Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/32

 20 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE than thirty buyers start up for each volume, merely asking what's the price, and tearing each other's eyes- out to get hold of them.' Amongst the foremost publishers of the time was Franz Birckmann, of Cologne, who did more than any others to promote the circulation of the intellectual products of Italy, France, and the Netherlands. With England especially his trade was so extensive that Erasmus writes from Canterbury in 1510: 'Birckmann manages all the book traffic of this place.' 1 The activity in the book trade was not confined to the large cities onlv. In the smaller ones also much stirring life went on in this direction. John Eynmann, of Oehringen, for instance, in the last decade of the fifteenth century, carried on large dealings both with foreign countries and with the upper and lower provinces of the Empire. Later on this same Eynmann removed to Augsburg, where he enlarged his busi- ness so as to include all branches of learning. Twelve other booksellers besides himself were also established in this city. From evidence of this sort we can form some idea of the immense extent of the book trade in Germany at the end of the Middle Ages. 'We Germans,' writes Wimpheling in 1507, 'practically control the whole intellectual market of civilised Europe ; the books, however, which we bring- to this market are for the most part high-class works 1 Kirschoff, i. 92-120 ; Kapp, pp. 101-104. There were issued from the firm of Richard Paffraed, of Cologne, over 260 works between 1477 and 1500. Jacob von Breda, of Deventer, published about 210 works between 1483 and 1500 ; the ancient classics taking a prominent place in the list. See Campbell, Annates de la Typographic nirrland. an XV Me sit-clc (La Haye, 1874).