Description
Book SynopsisLorenz Böninger tells the story of Niccolò di Lorenzo della Magna, a major printer of Renaissance Italy. Niccolò's hitherto mysterious life and career provide unparalleled insight into the business of printing in its earliest years, illuminating the economic, legal, and intellectual forces that surrounded the publication and dissemination of texts.
Trade ReviewA richly contextualized portrait of a premodern entrepreneur, one assuredly of interest to inquisitive business historians…[A] concise and diligent economic biography. -- Robert Fredona * Business History Review *
Lorenz Böninger has undoubtedly performed an immense service for our understanding of the history of early printing in the cradle of the Renaissance. -- Neil Harris * The Library *
An ambitious and successful effort to shed light on the social conditions, human networks, and labor practices that underpinned the earliest book production in one of the fifteenth century’s most dynamic—but also mercurial—centers. Building upon his numerous excellent essays and books on artisan culture and immigrant communities in Renaissance Florence, Böninger fills an extremely important lacuna in our knowledge of early Italian printing. -- Sean Roberts, author of
Printing a Mediterranean WorldA
tour de force of scholarship. Böninger has done a brilliant job of combining known and unknown documents with the literature on the pertinent literary, economic, social, and religious history to create the best and fullest history of Niccolò di Lorenzo della Magna and his world to date. -- John Monfasani, author of
Greeks and Latins in Renaissance Italy
