Johann and Wendelin of Speyer
Encyclopedia
The brothers Johann and Wendelin of Speyer (also known as de Speier and by their Italian names of Giovanni and Vendelino da Spira) were German printers in Venice
from 1468 to 1477.
They were among the first of those who came to Italy from Mainz
, after 1462, to introduce printing. Knowledge of their lives is scanty. They came originally from Speyer
. Early in 1460-61 Johann appears in Mainz as a goldsmith. In 1468, with his wife, children, and brother Wendelin, he set out for Italy, settling in Venice.
's Epistolae ad familiares, appeared in 1469. During the printing of Augustine
's De Civitate Dei (1470) Johann died, and Wendelin completed it, assuming control of the business and carried it on until 1477. About 1472 he associated with him the German printer, Johann von Köln. Together they issued seven works. Before Johann died, four great works had been issued: two editions of Cicero; Pliny the Elder
's Naturalis Historia
; and one volume of Livy
. The De Civitate Dei had been begun. Within seven months eight hundred volumes were printed.
. Johann's clear type and his entire technical execution are surprisingly perfect.
and interrogation point. In Wendelin's books appeared for the first time the so called catch-words (Kustoden), that is to say he printed on the lower margin of each page the first word of the page following.
The Speyer brothers are sometimes credited as the originators of the Roman type
of character of movable type, other contenders being Pannartz and Sweynheim
and Nicholas Jenson.
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
from 1468 to 1477.
They were among the first of those who came to Italy from Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, after 1462, to introduce printing. Knowledge of their lives is scanty. They came originally from Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
. Early in 1460-61 Johann appears in Mainz as a goldsmith. In 1468, with his wife, children, and brother Wendelin, he set out for Italy, settling in Venice.
First books
The Venetian Senate extended a cordial welcome to Johann, and granted him a monopoly of printing for five years. His first book, CiceroCicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's Epistolae ad familiares, appeared in 1469. During the printing of Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
's De Civitate Dei (1470) Johann died, and Wendelin completed it, assuming control of the business and carried it on until 1477. About 1472 he associated with him the German printer, Johann von Köln. Together they issued seven works. Before Johann died, four great works had been issued: two editions of Cicero; Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
's Naturalis Historia
Naturalis Historia
The Natural History is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77–79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny...
; and one volume of Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
. The De Civitate Dei had been begun. Within seven months eight hundred volumes were printed.
Series
From 1470 to 1477 Wendelin issued over seventy major works (Italian and Roman classics, Fathers of the Church, jurists, etc.). Johann printed in an antique type modelled after the best Italian manuscript writing, beautiful, and carefully cut. It is superior to the later antique type, which deteriorated through desire to save space, and it is almost equal to the beautiful type of JensonJenson
Jenson may refer to:* A typeface. Adobe Jenson is Adobe's version of it; Ludlow's version is called Eusebius.* Jenson , people with the surname or given name* Jenson violet, antifungal agent...
. Johann's clear type and his entire technical execution are surprisingly perfect.
Type faces
In addition to this first type, Wendelin used five newly cut types of exquisite workmanship, among them three slender Gothic models, probably reduced to save space. His work showed the same correctness of text, beauty of printing, and evenness that had characterized Johann's. The latter was the first printer to number the leaves with Arabic figures, and was also the first who used the colonColon (punctuation)
The colon is a punctuation mark consisting of two equally sized dots centered on the same vertical line.-Usage:A colon informs the reader that what follows the mark proves, explains, or lists elements of what preceded the mark....
and interrogation point. In Wendelin's books appeared for the first time the so called catch-words (Kustoden), that is to say he printed on the lower margin of each page the first word of the page following.
The Speyer brothers are sometimes credited as the originators of the Roman type
Roman type
In typography, roman is one of the three main kinds of historical type, alongside blackletter and italic. Roman type was modelled from a European scribal manuscript style of the 1400s, based on the pairing of inscriptional capitals used in ancient Rome with Carolingian minuscules developed in the...
of character of movable type, other contenders being Pannartz and Sweynheim
Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim
Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweinheim were two printers of the 15th century.Pannartz died about 1476, Sweinheim in 1477. Pannartz was, perhaps, a native of Prague, and Sweinheim of Eltville near Mainz. Zedler believes that Sweinheim worked at Eltville with Gutenberg in 1461-64. Whether Pannartz...
and Nicholas Jenson.