After Rembolt, the interest of the Printer’s Mark in France diverges
into a number of directions. The most prolific printer was, perhaps,
Antoine Vérard, who, dying in 1530, issued books continuously for about
forty-five years: he was also a calligrapher, an illuminator, and a
bookseller; his Books of Hours led the way for the beautiful productions
of Simon Vostre, whilst his chief “line” consisted of romances, of which
there are over a hundred printed on vellum and ornamented with beautiful
miniatures. He had two Marks, one of which, consisting simply of the two
letters A. V., is accompanied by the lines:
“Pour proquer la grand’ miséricorde,
A tous pescheurs faire grâce et pardon,
Antoine Vérard humblement te recorde.”
Of the second we give an example on p. 21. Among his publications may
be mentioned “L’Art de bien Mourir,” 1492, which Gilles Couteau and
J. Menard printed for him, whilst the punning Mark of the former is
reproduced in our first chapter (p. 4). François Regnault, who printed
a large number of books during the first half of the sixteenth century,
had six Marks, chiefly variations on the one here given. He usually
placed at the bottom of his books: “Parissis, ex officinâ honesti viri
Francissi Regnault”; the accompanying reduced facsimile of one of his
title-pages indicates the prominent position allotted at this early
period to the printer’s Mark. A very remarkable and elaborate Mark
of this family of printers was that of Pierre Regnault, who was putting
forth books during nearly the whole of the first half of the sixteenth
century. The Marchant family existed in Paris as printers for over 300
years (1481-1789). The first of the line, Guy, or Guyot, who printed
books for Jehan Petit, Geoffrey De Marnef, and others, had as Mark four
variations of the _chant gaillard_ represented by two notes, sol, la,
with one faith represented by two hands joined, in allusion to the
words, “Sola fides sufficit,” taken from the hymn, “Pange lingua.”
Beneath his Mark he placed the figures of Saints Crispin and Crispinian,
patrons of the leather-dressers who prepared the leather for the binder,
in which capacity Marchant acted on several occasions for Francis I. As
was the case with his contemporaries, Marchant’s earliest books
possessed no mark, and one of the first of the publications in which it
appeared was the “Compost et Calendrier des Bergiers,” 1496. The De
Marnef family also make a big show in the annals of French typography,
particularly in the way of Marks, the various members using, between
1481 and 1554, nearly thirty examples, including duplicates, several of
which were designed by Geoffrey Tory. Nearly all these Marks had the
subject of the Pelican feeding her young as a centre piece. Jerome,
however, used a Griffin among his several other examples, of which the
two finest of the whole series are those numbered 746 and 812 in
Silvestre, and are the work of Jean Cousin at his best. The founder of
the family, Geoffrey, used the accompanying device in two sizes. The
Janot family, of which the founder, Denys, was the most celebrated, were
issuing books in Paris from the end of the fifteenth to the middle of
the eighteenth century, and the more noticeable of their Marks contained
the device: “Amor Dei omnia vincit--amour partout, tout par amour,
partout amour, en tout bien” (see p. 15). The Macé family, which makes a
good show with eleven Marks, was also a long-lived one of over 200
years, many of the members residing at Caen, Rennes, and Rouen, besides
Paris. The same may be said to some extent of the Dupré or Du Pré
family, 1486-1775; the two first, Jean or Jehan and Galliot, were the
most celebrated. Of the dozen Marks employed by this family, the most
original, it being the evident pun on his name, has a _Galiote_, at the
head of the mast of which is the motto, “Vogue la Guallee,” or sometimes
“Vogue la Gualee” (see p. 5). Jehan Du Pré the Lyons printer, used the
accompanying Mark formed of his initials. The first as well as the most
noted member of the Le Rouge family of printers was Pierre, who resided
at Chablis, Troyes, and Paris, and who was the first to take the title
of “Libraire-Imprimeur du Roi,” ceded to him by Charles VIII., and used
in “La Mer des Histoires,” 1488. Appropriately enough, Michel Le Noir,
whose motto we have already quoted, may be here referred to. He issued a
large number of books, the most notable, perhaps, being “Le Roman de la
Rose,” 1513. He was succeeded by his son Philippe in 1514, one of whose
most noticeable publications was “Le Blazon des Hérétiques” (a satirical
piece attributed to Pierre Gringoire), the figure or effigy at the head
is signed with the monogram of G. Tory. The five Marks of father and son
differed only in minor details, and the above example of Philippe will
sufficiently indicate the character of the others. Philippe Pigouchet,
who was an engraver as well as a bookseller and printer, contented
himself apparently with one Mark. He is distinguished for the extreme
care with which he turned out his books, particularly the Books of Hours
which he undertook to produce in partnership with Simon Vostre; some of
his works are freely copied by the publishers of to-day, and might with
advantage be even more generally utilized than they are, for they
possess all the attributes of beautiful books. Thielman Kerver,
a German, was another printer who worked for Simon Vostre, one of his
most important productions being a “Breviarium ad usum Ecclesiæ
Parisiensis,” 1500, in red and black. His shop was on the Pont St.
Michel, at the sign of the Unicorn, which, as will be seen, he adopted
as his Mark, and of which there are two, which differ from one another
only in minor details. Of Simon Vostre himself, a whole book might be
compiled. From about 1488 to 1528 he devoted himself exclusively to the
publishing of books, and employed all the best printers: it was by his
energy combined with Pigouchet’s technical skill that the two produced,
in April, 1488, the “Heures à l’Usaige de Rome,” an octavo finely
decorated with ornaments and figures; the experiment was a complete
success. It is generally assumed that the engraving was done in relief
on metal, as the line in it is very fine, the background stippled, and
the borders without scratches: wood could not have resisted the force of
the impression, the reliefs would have been crushed, the borders rubbed
and badly adjusted. The artistic connection of Pigouchet and Vostre
lasted for eighteen years, and with them book production in France may
be said to have attained its highest point. By the year 1520 Vostre had
published more than 300 editions of the “Hours” for the use of different
cities; he had two Marks, of which we give the larger example on p. 103.
[Illustration: SIMON VOSTRE.
S V
SIMON VOSTRE]
[Illustration: FRANÇOIS REGNAULT.
Le premier volume
de la toison dor.
Compose par reuerend pere en dieu guillaume par
la permission diuine iadis euesque de Tournay/ ab-
be de sainct Bertin et chancellier de lordre de la Thoi
son dor du bon duc Philippe de bourgongne Auquel
soubz les vertus de magnanimite et iustice apparte-
nans a lestat de noblesse sont contenus les haulx ver-
tueux et magnanimes faictz tant des tres chrestiennes
maisons de france/ bourgongne et flandres que dau-
tres roys et princes de lancien et nouueau testament
nouuellement imprime a Paris.