Adam Petri (1454 in Langendorf (now part of Elfershausen) in

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

– 15 November 1527 in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

) was a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of libra ...

Early life

Petri was born ca. 1454 in Langendorf near

Hammelburg Hammelburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It sits in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia. It lies on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt. Hammelburg is the oldest winegrowing town (''Weinstadt'') in Francon ...

. Like his uncle Johannes Petri, he moved to Basel where he resided from around 1480 and worked as a printer. In 1507 he received Basel citizenship rights. Shortly before his uncle Johannes died, he took over the printshop in the Ackermannshof at the St.Johannsvorstadt.

Professional career

Petri was one of the first printers in Basel who worked with illustrators. His books were illustrated by the likes of

Urs Graf Urs Graf (c. 1485 in Solothurn, Switzerland – possibly before 13 October 1528) was a Swiss Renaissance goldsmith, painter and printmaker (of woodcuts, etchings and engravings), as well as a Swiss mercenary. He only produced two etchings, one ...

, Hans Holbein the Younger, and Conrad Schnitt among others. He also employed a number of prominent collaborators as writers, editors and proofreaders including Konrad Pellikan, the young

Sebastian Münster Sebastian Münster (20 January 1488 – 26 May 1552) was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, ' ...

Beatus Rhenanus Beatus Rhenanus (22 August 148520 July 1547), born as Beatus Bild, was a German humanist, religious reformer, classical scholar, and book collector. Early life and education Rhenanus was born on the 22 August 1485 in Schlettstadt (Sélestat) ...

Ulrich Hugwald Ulrich Hugwald (''Udalricus Hugualdus'', ''Huldaricus Mutius Hugwaldus'', 1496–1571) was a Swiss humanist scholar and Reformer. Born in Wilen near Bischofszell, county of Thurgau, he was enrolled in the theological faculty in Basel Unive ...

and his relative

Johannes Petreius Johann(es) Petreius (''Hans Peterlein'', ''Petrejus'', ''Petri''; c. 1497, Langendorf near Bad Kissingen – 18 March 1550, Nuremberg) was a German printer in Nuremberg. Life He studied at the University of Basel, receiving the Master of Arts in ...

. Petri chiefly printed

devotional literature Christian devotional literature (also called devotionals or Christian living literature) is religious writing that Christian individuals read for their personal growth and spiritual formation. Such literature often takes the form of Christian daily ...

and works of

practical theology Practical theology is an academic discipline that examines and reflects on religious practices in order to understand the theology enacted in those practices and in order to consider how theological theory and theological practices can be more full ...

. After 1517 his printshop was primarily occupied with the publication of texts of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

. Of the more than 300 publications from the ''Offizin Adae Petri,'' there are more than 88 editions of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

. He also published works of other German reformers like

Johannes Bugenhagen Johannes Bugenhagen (24 June 1485 – 20 April 1558), also called ''Doctor Pomeranus'' by Martin Luther, was a German theologian and Lutheran priest who introduced the Protestant Reformation in the Duchy of Pomerania and Denmark in the 16th ce ...

, Hartmuth by Cronberg, Philipp Melanchthon, Andreas Karlstadt and a few titles by the Swiss Reformers

Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Univ ...

Joachim Vadian Joachim Vadian (29 November 1484 – 6 April 1551), born as Joachim von Watt, was a humanist, scholar, mayor and reformer in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Biography Vadian was born in St. Gallen into a family of wealthy and influential linen mer ...

and

Johannes Oecolampadius Johannes Oecolampadius (also ''Œcolampadius'', in German also Oekolampadius, Oekolampad; 1482 – 24 November 1531) was a German Protestant reformer in the Calvinist tradition from the Electoral Palatinate. He was the leader of the Protestant ...

. His edition of

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the insp ...

, which appeared under the title ''Liber egregius de unitate ecclesiae, cuius autor periit in concilio Constantiensi'' in 1520, attracted a great deal of attention. Petri was also able to produce a reprint of Luther’s translation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

with amazing speed. Only a quarter of a year after the edition of the “September Testament”, Petri's edition appeared in December 1522 under the title Between 1523 and 1524 Petri printed Luther’s translation of the Old Testament under the title ''Der ursprunglichen Hebreischen warheit nach auffs trewlichst verdeutscht''. Petri died on 15 November 1527.

Personal life

In 1507, he married Anna Selber, a member of a Basel burgher family. A year later their son Heinrich Petri was born. His widow Anna remarried the cartographer,

cosmographer The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-scal ...

, and a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

scholar

in 1530. His son

Heinrich Petri Henricus Petrus (1508–1579) and his son Sebastian Henric Petri (1546, Basel – 1627, Basel) headed the printer shop of Basel (''Basilea'' in Latin), called ''Officina Henricpetrina''. Among their best known works, both of 1566, the second ...

successfully continued the family’s printing house.

References

External links

*
Books printed by Adam Petri
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e-rara
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petri, Adam 1454 births 1527 deaths People from Basel-Stadt 15th-century Swiss people 16th-century Swiss people Swiss book publishers (people)

Early life

Professional career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links