Anton Koberger

Goldsmith, printer and publisher
Anton Koberger was a German goldsmith, printer and publisher who printed and published the Nuremberg Chronicle, a landmark of incunabula.

Koberger descended from an old Nurnberg family of skilful artisans, and he himself was a goldsmith before he became a printer. In 1570 he set up a large-scale workshop that became the centre of early German printing. His operation combined printing, publishing and bookselling. At his peak, Koberger ran 24 presses, employed over a hundred staff, and had links with Basel, Strassburg, Lyon, Paris, and many other cities. Today Koberger is mostly known as publisher of the Nuremberg Chronicle, first published in Latin on 12 July 1493, and quickly followed by a German translation on 23 December 1493. An estimated 1400 to 1500 Latin and 700 to 1000 German copies were published. After Anthony Koberger's death (1513), his cousin Hans Koberger took charge of the business as trustee for Anton’s children.