pictured with his memorial plaque in the notes section below is his American 11th great-granddaughter whose mother's maiden name is Frobenius.


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
Froben's work in Basel made that city in the 16th century the leading center of the Swiss book trade. An existing letter of Erasmus, written in the year of Froben's death, gives an idea of his life and an estimate of his character; and in it Erasmus mentions that his grief for the death of his friend was far more distressing than that which he had felt for the loss of his own brother, adding that "all the apostles of science ought to wear mourning".{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The epistle concludes with an epitaph in [[Greek language|Greek]] and Latin.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} He was well known for his Greek typeface, and he was also one of the first printers to have had their own Hebrew typeface.<ref name=":13" /> According to [[Beatus Rhenanus]], who was one of his employees, he published only prominent works and despised the lesser ones.<ref name=":13" />
Froben's work in Basel made that city in the 16th century the leading center of the Swiss book trade. An existing letter of Erasmus, written in the year of Froben's death, gives an idea of his life and an estimate of his character; and in it Erasmus mentions that his grief for the death of his friend was far more distressing than that which he had felt for the loss of his own brother, adding that "all the apostles of science ought to wear mourning".{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The epistle concludes with an epitaph in [[Greek language|Greek]] and Latin.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} He was well known for his Greek typeface, and he was also one of the first printers to have had their own Hebrew typeface.<ref name=":13" /> According to [[Beatus Rhenanus]], who was one of his employees, he published only prominent works and despised the lesser ones.<ref name=":13" />


<gallery caption="Johann Froben' marks">
<gallery caption="Johann Froben' marks">
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File:Froben 2.jpg
File:Froben 2.jpg
</gallery>
</gallery>
==Notes==
[[File:Johann Froben's Memorial Plaque.jpg|thumb|Johann Froben's Memorial Plaque in Basel Peterskirche (the largest such memorial in the church)]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Froben, Joannes |volume=11 |page=237}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Froben, Joannes |volume=11 |page=237}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Froben, Joannes |short=x}}
{{commons category|Johannes Froben}}
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Froben, Joannes |short=x}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Commons Category}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Froben, Johann}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Froben, Johann}}
[[Category:1460s births]]
[[Category:1460s births]]
[[Category:1527 deaths]]
[[Category:1527 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bad Kissingen (district)]]
[[Category:People from Bad Kissingen (district)]]
[[Category:16th-century Swiss people]]
[[Category:16th-century Swiss writers]]
[[Category:Swiss book publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Swiss book publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Printers of incunabula]]
[[Category:Printers of incunabula]]

Latest revision as of 01:44, 26 September 2024

Portrait of Johann Froben by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1522–23. Froben commissioned many book illustrations from Holbein.
Printer's device of Johann Froben, by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1523

Johann Froben, in Latin: Johannes Frobenius (and combinations), (c. 1460 – 27 October 1527) was a famous printer, publisher and learned Renaissance humanist in Basel. He was a close friend of Erasmus and cooperated closely with Hans Holbein the Younger. He made Basel one of the world's leading centres of the book trade. He passed his printing business on to his son, Hieronymus, and grandson, Ambrosius Frobenius.

Early life and printing partnership

[edit]

Johann Froben was born in Hammelburg, Franconia and appears the first time at the workshop of the printer of Anton Koberger of Nuremberg in 1486.[1] He moved to Basel in the 1480s.[2] He graduated from the University in Basel, where he made the acquaintance of the famous printer Johann Amerbach (c. 1440–1513). Froben established himself as a printer in that city about 1491, when he published the first manageable bible in the octavo format.[2] He soon attained a European reputation for accuracy and taste. In 1500, he married the daughter of the bookseller Wolfgang Lachner, Gertrude Lachner, who entered into a partnership with him.[3] It was part of Froben's plan to print editions of the Greek Fathers.[3] In 1492 he printed Johann Heynlin's Resolutorum Dubiuosum.[1] For the books Decretum (1493) by Gratian and Decretales (1494) by Pope Gregory IX he employed Sebastian Brant as an editor.[1] Between 1496 and 1512 he was in a printing alliance together with Amerbach, and Johannes Petri for larger projects like collected works of Augustine.[4] The printing partnership would be known as the Three Hannsen[5] (Hannsen meant as an abbreviation of Johannes). In 1507 he bought Amerbachs printing house in the House to the Chair.[4] But the partnership ended as by 1513, Petri and Amerbach had died.[6]

Printing career

[edit]

