Christophe Plantin
Christopher Plantin, Dutch Christoffel Plantin, Latin Christophorus Plantinus (* 1520 in Saint- Avertin at Tours; † July 1, 1589 in Antwerp ) was a prolific and influential book printers and publishers of the 16th century.
After an apprenticeship at Robert Macé in Caen itself Plantin was 1549 down in the Flemish city of Antwerp, where he became in 1550 the citizens of the city. 1555, he founded his own printing press. She was one of the largest of its time and is considered the first industrial printing press. She counted up to 16 printing presses, had about 80 employees and brought to Plantin's lifetime out over 1000 fonts.
1562 Plantin was accused of having printed a heretical writing, whereupon he fled to Paris for a year. The suspicion of heresy was dispelled, and he received the support of the Spanish King Philip II to pressure the famous Biblia Polyglotta containing the Bible text in parallel in five languages: Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and Chaldean ( 1567-1572 ).
Plantin made his publishing house became a meeting place for important humanists such as Justus Lipsius, but also received in 1570 from the devoutly Catholic Spanish King Philip II and the Church 's monopoly, all liturgical books for Spain, the Spanish Netherlands and Spain to be allowed to establish colonies and was still also the official printer of the Protestant Dutch States General.
1583 went Plantin account of wars as a university printer after suffering what he secured an annual salary of 200 florins. 1585 he moved to Cologne, where in 1588 the young Crispin de Passe the Elder Engravings made for him. 1589 returned Plantin returned to Antwerp; In the same year he died.
Christoph Plantin published in the 34 years of his experience pressure over a thousand books.
The Leiden branch of the printing took over after Plantin's death, his son Franciscus Raphelengius (see Raphelengius ), the Antwerp branch went to the other son, Jan Moretus law.
The former print was taken later to the Plantin- Moretus Museum, and 2005 in the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
After Plantijn the font " Plantin " is named on which the today popular serif font Times New Roman is based.