 | A series of talks on the history of the written word 23. France 1470-1550 |
Printing in France is characterised by two main features.
Firstly it is highly centralised. In the eighty years to 1550 about 40,000 editions are recorded for the French speaking area, 25,000 of them in Paris. Lyon with 11,000 editions was the only place outside Paris to hold its own until it was stifled as a centre of Protestantism by the Inquisition, after which Geneva became the centre for Calvinist printing in a similar way to Wittenberg for Lutheran writers. Rouen with 1,000 editions, Toulouse with 550, Poiters with 365 and Caen with 329 were small fare. Geneva has 590 imprints to its credit, 286 of them in the 1540s.
Secondly French printing is noted for its elegance, particularly in its books of hours and after the introduction of Renaissance styles of book design.
Royal patronage was an influence in determining the direction of French printing. Charles VII had sponsored Jenson's visit to Mainz in 1458. Louis XI was a friend of learning and established a library in the Louvre under the care of the humanist Robert Gaguin (1433-1501). When the scribes of Paris took legal action against the printers, fearing loss of trade, Louis intervened and extended the royal favour to printers. When Gutenberg's financier Johann Fust died in Paris without a legal will and the confiscation of his goods was threatened he again intervened at his own expense. An edict issued in 1513 shows Louis XII's appreciation
of printing "the discovery of which appears to be rather divine than human. François I was also a great patron, but probably all these monarchs had half an eye on political ends.
Michael Friburger, Ulrich Gering and Martin Crantz. Printing was introduced to France in 1470, but not by Nicolas Jenson whose expedition to Mainz in 1458 when he was master of the royal mint remained inconclusive. Jenson was a leading printer in Venice when printing reached France in the first enterprise in which publishers were dominant. The printers' domain was first challenged by dons who usually have fixed ides as to what constitues a worthwhile book. Paris University, established around 1160, was the third oldest university in Christendom , Bologna having been set up in 1088 and Salmanca in 1134. Thus academia led the way; while the printers were German, as was normal at that early date, the initiative was taken by the Sorbonne, then the theological faculty of the university. There were two main instigators. Johann Heynlin, a German, came to Paris in 1459. He had been in Basel to study from 1463 to 1468 where he had been associated with Michael Freiberger. He had been elected rector of the university and professor of theology at the Sorbonne in 1469 as well as serving as its prior. Guillaume Fichet, was rector of the university in 1467 and librarian of the Sorbonne and professor of rhetoric.
They led the move to invite three printers to serve the Sorbonne in 1470. These were Ulrich Gering who came from Beromünster in the diocese of Constance, Michael Friburger formerly a student at Basel university
Martin Crantz of Stein near Pforzheim, the birthplace of Heynlin.
The press was established in the precincts of the Sorbonne and the printers were lodged with Heynlin at his own expense. It was not officially sponsored by the Sorbonne and Heynlin and Fichet had full control of the press. They determined the type face, a roman based on the second fount of Sweynheym and Pannartz, used at Rome for the 1469 edition of Caesar's Commentaries. It was a legible fount, not graceful but large and we know that Heynlin was short-sighted. They also chose the texts, supervised the printing, and corrected and edited them. They were usually textbooks for students with an emphasis on elegant Latin style, classical texts for an academic circle. From 1470 to 1473 they printed 23 texts.
The first to appear in 1470 was Gasparino Barzizi of Bergamo's Epistolarum liber. It was the collected letters of an Italian humanist who died in 1431, and the colophon in four Latin distyches offers to Paris the "benefits of the almost divine art invented in Germany" and practised here by the three printers Michael, Ulrich and Martin - the order of their names varied in later colophons.
Barzizius, Gasparinus. Epistolarum libri. - Paris : Freiberge Gering and Krantz, 1470. - First book printed in France.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Gasparino's Orthographia, also edited by Heynlin appeared on 1 January 1471. Some copies contained a letter by Fichet to Heynlin hailing Gutenberg as the inventor of printing.
Barzizius, Gasparinus. Epistolarum libri. - Paris : Freiberge Gering and Krantz, 1470. - First book printed in France.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Gasparino's Orthographia, also edited by Heynlin appeared on 1 January 1471. Some copies contained a letter by Fichet to Heynlin hailing Gutenberg as the inventor of printing.
In 1471 they printed Leonardo Bruni's translation of Plato's letters. This was the only edition of this translation printed and the only Platonic text to appear in France in the 15th century.
Late in 1472 Fichet went to Rome to take up an appointment offered by the Pope and early in 1473 Heynlin departed for Basel where he became the chief adviser to a former pupil, the scholar printer Johann Amerbach.
In 1472 and 1474 Friburger, Gering, and Crantz issued four works of a more general nature and then left the Sorbonne for the Rue St Jacques where they set up as a private company at the sign of the Soleil d'or. Louis XI granted letters of naturalisation to the printers in Feburary 1474 and the same year the first book from the new address was printed:
This was Manipulus curatorum, a handbook for the clergy, printed in a transitional romano-gothic type. An undated Biblia latina appeared around 1476, the frst Bible to be prnted in France, using a new fount, a rounded gothic combined with roman capitals.
