Lodewijk Elzevir

Lodewijk Elzevir, or Louis, Lewis, and Elsevier or Elzevier, is considered as one of the greatest early printers and publishers. He was born in the city of Leuven, and made his printing career in the city of Leyden. Lodewijk published his first book in 1583 and produced over 150 works by 1617. After his death the business remained in the family and the business ran until 1712, producing between 2000 and 3000 titles. Distinguishing characteristic of the Elzevir line of scholarly books was the fact that they were designed to be practical sturdy, affordable, and small in size. Because of this the Elzevir name came to be associated with the “pocket book”, a small, compact, and elegant print called the “Elzevir Letter”.