Page "Leiden" Paragraph 18

Leiden flourished in the 16th and 17th century.

At the close of the 15th century the weaving establishments ( mainly broadcloth ) of Leiden were very important, and after the expulsion of the Spaniards Leiden cloth, Leiden baize and Leiden camlet were familiar terms.

In the same period, Leiden developed an important printing and publishing industry.

The influential printer Christoffel Plantijn lived there at one time.

One of his pupils was Lodewijk Elzevir ( 1547 – 1617 ), who established the largest bookshop and printing works in Leiden, a business continued by his descendants through 1712 and the name subsequently adopted ( in a variant spelling ) by contemporary publisher Elsevier.