‘Elucidatio Fabricae Ususque Astrolabii’ was published in Oppenheim. The author is Johannes Stöffler (1452–1531), a German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer. While also a pastor, he studied astronomy independently and became the first professor of astronomy at the University of Tübingen. He gained great fame as the creator of terrestrial and celestial globes, clocks and astronomical instruments, including astrolabes.

An astrolabe is one of the oldest astronomical instruments that was invented in ancient Greece and was extremely popular in Europe during the Renaissance.

At the beginning of the 16th century, in light of new scientific achievements and geographical discoveries, the range of printing was expanding. New themes required new typographic art. ‘Elucidatio Fabricae Ususque Astrolabii’ employed complex typography because of the shape and arrangement of illustrations, as well as different types of fonts on one page, paste-ins with diagrams and charts.