Johann Froben

Publisher
Johann Froben was the most famous of the Basel scholar-printers, whose professional innovations revolutionized printing in Basel and whose publications included many outstanding works of scholarship.

Froben was a native of Hammelburg and almost nothing is known about his early years. In 1486 he was employed by Anton Koberger, a printer and publisher in Nurnberg. His move to Basel was probably facilitated by Koberger’s business contacts with the famous printer Johann Amerbach. Froben’s first publication, a Latin Bible, appeared in 1491, and he soon attained a European reputation for accuracy and taste. Froben was friend with Erasmus of Rotterdam and not only had he had his own works printed by Froben from 1514, but had also superintended Froben's editions of Jerome, Cyprian, Tertullian, Hilary of Poitiers and Ambrose.

Through his work in Basel, Froben popularized roman type, introduced italic and Greek fonts, experimented with smaller and cheaper books, and employed talented artists, including Hans Holbein, as illustrators.