Steven Mierdman

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Steven Mierdman (born c.1510 at Hooge Mierde near the Belgian frontier, also known as Stephen Mierdman, Steven Mierdmans, Stephen Myerdmann, and Steven Mierman) was among the most important Dutch printers of Reformation books.

Mierdman first printed in Antwerp from 1542-c.1546, becoming a freeman of the city in November 1543. Some time after 1546, to escape proceedings for having printed heretical books, he went to England. In July 1550, Mierdman, who had already taken out letters of denization, was granted a royal licence for five years "to print various books hitherto unprinted" and to "employ printers, English and foreign." While priniting in London from 1549-1553, he printed a number of books in Latin, English, French, Italian and Dutch, the majority being Protestant tracts, many of them by members of the Dutch Reformed Church.

On the accession of Queen Mary, Mierdman had to uproot himself once again. He settled in Emden, priting there from 1554-1558. In Emden he met Jan Gailliart.

The number of books which bear Mierdman's imprint on the title page or colophon are but a small part of his extremely large output; he worked for a number of stationers and printed many books bearing fictitious imprints, such as "Niclaes van Oldenborch."

[edit] References

• Nijhoff, W. and Kronenberg, M. E., Nederlandsche Bibliographie van 1500 tot 1540, 3 vols in 8 parts (The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1923–71)

• Pollard, A. W. and Redgrave, G. R., A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland and Ireland and of English Books Printed Abroad, 1475–1640, 3 vols (London: Bibliographical Society, 1976–1991)

• Rouzet, Anne, Dictionnaire des imprimeurs, libraires et éditeurs des XVe et XVIe siècles dans les limites géographiques de la Belgique actuelle (Nieuwkoop: B. de Graaf, 1965)

• Clair, Colin, 'On the Printing of Certain Reformation Books', The Library (Oxford Bibliographical Society), Fifth Series, 18 (1963), pp. 275-287.

• Heijting, W. ‘Early Reformation Literature from the Printing Shop of Mattheus Crom and Steven Mierdmans’, Nederlands Archief voor Kerkgeschiedenis, 74 (1994), pp 143–161

• Valkema Blouw, Paul, 'The Van Oldenborch and Vanden Merberghe pseudonyms, or, Why Frans Fraet had to die’, Quaerendo, 22/3, 22/4 (1992), pp. 165–190, 245–72.

• Wijnman, H. F., 'The mysterious sixteenth-century printer Niclaes van Oldenborch: Antwerp or Emden?', in Studia Bibliographica in Honorem Herman de la Fontaine Verwey (Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1968), pp. 448–478