The World of the Elseviers, 1580–1712

IN the following pages an attempt has been made to give the essential facts of the history of the Elsevier family, and to show the relations of the printers to the world around them. Printing and publishing history is sometimes written as personal reminiscence, as aesthetic or technical criticism, or as a guide for book collectors. There is something to be said for treating it as a phase of economic or social history, and this treatment has been attempted here. There are difficulties inherent in