Laurens Jansszoon Coster

This (memorial) stone was made in 1630, at the 200 anniversary of the invention of printing with moveable type. This invention was attributed at the time to the Dutchman Coster. The printer Arent Corsz. Hogenacker ordered the stone. He was not only a printer, but also a punchcutter and type foundry. He was famous for his Arabic letters, used by the professor of Arabic at Leiden University, but he also had Syrian and Greek letters. After his death in 1636 these letters were sold to Oxford University for ƒ 2300. See for more info (in Dutch): www.erfgoedleiden.nl/component/lei_verhalen/verhaal/id/205