Today, print publications — books, magazines, newspapers — have become commonplace for us. They are inexpensive, publicly accessible, which is why the attitude towards them is often disrespectful and careless. And once books were more expensive than gold, only very wealthy people owned them. It took many years, sometimes decades, to create one book. It was hard and painstaking manual labor, and the right to be a copyist was considered a privilege, which not everyone could receive.
In Europe, things began to change in the middle of the 15th century, when the German Johann Guttenberg invented typography. In Russia, the first printing press on the orders of Ivan the Terrible in 1563 was built by Ivan Fedorov. What do we know about him today? A brief biography of Ivan Fedorov - the first printer, for children and adults will be very interesting. It is presented below.
Origin
For certain, historians do not know the date and place of birth of Ivan Fedorov, his genealogy. However, it is believed that he was born in Moscow somewhere between 1510 and 1530, belonged to the Belarusian family Ragozins. Many researchers of the life of the first printer insist that he was born in 1510 in the Kaluga province.
The beginning of the biography
It is authentically known that Ivan Fedorov studied at the University of Cracow from 1529 to 1532 and received a bachelor's degree. This was preserved in the archives of the university. Perhaps it was here that he first heard about typography.
Returning to the capital, the young man entered the service in the church of St. Nicholas Gostunsky. Educated, well-read, educated, he came under the patronage of Metropolitan Macarius. The latter was close to Tsar John the Terrible, and it is likely that he advised to entrust the creation of the first printing house in Russia to a capable young man.
Construction of the first Russian printing house
A brief biography of Ivan Fedorov - the first printer, for children and adults reveals an important fact. In 1550, the life of Fedorov made a sharp turn. By order of Ivan the Terrible, he was instructed to organize a printing business. A large-scale activity was launched on the arrangement of the first Russian printing house. Piotr Mstislavets and Marusha Nerefiev became faithful assistants to the first printer in this difficult matter. The work was completed only in 1563.
The Apostle and the Watchmaker
On April 17, 1563, the craftsmen set about creating the first book , The Apostle. She was finished almost a year later. The official date of publication is March 1, 1564.
Any short biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, written for children or adults, must mention this book, but miss such interesting facts:
- the book had 268 sheets, of which 262 were numbered;
- was released in Old Slavonic;
- when printing, red and black colors were used, while the names of the chapters were printed in red;
- the first letter at the beginning of each new chapter was painted by artists manually;
- each chapter was adorned with beautiful handmade flower ornaments;
- The total circulation of the Apostle was 1,000 copies, of which only 47 were preserved.
In 1565, the second book, The Watchmaker, was published in two editions. Out of 345 copies, only 7 have survived to our time.
Escape
Further, a brief biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, written for children and adults, tells us that he had to flee from Moscow. There were several reasons for this:
- the high society turned against the first printer because of the fear that typography would make the letter accessible to the common people, and that educated people are much more difficult to exploit;
- the scribes at the monasteries, who actually lost their bread, were dissatisfied;
- the clergy declared the printing press a diabolical fabrication.
The impulse to escape gave an arson in 1566, as a result of which the first printer Ivan Fedorov lost almost all his property. He headed to Lithuania.
Lithuanian period
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania cordially accepted the printing affairs of the master. First printer Ivan Fedorov, with the help of Hetman Khodkevich, built a new printing house in Zabludov. In the years 1568-1569. the Teaching Gospel was published, and in 1570 the Psalter with the Clockworker was published.
For unknown reasons, Khodkevich suddenly stopped financing printing, presented Fedorov with a small village and advised him to take up farming. Ivan Fedorov - the first printer, whose brief biography for children and adults is described in the article, remained faithful to his work. He gathered his belongings and moved to Lviv with his family (it is known that he had a wife and children).
Work in Lviv
For the third time, the first printer Ivan Fedorov began life anew. He organized a printing house, where in 1574 he published 2 books:
- "Apostle" with additions and corrections;
- "Primer".
The latter is one of the most valuable books in the world. Only 1 instance has survived to our time. Today it is kept at the Harvard Library.
Moving and sunset
In 1575, Fedorov received an invitation from one of the richest nobles - Konstantin Ostrogsky, to arrange a printing house in Ostrog in Volyn. The first printer accepted the offer and again moved to a new place. There, with the money of the nobleman, he organized a printing house.
The Ostrog period was the most fruitful in the life of Ivan Fedorov. From 1578 to 1581 he released 6 books.
In 1582, the printing master returned to his family in Lviv, where he died in poverty in 1583. He was buried in St. Onufrievsky monastery. This ended the brief biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, written for children and adults.