Merian, Matthäus the Elder

Matthaus the Elder was a draftsman, engraver and publisher active, in Basle, Zurich, Strasbourg
and Frankfurt, renowned for his town views and plans. Merian learned the art of copperplate
engraving in Zürich. He next worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, and Paris, before returning
to Basel in 1615. The following year he moved to Frankfurt, Germany where he worked for the
publisher Johann Theodor de Bry, the son of renowned engraver and traveler Theodor de Bry.

In 1617, Merian married his publisher’s daughter. They had numerous children, including a daughter, Anna Maria Sibylla Merian, in 1647, who became a pioneering naturalist and illustrator. Two of their sons followed Merian into publishing. With Martin Zeiler (1589–1661), a German geographer, and later (c. 1640) with his own son, Matthäus the Younger” (1621–1687), Matthaus the Elder produced a series of topographia in a 21-volume set collectively known as the “Topographia Germaniae.” It includes numerous town plans and views, as well as maps of most countries and a World Map. It was such a popular work that it was re-issued in many editions. He also took over and completed the later parts and editions of the “Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages” originally started by de Bry in 1590. The German travel magazine Merian is named after him. After his death, his sons Matthäus Jr. and Caspar, also an engraver, took over the publishing house. They continued publishing the “Topographia Germaniae” and the “Theatrum
Europaeum” under the name Merian Erben – Merian Heirs.