The second Mark, which Isaac (1617-25) adopted in 1620, it occurring for
the first time in the “Acta Synodi Nationalis,” is known as the
Solitaire and sometimes as the Hermit or Sage. It represents an elm
around the trunk of which a vine, carrying bunches of grapes, is twined;
the Solitaire and the motto “Non solus.” The explanation of this Mark is
obvious, and may be summed up in the one word “Concord;” the solitary
individual is symbolical of the preference of the wise for solitude--“Je
suis seul en ce lieu être solitaire.” This Mark was the principal one of
the Leyden office, and was in constant use from 1620 to 1712, long after
the Elzevirs had ceased to print.
The third Elzevir Mark consists of a Palm with the motto “Assurgo
pressa.” It was the Mark of Erpenius, professor of oriental languages at
the University of Leyden, who had established a printing-press which he
superintended himself in his own house. At his death the Elzevirs
acquired his material, with the Mark, which occurs on the Elmacinus,
“Historia Saracenica,” and on the Syriac Psalter of 1625, on the
“Meursii arboretum sacrum,” 1642, and on about seven other volumes.
[Illustration: THE ELZEVIR SPHERE.