Wendelinus de Spira
Wendelinus de Spira (* in Speyer ; † 1477 , also known as Wendelin von Speyer ) was an early book printer in Venice.
Career
Spira came from Speyer, his family name is unknown. In 1470 he took over the printing workshop of his late brother Johannes de Spira and completed the work De civitate dei von Augustine . In the closing letter he announced the sudden death of his brother. He had probably worked in the printing shop from the beginning, but could not transfer the privilege granted by his brother in 1469 to his name.
In 1470 Wendelinus published nine works, in the following year only five prints and in 1472 13 works. Since the publishing house had lost its monopoly, only three works could be brought onto the market in 1473, two in 1474 and two in 1476 and 1477 due to increasing competition. Then the first printing house in the Republic of Venice went out of business. There was particular competition in Nicolas Jenson's workshop , in which John's heirs were involved.
production
Spira mainly printed the works of classical writers. In 1471 the Bible was printed in Italian in translation by Niccolò Malermi . Wendelin used his brother's strong antiqua as the typeface .
Works printed by Spira (selection)
- Augustine : De civitate dei . Venice 1470 - started by the brother.
- Petrarch : Canzoniere. Venice 1470.
- Ambrosius de Spiera : Quadragesimale de floribus sapientiae. Venice 1477.
- Dante : Divina Commedia. Venice 1477.
literature
- Ferdinand Geldner : The German incunabula printer. A manual of the German printer of the XV. Century by place of printing. Second volume: The foreign language areas. Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1970. pp. 64 f. ISBN 3-7772-7022-9 .
- Jakob Franck : Johann von Speyer . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, pp. 472-475. (With information on Wendelin von Speyer)
Web links
- Prints by Wendelin von Speyer in the complete catalog of incandescent prints
Individual evidence
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Spira, Wendelinus de |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wendelin, from Speyer |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Book printer in Venice |
DATE OF BIRTH | 15th century |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Speyer |
DATE OF DEATH | 1477 |