Froben, Johann
FROBEN, JOHANN
Printer and publisher; b. 1460?; d. 1527. Of Basel, Switzerland, he was a disciple of Johann amerbach, noted printer of humanistic works. From 1514 to his death, Froben was erasmus's major publisher, issuing many works in Scripture, patristics, and the classics. In 1491 he produced the first Latin Bible in small type and in 1516 issued the editio princeps of Erasmus's Greek New Testament; this, revised in subsequent editions before Erasmus's death, had an epochmaking influence in the early days of the reformation. Hans Holbein (the younger) was associated with him for four years as a designer of borders and decorative material. Under his son Hieronymus and grandson Ambrosius, the firm continued until the end of the 16th century.
[e. p. willging]