Froben, Johann

or Johannes Frobenius

(born c. 1460, Hammelburg, Franconia—died October 1527, Basel, Switz.) German-born Swiss scholar and printer active in Basel. His first publication was a Latin Bible (1491). By 1515 he and three partners owned four presses, and later seven. His contributions to printing in Basel included popularizing roman type, introducing italic and Greek fonts, experimenting with cheaper and smaller books, and employing talented artists, such as Hans Holbein, the Younger, as illustrators. About 250 of his publications are known.

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