Janssonius van Waesberge, Johannes

From GATE

Johannes Janssonius van Waesberghe (Rotterdam, 1616 – Amsterdam, 1681) was a Dutch printer, publisher and bookseller, active in Utrecht, Breda, Amsterdam and Gdańsk. [1]

Coming from a family of printers and booksellers from Rotterdam, van Waesberghe married in 1647 to Elizabeth Janszonius (1615-1681), daughter of the Amsterdam-based cartographer, printer and publisher Johannes Janssonius (Jan Jansz, 1588-1664). [2]. Van Waesberghe was incorporated in the business of his father-in-law, eventually taking it over. He worked in collaboration with his niece, Sara Janssonius, and her husband, Elizaeus Weyerstraten, as well as with other printers, publishers, booksellers, engravers, cartographers, etc, of which the most renowned was Joan Willemsz. Blaeu. [3] By 1675-1676 van Waesberghe had established the “Officina Janssonio-Waesbergiana” with two of his sons, Johannes and Gillis Janssonius van Waesberghe, who carried on the business.

In 1661, Janssonius editorial house secured a contract for exclusively printing the existing and future works of Athanasius Kircher in the Holy Roman Empire, the kingdoms of England and France, and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, for the sum of 2200 scudi. Two documents preserved at APUG - a scribal, translated copy of a letter from Sig. Jansonio ed Eliseo Wegerstraed mercanti de libri in Amsterdam [4] and the draft of a reply from Kircher [5] - relate to the successful conclusion of these negotiations, detailing the terms of the contract and methods of payment of the agreed sum of money. Another manuscript, APUG Ms. 558, f. 107r-108v, is the 20-year-long privilege granted in 1662 by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold to the Amsterdam booksellers “Joannes Janssonius & Eliseus Weyestraet” for publishing the works of Kircher. [6]


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Items related to Johannes Janssonius van Waesberghe at the British Museum collection