Observationvm medicarvm Nicolaes Tulp 1641

Lodewijk Elzevir (c. 1540,

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

– 4 February 1617,

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...

), originally ''Lodewijk or Louis Elsevier or Elzevier'', was a printer, born in the city of

(today in Belgium, then part of the Habsburg Netherlands or

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the ...

). He was the founder of the

House of Elzevir Elzevir is the name of a celebrated family of Dutch booksellers, publishers, and printers of the 17th and early 18th centuries. The duodecimo series of "Elzevirs" became very famous and very desirable among bibliophiles, who sought to obtain th ...

, which printed, for example, "Two New Sciences", a work of

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

, at a time when his work was suppressed for religious reasons. Although the House of Elzevir ceased publishing in 1712, the modern Dutch

Elsevier Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as '' The Lancet'', '' Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', ...

company was founded in 1880 and took its name from the historic Dutch publishing house.

Biography

Elzevir, son of Hans Helschevier, was born in

and started his career as a bookbinder at the printing shop of

Christoffel Plantijn Christophe Plantin ( nl, Christoffel Plantijn; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp. Life Plantin was born in France, probably in Saint-Avertin, near the city of ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. In 1563 he married Maijke de Verdeijen Verbois in Antwerp, where his first two sons were born. He moved to

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrigho ...

before 1570, to

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

before 1575 and settled in

before 1580. He produced his first book at Leiden in 1583 and under his descendants the business continued until 1791. The printing house was instrumental in the publication of important work in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

. Atypical of other printers of the era, Elzevir books focused on sturdiness rather than elegance and legibility over ornate characters. His books were usually smaller with narrow margins. Christopher van Dyck was one of the type designers. Most of the work was published in Latin. His oldest son Matthijs and his sixth son

Bonaventure Elzevir Elzevir is the name of a celebrated family of Dutch booksellers, publishers, and printers of the 17th and early 18th centuries. The duodecimo series of "Elzevirs" became very famous and very desirable among bibliophiles, who sought to obtain th ...

and his grandsons

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

and

Isaac Elzevir Isaac Elzevir (11 March 1596, in Leiden – 8 October 1651, in Cologne), in Dutch Isaac Elsevier, was a Dutch publisher and printer who began printing with one of the earliest printing press in the city of Leyden in the year 1617. Although t ...

continued and expanded the business. The Lodowijk Elzevir who famously met Galileo in Arcetri in 1636 was the grandson of this Lodwijk (1604–1670).

References

External links

Pedigree of the Elsevier/Elzevier family, ±1500-presentGenealogy at geneanet.org

Literature

Literature in archives and libraries and online o
archive.org
* Hartman de Custer
Handschriftenverzameling Rotterdam 13, Collectie 33-01
(Stadsarchief Rotterdam, 1760, 346p) * Jean-Félicissime Adry
Notice sur les imprimeurs de la famille des Elzévirs
(Delance, Paris, 1806, 60p) * Charles Pieters
Genealogie de la famille Elsevier, Annex de: Analyse des matériaux les plus utiles, pour des futures annales de l’imprimerie des Elsevier
(C. Annoot-Braeckman, Gand, 1843, 76p) * W.J.C. Rammelman Elsevier
Uitkomsten van een onderzoek omtrent de Elseviers, meer bepaaldelijk met opzigt tot derzelver genealogie
(N. van der Monde, Utrecht, 1845, 100p) * Auguste Joseph de Reume
Recherches historiques, généalogiques et bibliographiques sur les Elsevier
(Ad. Wahlen et compagnie, Bruxelles, 1847, 124p) * Charles Pieters
Annales de l'Imprimerie Elsevirienne et histoire de la famille des Elsevier et de ses editions
(C. Annoot-Braeckman, Gand, 1851, 468p) * Charles Pieters
Annales de l'Imprimerie des Elsevier ou histoire de leur famille et de leurs éditions. Seconde édition, revue et augmentée
(C. Annoot-Braeckman, Gand, 1858, 575p) *

Alphonse Willems Alphonse may refer to: * Alphonse (given name) * Alphonse (surname) * Alphonse Atoll, one of two atolls in the Seychelles' Alphonse Group See also *Alphons *Alfonso (disambiguation) Alfonso (and variants Alphonso, Afonso, Alphons, and Alphonse) is ...

Les Elzevier histoire et annales typographiques
(G.A. van Trigt, Bruxelles, Adolphe Labitte, Paris, Martinus Nijhoff, La Haye, 1880, 865p)
‘‘Bijdrage tot de Geschiedenis der Elseviers’‘
(Oud Holland, Jg. XIV, 1896, 33p) *

Alfons Willems Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsul ...

‘‘Lodewijk Elzevier's geboortejaar’‘
(Tijdschrift voor boek- en bibliotheekwezen, Jg. VI, 1908, 3p) * Enschedé, J.W.. 1908. "De Elseviers en de beteekenis van hun uitgaven" (Elsevier’s Geïllustreerd Maandschrift, Jg. XVIII)
part 1
an
part 2
Literature in libraries and for sale online: * David W. Davies, The World of the Elseviers 1580-1712, (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1954, 168p) * S.L. Hartz, The Elseviers and their Contemporaries, (Elsevier, Amsterdam-Brussels, 1955, 107p)
Paul Hoftijzer
e.a. (red.), Boekverkopers van Europa - Het 17de-eeuwse Nederlandse uitgevershuis Elzevier, (Walburg pers, Zutphen, 2000, 352p) Literature in libraries: * A.M. Bosters, Enige genealogische gegevens over het West-Brabantse geslacht Elsevier (A.M. Bosters. Voorburg, 2000, 5p)
C.E.G. ten Houte de Lange
Stockmans, Stokmans, Elsevier Stokmans, Elzevier Stokmans (Megen) (NIGHO, Zeist, 2006, 48p) 1540s births 1617 deaths Dutch printers Flemish printers Businesspeople from Leuven 16th-century printers 17th-century printers 17th-century Dutch businesspeople Businesspeople from Leiden {{Netherlands-bio-stub