Lodewijk Elzevir

Lodewijk Elzevir (c. 1540 – 4 February 1617), originally Lodewijk or Louis Elsevier or Elzevier, was a printer, born in the city of Leuven (today in Belgium, then part of the Habsburg Netherlands or Spanish Netherlands).

[2] Elzevir, son of Hans Helschevier, was born in Leuven and started his career as a bookbinder at the printing shop of Christoffel Plantijn in Antwerp.

In 1563, he married Maijke de Verdeijen Verbois in Antwerp, where his first two sons were born.

Atypical of other printers of the era, Elzevir books focused on sturdiness rather than elegance and legibility over ornate characters.

The Lodowijk Elzevir who famously met Galileo in Arcetri in 1636 was the grandson of this Lodwijk (1604–1670).


Title page from Prof. Nicolaes Tulp 's book called Observacionum Medicarum , published by Ludovicum Elzevirium , 1641