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Jan I Moretus

Jan Moerentorf worked his way up from bookshop assistant to Plantin’s right-hand man. A polyglot and autodidact, he latinised his name as ‘Moretus’. After Plantin’s death in 1589, he ran the Officina Plantiniana until 1610. The printing business kept its position as the leading book supplier of the Counter Reformation.

Balthasar I Moretus

Balthasar I Moretus cultivated close ties with Spain. As a result, the Officina Plantiniana’s export business to Spain and its overseas territories flourished once again. His luxury editions commanded respect throughout Europe.

Balthasar II and the later Moretuses

The successors of Balthasar I Moretus carried on publishing liturgical books. When the Spanish crown withdrew their printing privileges in 1764, it came as a shock. French annexation was the final blow. The printing business remained open, but refused to modernise. Eventually, Edward Moretus sold the works to the City of Antwerp in 1876.

Highlights

In the Museum Plantin-Moretus, the oldest printing presses in the world are not the only things to discover. The original lead type of fonts such as Garamond, the Gutenberg Bible and ancient manuscripts tell the story of how writing evolved into the art of printing. Portraits by Peter Paul Rubens hang on the walls and the house is beautifully furnished. Check out the indispensable highlights here.

Traces in the city

The Plantin-Moretus family has left many traces behind in the city of Antwerp and outlying districts. Several streets have been named after members of the Moretus dynasty.

Highlights

In the Museum Plantin-Moretus, the oldest printing presses in the world are not the only things to discover. The original lead type of fonts such as Garamond, the Gutenberg Bible and ancient manuscripts tell the story of how writing evolved into the art of printing. Portraits by Peter Paul Rubens hang on the walls and the house is beautifully furnished. Check out the indispensable highlights here.

Traces in the city

The Plantin-Moretus family has left many traces behind in the city of Antwerp and outlying districts. Several streets have been named after members of the Moretus dynasty.

Collection online

Digitisation is central to the management of the Museum Plantin-Moretus’ extensive collection. Using the online search modules, you can search our digital databases. In this way, you can reserve books, documents, drawings or prints that you wish to consult in the reading room.

The world's two oldest printing presses

Printing led to a huge increase in the speed of communication. The two oldest printing presses in the world bear witness to this process. They were built around 1600, and can be admired in the Museum Plantin-Moretus, more than four centuries later.

Abraham Ortelius - Rockox house

Under the spell of Classical Antiquity

24.04.2015 - 16.08.2015 | This exhibition ran at Rockox House. It mainly featured items from the Plantin-Moretus Museum collection. Ortelius published the first world atlas in 1570. From 1579, Plantin printed this atlas, with Ortelius as the publisher.