By 1549 this was one of the most respected publishing houses in Europe. Plantin and his heirs, the Moretus family, published some of the most important scientific, religious, and humanistic works of its time. It contains original presses and type fonts (e.g., Garamond, which is still widely used), as well as an extensive research library of original work. The interior is little altered since its founding. Since 1876 it has been owned and operated by the city of Antwerp. This is an extraordinary place in the history of the printed word and human communication.
Known as Garamond today, this elegant serif font is still in use today.
François van Ravelingen's Dutch translation of Rembert Dodoens and Carollus Clusius's massive book of plants. It used a systematic approach to classifying and grouping plants, unlike earlier work. Renaissance work like this initiated scientific discovery. This copy is a 1618 reprint of a 1608 edition.
