Johann Froben

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Johann Froben, copy of a portrait by Hans Holbein the Elder. J. from approx. 1520/26.

Johann Froben , also Johannes Froben, (Latinized: Johannes Frobenius ; * around 1460 in Hammelburg , Franconia ; † October 26, 1527 in Basel ) was an important printer and publisher in Basel.

Youth and Beginnings, around 1460–1490

Johann Froben was probably born in Hammelburg around 1460. Nothing is known about his parents and youth, and nothing is known about the mother of his eldest son Hieronymus either. He moved to Basel between 1482 and 1486 (a stay in Nuremberg with Anton Koberger is documented for 1486, but the circumstances remain in the dark). In 1490 he was first recorded in Basel as a printer and resident. Froben was promoted by his older (* 1441) compatriot Johann Petri and worked as an assistant to Johann Amerbach and in his vicinity. He had no higher education, his knowledge of Latin was modest, but quality in all respects has been his lifelong concern and he knew how to produce books that were carefully edited and corrected, well-designed and neatly printed on good quality paper. In the first few years he probably did not have his own dispenser.

Froben as a printer for himself and with others, 1491–1513

Froben's first book of his own was a Bible in 1491 ( Biblia integra: summata: distincta: sup [er] eme [n] data vtriusq [ue] testame [n] ti [con] corda [n] tijs illustrata) , the complete Latin text im handy octave format . It sold well because although the print run was apparently high, a new print was necessary as early as 1495. In 1492 Froben was accepted into the saffron guild .

From 1491 to 1499 Froben produced an important volume about every year under his own name, eight titles alone until 1496, three titles together with Johann Petri from 1496–1499. 1500 followed by Froben and Amerbach three volumes of the Corpus juris canonici , a new edition of the edition only published by Froben from 1493-1494; nothing appeared the following year. From 1502 to May 1512 Amerbach, Petri and Froben printed as a company some extensive works, e.g. B. 1506 an Augustin edition in 11 parts. With one exception, namely in 1503 Albrecht von Eyb : Margarita poetica , all titles published up to that point concerned theology, church and canon law.

Froben as an independent printer owner of humanism, 1513–1527

Erasmus from Rotterdam: Adagia. Johann Froben, Basel 1513, title page (Basel University Library, DB IV 10)
Printer's stamp from Johann Froben

In the meantime a generation change had begun: In 1507 Froben von Amerbach took over his printing shop in the "zum Stuhl" house, including all accessories; Amerbach's sons remained closely associated with the dispensing business. At around the same time Adam Petri took over his uncle and foster father Johann Petri’s shop: In July 1507 Adam Petri acquired the guild rights to saffron and became a citizen of Basel. His first print appeared in 1509. In 1510 Froben married Gertrud Lachner, daughter of the successful bookseller and publisher Wolfgang Lachner , and Lachner's capital apparently flowed into his business. Johannes Petri died on May 13, 1511 (the last print of the Amerbach-Petri-Froben community was published a year later), and on Christmas Day 1513 Johann Amerbach also died.

In August 1513, Froben published two completely different prints: A modern commentary on sentences by the Italian Paolo Cortesi, recommended to Beatus Rhenanus by Konrad Peutinger in Augsburg , and a reprint of the Adagia by Erasmus of Rotterdam , both with the same elaborate, by Urs Graf created programmatically humanistic title frame in woodcut. Erasmus was impressed by the quality of the book, and the printed manuscript of a revised version "mistakenly" ended up in Basel instead of Paris. In August 1514 Erasmus himself came and got to know Froben, in February 1515 the expanded, now legal edition of the Adagia was published by him . Erasmus stayed in Basel until 1516 and published, among other things, the New Testament in the original Greek language as well as the complete edition of the church father Hieronymus in nine huge volumes , which Johannes Amerbach had already started to prepare independently of him.

Froben's production grew tremendously during these years: Thirty titles with his name were published from 1491 to 1512, his Offizin produced 153 titles from 1513 to 1520 and another 145 from 1521 to his death in 1527 [Sebastiani No. 1–30, 31–183 and 184-329]. He now specialized in humanistic works and gradually became the exclusive printer of Erasmus of Rotterdam, who from 1521 lived with him again. Out of consideration for this, his most important author, he stopped the publication of Reformation writings - in 1518 he had reprinted three texts by Martin Luther. Wolfgang Lachner became its commercial director and also lived with his numerous family in Froben's house.

Froben's books had already distinguished themselves through their high quality, but now they are also visually striking because of their design with title and page frames as well as figurative initials and the widely varied printer's mark. Urs Graf , Hans Holbein the Younger and others worked for his shop.

