Johannes Petri (1441 Langendorf – 29 April 1511 Basel) a printer in Basel and the founder of the oldest existing publishing house in 1488.

Education and early life

Johannes Petri was born in 1441 in Langendorf in

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally r ...

. It is assumed that in a monastery he learned to read and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. Following he moved to the nearby

Amorbach Amorbach () is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany, with some 4,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the small river Mud, in the northeastern part of the Odenwald ...

where he met Johann Welcker, who would later become his printing partner in Basel. He then moved on to

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, where he trained in a print workshop. Later he might have met the German printer Anton Koberger in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

and he printed his first book in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

. He then travelled to Freiburg where he sold the books, and found work as a

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

. In about 1480, he shall have come to Basel, where he was employed by Johann Amorbach who had come into ownership of two houses in the Rhine Alley.

In Basel

In 1488 he becomes a citizen of Basel, two weeks later he enters the Guild of Saffron which permitted him to open his own workshop in the Ackermanshof in St.Johanns Vorstadt.Wallraff, Martin (2013). Lanfranchi, Corina (ed.)p.32 He closely cooperated with the fellow printers

Johann Amerbach Johann Amerbach (1444 in Amorbach, Germany; 25 December 1514 in Basel, Switzerland) was a celebrated printer in Basel in the 15th century. He was the first printer in Basel to use the Roman type instead of Gothic and Italian and spared no expense ...

and Johann Froben, and the trio would become well known as ''Die Drei Hannsen'' (The three Hannsen, Hanns as abr. of Johannes). Most of his prints were cooperations with the two, except for an edition of the collected works from

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...

of 1506.Wallraff, Martin (2013). Lanfranchi, Corina (ed.)pp.33–34 The edition of 1978 pages and three volumes counted with an

index Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...

and is the only recorded work for which Johannes Petri is mentioned as the sole printer. Its editor was Conrad Leontorius. An other accomplishment was the printing of the collected works of

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...

, which was a major project for which the three Hannsen joined forces for three years. The Augustine edition was also published in 1506 and 1600 exemplars were shipped to

Anton Koberger Anton Koberger (c. 1440/1445 – 3 October 1513) was the German goldsmith, printer and publisher who printed and published the ''Nuremberg Chronicle'', a landmark of incunabula, and was a successful bookseller of works from other printers. In 147 ...

. From 1509, the first printers-mark of Johannes Petri depicting a

Basilisk In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Naturalis Historia'' of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene is ...

holding the coats of Arms from Basel is known. In 1511, he transfers his printshop to his nephew

Adam Petri Adam Petri (1454 in Langendorf (now part of Elfershausen) in Franconia – 15 November 1527 in Basel) was a printer, publisher and bookseller. Early life Petri was born ca. 1454 in Langendorf near Hammelburg. Like his uncle Johannes Pet ...

.Wallraff, Martin (2013). Lanfranchi, Corina (ed.)pp.38–40

Personal life

He married Barbara Mellinger, the daughter of the owner of the Ackermanshof. and also the

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

of Birseck in 1500. The marriage took place in the Church of the Karthäuser. The two became the parents of six children. With time, he bought the house adjacent of the Ackermanshof from where at the time one could see the hills of the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

. In 1505, he was excepted from military service in return of providing a replacement. Johannes Petri died on the 29 April 1511 and was buried in the cemetary of the Preachers Church in Basel. An epitaph composed by

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) ...

was added to his grave on request of Johannes Froben. His wife Barbara would die shortly after and their three children and the printing workshop would later be entrusted to Johannes Froben.

References

{{Authority Control 1441 births 1511 deaths German printers Swiss printers