ELZIVER

or ELZEVIER, the name of a family of publishers and printers, residing at Amsterdam and Leyden, celebrated for the beauty of the editions of various works published by them, principally between 1595 and 1680. Louis, the founder of the family (born 1540, died 1617), settled in Leyden, and between 1583 and his death produced about 150 works. Five of his seven sons followed his busine : — Mat you us at Leyden; Louis (II) at the Hague; Gilles at the Hague and afterwards at Leyden; Joost in Utrecht; and Bona venture, who in 1626 a ociated himself with Abraham, the son of Mat the us. From the pre of Abraham and Bonayventure i ued the exquisite editions of the cla ics which have made the name of Elzevir famous. Of these the Livy and Tacitus of 1634, the Pliny of 1635, the Virgil of 1636, and the Cicero of 1642 are perhaps the most beautiful. The Elzevir books are distinguished by the types and the choice of the paper rather than by the critical preparation of their texts.