Spiridon Sobol

Spiridon Sobol was a Belarusian printer and educator. Sobol was the first East Slavic printer to use copper etching. His name is associated with the printing house in Kuciejna, near Orsha, which he founded in 1630.

Biography

Spiridon Sobol was born in the city of Mogilyov. He knew Greek and Latin languages and taught in a brotherhood school in Kiev. Sobol printed books in Mogilyov, Kiev, Kutejno, Bujnichi, and in present day Romania. He published more than 20 editions, including an early «bukvar». Late in life he became a monk in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Sobol's Octoechos became the first illustrated Cyrillic book to employ the technique of copper engraving.