Schöffer was born in
Gernsheim. Working for Fust, Schöffer was the principal workman of
Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of modern
typography, whose
42-Line Bible was completed in 1455. In 1455 he testified for Johann Fust against Gutenberg. By 1457, he and Fust had formed the firm
Fust and Schöffer, after the foreclosure of the mortgage on Gutenberg's printing workshop. Famous works include the
Psalter of 1457, the
1462 Bible (the fourth printed Bible, also known as the
Biblia pulcra [beautiful Bible]) Cicero's
De officiis (1465), Justinian's
Institutes (1468), and
Herbarius – Rogatu plurimorum... (1484), usually referred to as the
"Herbarius latinus". The
Herbarius was compiled from older sources and was popular enough to go through ten reprints before 1499. It illustrates and describes 150 plants and 96 medicines commonly found in apothecaries. There is reason to believe that Schöffer himself commissioned the compilation, although the name of the compiler is not recorded. Schöffer is considered the author of many innovations such as dating books, including a title page and colored inks in print. After going into business on his own, Schöffer confined his publishing to works on theology, and civil and ecclesiastical law. He died in
Mainz. Around 1470/71 Schöffer acquired the
Humbrechthof in Mainz, which was later called Schöfferhof. Schöffer married Fust's only daughter, Christina, and his sons also entered the printer's trade. His son John carried on as printer between 1503 and 1531, was competent, but did not rank with the top printers of that time. Another son,
Peter the younger, was an able die-cutter and printer, and conducted business in
Mainz (1509–23),
Worms (1512–29),
Strasbourg (1530–39) and
Venice (1541–42). In 1526, Peter Schöffer the younger published the first English New Testament in
Worms, translated by
William Tyndale. Peter the younger's son Ivo, continued the printing business at Mainz (1531–55). ==Legacy==