Books and their makers during the Middle Ages

by George Haven Putnam

In 1453, Fust made a journey to Paris in order to find sale there for his big Bible. This was four years before the first Paris printing-press began its work, and it was in connection with this big Bible that the gossip arose of Fust being able, through compact with the Devil, to produce an indefinite number of copies of a book. It could not be understood how in any other way these copies could be offered so cheaply. The University of Paris was at that date the most important in Europe, and the influence of the University upon the cultivation of the city and its close relations with the old book-trade in manuscripts, had made Paris the most important European centre for literary production and the place where scholars were in the habit of looking for their material. It was in Paris, if anywhere, that it should prove possible to find sale for the Latin Bible, and Fust’s efforts appear to have met with a prompt success. The first Bible bearing a date was completed in 1462, and is known as the Mayence Bible. At the time it was in readiness (in October) nothing could be done in getting it into the market, as Mayence was being besieged by Adolph of Nassau. In 1466, Fust is again in Paris with copies of the second edition of his De Officiis, and with other of his publications.

There is still preserved in the city library of Geneva a copy of this edition of Cicero, which contains the record that it was bought by Louis de la Vernada, in Paris, in July, 1466, from Fust.[435]

Fust & Schöffer may claim to have been the first printers who acted also as publishers and booksellers. Notwithstanding the many difficulties with which they had had to contend, they were able to offer their books at prices which, to the old dealers in manuscripts, seemed astounding and which gave some pretext for the charge of magic. Madden says that a copy of the “48 line Bible” printed on parchment, could be bought in Paris, in 1470, for 2000 francs, and that the cost of the same text a few years earlier in manuscript form would have been five times as great. Bishop John of Aleria, writing in 1467 to Pope Paul II., says that it is now possible to purchase in Rome for 20 gulden, gold, works which a few years earlier would have cost not less than 100 gulden, and that other books now selling as low as 4 gulden would previously have cost not less than 20 gulden. The first results of the printing-press appear, therefore, to have been a reduction of about four fifths in the price of work of a scholarly character.

Fust is entitled to the description, not only of the second printer and of the first publisher, but of the first pirate in printed books. In 1465, Mentel printed in Strasburg under the title of De Arte Prædicatoria, the fourth book of S. Augustine’s De Doctrina Christiana. The editor states that he had, for the purpose of this edition, collected manuscript texts in the libraries of Heidelberg, Speyer, Worms, and Strasburg, and that he had induced Joh. Mentel, a “master of the art of printing,” to put the volume into a form available for the general use of clerics.

Fust reprinted this volume in 1466, following the text with precision, and simply replacing Mentel’s name with his own. This is the first instance of literary appropriation of which there is any record, after the beginning of printing.[436]

After the death of Fust, which occurred early in 1467, Schöffer continued the business with Fust’s sons, and established branches in Paris and in Angers. His name appears for the first time alone on the title-page of the Thomas Aquinas, published in a folio of 516 pages in March, 1467. He prints it in full as Petrus Schoiffher de Gernsheim. In a receipt for 15 gold crowns, paid by the College of Autun for a copy of this, Schoiffher styles himself Impressor Librorum. He appears to have made sale in Paris not only of his own publications, but of the books issued by other German printers.

In a copy of the work of Johannus Scotus, printed by Koberger in 1474, now contained in the library of the Paris Arsenal, appears the entry, “I, Peter Schöffer, printer from Mayence, acknowledge that I have received from the worthy Magistrate, Johannus Henrici, of Pisa, three scuta as the price of this book.”[437] Schöffer seems to have acted in some measure also as purchasing agent for the University of Paris, through an associate, Guimier, who was a licensed member of the Paris guild. The Paris branch of the business was given up a few years later, and Schöffer devoted his energies to extending his trade in Germany. In 1479, his name appears in the list of the citizens of Frankfort, and the removal to Frankfort of his publishing headquarters constituted the first step towards the selection of that city as the centre of the publishing and bookselling trade of Germany, a position that it retained for more than a century. Schöffer continued, however, to do the work of his printing in Mayence.

Some light is thrown upon the extent of the publishing undertakings carried on at the time by Schöffer with his associate Hancquis, by the record of a suit brought by the two partners in 1480 against a certain Bernhard Inkus, of Frankfort. They charged Inkus with having begun the publication of a considerable series of books, the property right in which (Eigentumsrecht) vested in themselves and in Conrad Henki (who was a son of Fust). It does not appear from the record of this trial on what grounds Schöffer and his associates claimed the right to control these books, or whether the unauthorised issues of which they complained had been printed by the defendant Inkus or were simply being offered for sale by him on behalf of other printers.

The case appears to have been referred or possibly appealed to a court in Basel, and by this court was issued some preliminary injunction against the continued sale of the books complained of. The record giving the final decision of the case is, however, missing. The lack of full details of the suit is the more to be regretted as it appears to have been the first case after the invention of printing involving, if not copyright ownership, at least a certain control by contract.

In the same year we find the Magistracy of the City of Frankfort applying to the Magistracy of the City of Lübeck for the protection of Schöffer against some illegitimate infringement of Schöffer’s business rights on the part of the Lübeck citizen Hans Bitz. Here also is there no record as to the result of the application. The firm also had dealings with Ulm, as appears from a claim made, in 1481, for the collection of the moneys due from certain citizens in Ulm—Harscher, Ruwinger, and Ofener, for books delivered. They sent to Ulm, with a protection certificate given by Elector Diether of Mayence, a representative who was empowered to collect the money. There was at the outset some delay in connection with an alleged informality in his authorisation, but the Magistracy of Ulm sent back word that as soon as the requisite authorisation was secured, the collection of the money would be enforced in due course.