Elzevir

Elzevir, the name of a noted family of printers and publishers who flourished at Amsterdam and Leyden in the 17th and late 16th centuries. The best-known are Louis, who was the first to distinguish in printing between u and v; Matthew and Abraham, who with Buonaventura produced the highly-prized 12mo and 16mo edition of Virgil, Terence, etc.; Isaac, John, and Peter, who worked at Utrecht. It was chiefly for its editions of the Latin classics that the house was renowned, other houses, notably the Etiennes of Paris, excelling them in Greek and Hebrew editions. It is rare to find an antiquary or bibliophile spoken of in fiction without mention of his valued "Elzevirs."