Hieronymus Froben was a famous pioneering printer in Basel

Basel

Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

 and the eldest son of Johann Froben

Johann Froben

Johann Froben, in Latin: Johannes Frobenius , was a famous printer and publisher in Basel...

. He was educated at the University of Basel

University of Basel

The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...

 and traveled widely in Europe.

He, his father and his brother-in-law Nicolaus Episcopius were noted for their working friendship with Erasmus and for making Basel an important center of Renaissance printing. Their editions include the first Latin edition of Georgius Agricola's De Re Metallica

De re metallica

De re metallica is a book cataloguing the state of the art of mining, refining, and smelting metals, published in 1556. The author was Georg Bauer, whose pen name was the Latinized Georgius Agricola...

in 1556, and some of them incorporate artwork by Hans Holbein the Younger

Hans Holbein the Younger

Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...

. Through his own son, Ambrosius, the family continued their printing concern through the end of the next century.