In 1513, he carefully published a copy of Erasmus Adagia with a cover designed by Urs Graf depicting the gods Nemesis and Caerus with an allegory of a triumphant Humanitas in a chariot pulled by Homer and Demosthenes and pushed by Cicero and Vergil.[2][7] In 1514 Erasmus settled to Basel.[6]

Froben became friends with Erasmus, who lived in his house when in Basel, and not only had his own works printed by him from 1514,[8] but superintended Froben's editions of Jerome, Cyprian, Tertullian, Hilary of Poitiers and Ambrose. His printing of Erasmus' Novum Testamentum (1516) was used by Martin Luther for his translation.[3] He and later his son have published more than 200 works by Erasmus of Rotterdam.[8] Through a deeply ramificated web of distributors the works of the Frobens reached the European book market in Venice, London, Frankfurt or Paris in a timely manner.[9]

Epitaph for Johann Froben in Basel Peterskirche.

Froben employed Hans Holbein the Younger, Urs Graf and Albrecht Dürer to illustrate his texts.[4] Graf was the one who designed his device.[10] Besides he also employed well known formschneiders like Jakob Faber (the "Master IF")[citation needed] and Hans Lützelburger, who was regarded as one of the finest formscheiders of his time.[11] Holbein painted a portrait of Froben in the 1520s.[8] Holbein also painted the device with Hermes caduceus which Froben used from 1523 onwards.[12]

Death

[edit]

Upon his death in October 1527 in Basel,[3] Froben was succeeded by his son Hieronymus Froben who carried on the business in collaboration with Johann Herwagen and later Nikolaus Episcopius.[13] Johannes Frobens memorial plaque in the Hebrew – Greek – Latin languages is located in the Peters Church in Basel[10] which has been used as a reformed church since 1529. The church does not contain the remains of those who are memorialized within. The park across the street from the church was once a graveyard and it is believed that it is there where the now unmarked remains lay.

Froben is, through his descendant Anna Catharina Bischoff a direct ancestor of the former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The young woman pictured with his memorial plaque in the notes section below is his American 11th great-granddaughter whose mother's maiden name is Frobenius.

Legacy

[edit]

Froben's work in Basel made that city in the 16th century the leading center of the Swiss book trade. An existing letter of Erasmus, written in the year of Froben's death, gives an idea of his life and an estimate of his character; and in it Erasmus mentions that his grief for the death of his friend was far more distressing than that which he had felt for the loss of his own brother, adding that "all the apostles of science ought to wear mourning".[3] The epistle concludes with an epitaph in Greek and Latin.[3] He was well known for his Greek typeface, and he was also one of the first printers to have had their own Hebrew typeface.[10] According to Beatus Rhenanus, who was one of his employees, he published only prominent works and despised the lesser ones.[10]

  • Johann Froben' marks

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Hilgert, Earle (1971). "Johann Froben and the Basel University Scholars, 1513–1523". The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy. 41 (2): 144. doi:10.1086/619934. ISSN 0024-2519. JSTOR 4306069. S2CID 143916969.
  2. ^ a b c Sebastiani, Valentina; Ricketts, Wendell (2014). "Froben Press Editions (1505–1559) in the Holdings of the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies Library: A Brief Survey". Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme. 37 (3): 217. ISSN 0034-429X. JSTOR 43446603.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Chisholm 1911.
  4. ^ a b c "Das Haus zum Sessel" (PDF). University of Basel. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  5. ^ Wallraff, Martin (2013). Lanfranchi, Corina (ed.). Gut zum Druck! by Schwabe Verlag. Schwabe. p. 32. ISBN 9783796529177. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  6. ^ a b Sebastiani, Valentina; Ricketts, Wendell (2014), p. 219
  7. ^ "Erasmi Roterodami Germaniae decoris Adagiorum chiliades tres, ac centuriae fere totidem". www.e-rara.ch. 1513. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  8. ^ a b c Müller, Christian (2006). Hans Holbein the Younger: The Basel Years, 1515–1532. Prestel. p. 296. ISBN 978-3-7913-3580-3.
  9. ^ Sebastiani, Valentina; Ricketts, Wendell (2014), p. 220
  10. ^ a b c d Werthmüller, Hans (2013). Tausend Jahre Literatur in Basel (in German). Springer-Verlag. p. 127. ISBN 978-3-0348-6561-6.
  11. ^ Stein, Wilhelm (1920). Holbein der Jüngere. Berlin: Julius Bard Verlag. p. 108.
  12. ^ Müller, Christian (2006), p. 295
  13. ^ Sebastiani, Valentina; Ricketts, Wendell (2014), p. 224
[edit]
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