[Illustration: J. BELLAERT.]
[Illustration: H. HENRICI.
hollan leiden]
It will be convenient to group together in this place a few of the more
representative examples of the Marks of the Dutch and Flemish printers
of the sixteenth century. Of Thomas Van der Noot, who was printing at
Brussels from about 1508 to 1517, there is very little of general
interest to state, but his large Mark is well worthy of a place here.
Picturesque in another way also is the Mark of J. Grapheus, Antwerp,
1520-61; the example we give is a distinct improvement on a very roughly
drawn Mark which this printer sometimes used, which is identical in
every respect to this, except that it has no borders. It is one of the
few purely pictorial, as distinct from armorial, Marks which we find
used at Antwerp in the earlier half of the sixteenth century. One of
this printer’s most notable publications is “Le Nouueau Testament de
nostre Sauflueur Iesu Christ trãslate selon le vray text en franchois,”
1532, a duodecimo of xviii and 354 folios, a rare impression of Le Fèvre
d’Etaples’ Testament as it had been issued by L’Empereur, in 1530, who
had obtained the licence of the Emperor and the Inquisition for this
impression. Henri Van den Keere, a book-seller and printer of Ghent,
1549-58, had four Marks, all of which resemble more or less closely the
rather striking and certainly distinct example here given. Of the Bruges
printers of the sixteenth century, Huber or Hubert Goltz, 1563-79, is
perhaps the most eminent, not so much on account of the typographical
phase of his career, as because of his works as an author and artist.
The “Fasti Magistratum et Triumphorum Romanorum,” is one of his books
best known to scholars, whilst to students of numismatics his work on
the medals from the time of Julius Cæsar to that of the Emperor
Ferdinand, in Latin, of which a very rare French edition appeared at
Antwerp in 1561, is well known, and the original edition of his works in
this respect is still highly esteemed, although, as Brunet points out,
Goltz has suffered a good deal in reputation since Eckel has
demonstrated that he included a number of spurious examples, whilst some
others are incorrectly copied. His interesting typographical Mark is
given on p. 51. J. Waesberghe, of Antwerp and Rotterdam, had at least
three Marks, of which we give the largest example, and all of which are
of a nautical character, the centre being occupied by a mermaid carrying
a horn of plenty; in the smaller example of the accompanying Mark, the
background is taken up by a serpent forming a circle. The Mark of M. De
Hamont, a printer and bookseller of Brussels, 1569-77, is worth quoting
as one of the very few instances in which the subject of St. George and
the Dragon is utilized in this particular by a printer of the Low
Countries. Rutger Velpius appears to have had all the wandering
proclivities of the early printers; for instance, we find him at Louvain
from 1553 to 1580, at Mons from 1580 to 1585, and Brussels from 1585 to
1614: he had three Marks, of which we give the largest. Of the Liege
printers, we have only space to mention J. Mathiæ Hovii, whose shop was
“Ad insigne Paradisi Terrestris” during the latter half of the
seventeenth century, and whose Mark is of rather striking originality
and boldness of design.
[Illustration: JODOCUS DESTRESIUS.]
[Illustration: THOMAS VAN DER NOOT.]
[Illustration: J. GRAPHEUS.
CHARITAS
Ἡ ἀγάπη πάντα δέγει.]
[Illustration: HENRI VAN DEN KEERE.
Anziet thende.
Van den keere.
HVDK]
[Illustration: J. WAESBERGHE.