, or Laurensz Jansz Koster, an inhabitant of Haerlem, who died about 1440, has acquired a name
, or Laurensz Jansz Koster, an
inhabitant of Haerlem, who died about 1440, has acquired
a name in the annals of printing, as the Dutch affirm him
to be the inventor of that art about the year 1430, but this
claim has been obstinately disputed. It is objected that it was
not till 130 years after the first exercise of this art at Mentz,
that the town of Haerlem formed any pretence to the honour
of this invention; and that, to the known and certain facts,
to the striking and incontestable proofs of its belonging to
Mentz, the men of Haerlem oppose nothing but obscure
traditions and conjectures, and not one typographical production that can in any way shew the merit of it to belong
to Coster. All that such objectors allow to Haerlem, is the
circumstance of being one of the first towns that practised
the art of cutting in wood, which led by degrees to the
idea of printing a book, first in wooden blocks engraved,
then in moveable characters of wood, and lastly in fusile
types. But it still remains to be proved, that this idea was
conceived and executed at Haerlem; whereas it is demonstrated that Gutemberg printed, first at Strasburg, and afterwards at Mentz, in moveable characters of wood, and that
the fusile types were invented at Mentz by Schojffert.
The learned Meerman, counsellor and pensionary of Rotterdam, zealous for the honour of his country, supported
the cause of Haerlem with all the sagacity and all the erudition that could be exerted, in a work entitled “Oru
gines Typographies:,
” printed at the Hague in Origin of Printing.
” The question is too
complicated for discussion in this place: we shall therefore
only add the tradition respecting Coster’s invention. It is
said that walking in a wood near Haerlem, he amused himself by cutting letters upon the bark of a tree, which he
impressed upon paper. Improving this incident, he proceeded to cut single letters upon wood, and uniting them
by means of thread, he printed a line or two for his children. It is added, that he afterwards printed a book, entitled, “Speculum salvationis.
” Baron Heinecken, who
has minutely investigated the whole story, considers it as
not entitled to the least credit; and pronounces the prints,
attributed to Coster, to be the works of a later date.