The Elseviers as Printers and Publishers

Abstract

The bibliography and typography of the Elseviers and their imitators have been covered in detail and unusually well by Willems, Berghman and Rahir. Berghman reproduced typographical ornaments, and Rahir, in the catalogue of his library, reproduced not only printing ornaments of Elseviers, but those of contemporaries who imitated them. But although bibliography and typography have already been well presented, it is permissible to attempt some generalizations on Elsevier publishing as a whole. Considering all Elsevier printings or issues, the volumes of Leyden, Amsterdam, and the few at Utrecht and The Hague, it is obvious the favorite subject matter was religion and theology; the next field in popularity was law and politics; the third, classics; and the fourth, French plays and belles lettres. The texts varied in quality. The Elseviers were not scholars and relatively few even well educated; they therefore depended upon proofreaders and authors themselves to insure correct texts.