Georg Lauer

Georg Lauer or Laur (* probably in Würzburg ; † 1481 or later) was an incunabula printer in Rome in the 15th century. More than 50 early prints can be attributed to his office.

life and work

The life story of Lauer is largely unknown. It is also unknown where Lauer learned the printing trade. However, it is documented that the papal doctor Johannes Philippus de Lignamine employed him in 1470 for his printing workshop in the St. Eusebius monastery in Rome. Lauer probably also worked for the incunabula printers Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheym , who brought book printing to Rome. This makes Lauer one of the 25 German book printers in Rome before 1500 and one of the very first printers. Lauer was primarily a typesetter (including Type 1: 128R) and presumably worked in this position at Seynheym and Pannartz, but also continued Pannartz's first edition of the Letters of Hieronymus (1479). Lauer's Roman types were the basis for other prints, such as those by Andreas Hess in Buda, who worked with Lauer in Rome.

Between 1472 and 1474 Lauer worked closely with Leonhard Pflugl (also Pfliegl or Pflugel) in the short-term partnership typical of the time. Both called themselves Magisters , which underlines the scholarly claim of their work. However, the prints of the Latin and Greek classics hardly brought in any money. It was not until the prints of legal and canonical texts, which Lauer and Pflugl began to print first, that the papal curia received frequent inquiries. The prints were provided with the most common comments at the time. Its editors and correctors were humanistic scholars close to the Roman Curia, including Pomponius Laeta and Bartolomeo Platina and Giovanni Luigi Toscano . This made the printing workshops economically independent and a demand-oriented market for prints arose.

literature

• Jakob Franck:  Lauer, Georg . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 18, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1883, pp. 37-39.
• Häbler, Konrad: The German book printer of the 15th century abroad. Munich 1924, pp. 78-79
• Giorgio Montecchi: Lauer, Georg . In: Lexicon of the entire book industry online. Edited by Severin Corsten, Stephan Füssel, Günther Pflug and Friedrich Adolf Schmidt-Künsemüller.

Web links

• Prints by Georg Lauer in the complete catalog of the cradle prints
• Prints by Lauer in the ISTC

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [1]