Beatus Rhenanus became “scientifically responsible for the publishing program” . Between 1521 and 1527 Erasmus dominated the publishing house with over 70% of the titles. At least a quarter came from other authors and editors back then. Sebastian Münster played a special role : as a Hebraist, he represented the third of the ancient languages ​​with 19 titles in the humanistic academic publishing house.

Illness and Death 1527

In 1521 Froben fell on the stairs and injured his leg. The damage worsened to such an extent that doctors considered amputation in 1526. Paracelsus , who was summoned from Strasbourg, was then able to cure the evil so far that the printer was able to ride again to the fair in Frankfurt in the spring of 1527. In the autumn, however, Froben suffered a stroke, was paralyzed on one side, fell into a coma and died on October 26th. The grave inscription in Basel's Peterskirche , in three languages ​​and decorated with his printer's mark, was written by Erasmus von Rotterdam and Sebastian Münster. Erasmus lamented the death of his printer and friend in a long letter that he published the following year.

Others

Froben's son Hieronymus (1501–1563) and his grandchildren continued his workshop. The Frobenius-Gymnasium Hammelburg was named after him.

literature

Web links

Commons : Johannes Froben  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, p. 19.
  2. ^ Alfred Hartmann (Ed.): The Amerbach correspondence . Volume 1. University Library, Basel 1942, p. 155.
  3. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, p. 28.
  4. ↑ Ueli Dill: The first printed pocket Bible: Johannes Froben, Basel 1491 and 1495 . In: Ueli Dill, Petra Schierl (ed.): The better picture of Christ. The New Testament in the Erasmus edition of Rotterdam . Schwabe, Basel 2016, p. 33f.
  5. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, No. 12-14.
  6. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, No. 4–6.
  7. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, no.19.
  8. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, No. 16. Digitized .
  9. ↑ Ueli Dill: Johannes Froben's development as a humanistic printer . In: Ueli Dill, Petra Schierl (ed.): The better picture of Christ. The New Testament in the Erasmus edition of Rotterdam . Schwabe, Basel 2016, p. 53 after Michael Kessler u. a .: Life on Totengässlein. The Basel Pharmaceutical History Museum in the «zum Stuhl» building. Revised and expanded new edition. Self-published by the Pharmazie-Historisches Museum, Basel 2015.
  10. ↑ Frank Hieronymus: 1488 Petri Schwabe 1988 . Volume 1. Schwabe, Basel 1997, p. E3.
  11. ↑ Ueli Dill: Johannes Froben's development as a humanistic printer . In: Ueli Dill, Petra Schierl: The better picture of Christ. The New Testament in the Erasmus edition of Rotterdam . Schwabe, Basel 2016, p. 53.
  12. ↑ Frank Hieronymus: 1488 Petri Schwabe 1988 . Volume 1. Schwabe, Basel 1997, p. E3.
  13. ↑ digitized version .
  14. ↑ digitized version .
  15. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, No. 32 and 33; for the title border, pp. 39–41.
  16. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, no.38.
  17. ↑ Novum Instrumentum omne: diligent from Erasmo Roterodamo recognitum & emendatum . Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, No. 44; Digitized .
  18. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, no.47.
  19. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, No. 1–30, 31–183 and 184–329
  20. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, No. 100, 110 and 112.
  21. ↑ Ueli Dill: Johannes Froben's development as a humanistic printer . In: Ueli Dill, Petra Schierl: The better picture of Christ. The New Testament in the Erasmus edition of Rotterdam . Schwabe, Basel 2016, p. 55.
  22. ↑ Valentina Sebastiani: Johann Froben, printer of Basel. A biographical profile and catalog of his editions . Brill, Leiden / Boston 2018, p. 68.
  23. ↑ Udo Benzenhöfer: Paracelsus . 2nd Edition. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek 2002, pp. 45f.
  24. ↑ So the date in the Hebrew text of the funerary inscription, Alfred Hartmann: Basilea latina . Lehrmittelverlag des Erziehungsdepartements, Basel 1931, pp. 199f.
  25. ^ Letter in 1900 to Jan von Heemstede, first printed in: Erasmus: De recta latini graecique sermonis pronuntiatione . Officina Frobeniana, Basel, March 1528, pp. 423-430, digitized .
personal data
SURNAME Froben, Johann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Frobenius, Johannes; Froben, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Printer and publisher in Basel
DATE OF BIRTH around 1460
PLACE OF BIRTH Hammelburg , Franconia
DATE OF DEATH October 26, 1527
Place of death Basel