Non Solus - the Story of the Elzevirs
| The early Elzevirs |
| Writers and scholars |
| Elzevir collections on the Web |
| Trivia and not so trivia |
The ELZEVIRs were a family of booksellers, printers and publishers who flourished in the 17th century. But did you know that:
besides the Non Solus printer's mark, one version of which is now the trademark of the present-day ELSEVIER, they used several other marks (including the Minerva illustrated above)...
their name is used to describe a type font which is still listed today...
as well as publishing many Greek and Roman classics, they published the works of contemporary scholars and in many other languages including Flemish, French, Arabic, and Hebrew...
they also published the textus receptus of The Bible...
and the final work of GALILEO Galilei after his works were banned in Italy...
but turned down the chance to publish a work attributed to John MILTON...
that at the time of the French Revolution, if we can believe what Victor HUGO wrote in Les Miserables, an ELZEVIR was worth around the price of a carriage fare...
that the loss of an ELZEVIR at auction affected one bibliomaniac with melancholia to such a degree that it forced him to retire to bed...
that the most famous and rare ELZEVIR of all is...a cookery book...
and that ELZEVIR is a synonym for "small"?
On the following pages is a short account of the family and of some of the writers and scholars who published with the ELZEVIRS, links to information about ELZEVIR collections and exhibits, and a collection of trivial knowledge about the ELZEVIRS.
The printers' marks - Non Solus and Minerva - are reproduced from title pages of early Elzevir editions in our own collection. The middle illustration which depicts some of the University of Leiden dissertations which were published by the Elzevirs is reproduced courtesy of Philadelphia Rare Books and Manuscripts (http://www.prbm.com).
These pages compiled
by Judith Taylor, De Rijp, The Netherlands
Launched 20 June 1997,
extensively revised 10 January 2000, updated 12 February 2000, updated
25 May 2003. With thanks to Birgit Snitker, Corporate Relations,
Elsevier, for encouraging me to update these pages and for revising
and extending some of these links. Mail corrections, additions and comments
to:
judith.taylor@planet.nl