After January 1478 Friburger and Crantz dropped out of the partnership and disappeared from printing history. Gering continued printing until his death in 1510, moving in 1483 to the rue de Sorbonne at the same sign. Between 1484 and 1494 books printed at the Soleil d'Or carry the names of Jean Higman (1484–1489) and George Wolf (1490–1492). Gering is found there again in partnership with Berthold Rembolt from 1494 to 1508, after which Rembolt worked alone. In 1478 Gering used a new roman type but generally hs work was not outstanding. He continued his close association with the Sorbonne with apartments in the college and a seat at the doctors' table, and he remembered the Sorbonne in his will. In all about 194 editions bear Gering's name making him the eighth most prolific Parisian printer of the incunabula period.
Pieter de Keysere of Ghent and Johann Stoll, a German, established the second press in France in 1473, also in the Rue St Jacques. They had formerly been employed by Friburger, Gering, and Crantz. A third press, staffed by Frenchmen was set up in 1473/4, again in the Rue St Jacques, at the sign of the Soufflet vert.
Pasquier Bonhomme had been active as a bookseller in Paris since around 1445 and was named bookseller to the University in 1455. In 1468 he was described as one of the four main booksellers to the Sorbonne. At first he specialsed in manuscripts but began to print on his own account in 1475. The press was installed in his own house A l'image Saint Christophe, although he did not himself undertake the printing. On 16 January 1476/7 he published Chroniques de France, one of the only books signed by him, its three folio volumes constituting the first dated book in French to be printed in Paris. He died in about 1496 after printing a dozen works, together with his son Jean. His son Jean was sworn in as bookseller to the University in 1465 and worked until his death around 1529. He published in 1485 Jacques Milet's L'istoire de la destruction de Troye la graunt, one of the first profusely illustrated books to be printed in Paris. Several of his wooduts passed into the hands of Antoine Vérard. His son Jean II succeeded him and worked until his death around 1552. His son Jean III seems to have succeeded him. He died before 1565, bringing to an end one of the first printing dynasties of Paris.
Guy Marchant, active as a printer from 1485 to 1506 was also a priest and master of arts and probably began by producing manuscripts. He worked largely for the Collège de Navarre. In 1485 he printed an edition of La danse macabre des hommes illustrated by woodcuts which were frequently copied. There were 17 cuts in the 20 pages of the text and he followed this in 1486 with the Danse macabre des femmes. The works depicted Death claiming victims from all ranks of life, related to blockbook editions of the text. It was a poor man's book, giving satisfaction in times of plague to see the mighty being carried off in the same way as common folk. The pictures were more effective than the words and several later series were published, including one printed by Hus in Lyon in 1499 showing a printing press. Hans Holbein also illustrated a series. In 1500 he printed an edition of Sebastian Brant's Ship of fools in Flemish. His nephew Jean I Marchant succeeded him.
Bovillus, Nicolaus. Contra obtinentes plura beneficia. - Paris : Guy Marchant, [ 1495?]. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Pierre La Rouge was also an engraver and illuminator. He came to Paris fom Chablis where he had introduced printing in 1478. His first work Livre des bons moeurs is clearly the work of a beginner. The signatures are to be found sometimes at the head and sometimes at the foot of the leaves, the justication of the lines is uneven and blank spaces are left, presumably for illustrations.
He is next heard of, technically much improved, in Paris in 1487 where he worked for the booksellers Vincent Commin and Antoine Vérard. He was one of the first to apply woodcuts to book illustration, notably in La Mer des histoires printed between July 1488 and February 1489, a two-column work with fifty illustrations. It is a translation of a Latin world history with additional material relating to the kings of France, and was probably based on a Lübeck edition of 1475. It also has fine initials and borders taken from manuscript illumination. The layout of the page is more important than the indivdual cuts, which are often repeated. It has a very striking early title page with a large historiated capital "L". The work is one of the finest 15th century French printed books. He was the first to use the title "imprimeur du Roy" or "impressor regius". His son Guillaume Le Rouge succeeded him, first in Chablis en 1489 then, after working in Troyes From 1491 to 1492, in Paris.
Antoine Vérard (1450-1514) was one of the first to popularise the illustrated book. He too was originally a calligrapher, miniaturist and engraver. He set up shop in 1485 on the Pont Notre-Dame. When the bridge was swept away on 25 October 1499 he was forced to move premises, receiving a payment which enabled him to install himself within the university precincts. His first dated book appreared in 1485, a book of hours, the first known printed Horae in France. In 1485 he printed Les cent nouvelles, a translation of Boccaccio by Laurent du Premier-Fait.
In 1491 appeared the Historiae of Orosius illustrated with a mixture of his own small woodcuts of battle scenes and lager cuts and initials used by Le Rouge in his Mer des histoires. This ushered in a steady output of finely printed and illustrated books of chivalry. Editions de luxe were printed on vellum for wealthy patrons or royalty, the illustrations often brilliantly hand-coloured, sometimes entirely altered for special requirements. And he had numerous princely protectors including the kings of France Charles VIII and Louis XII and the English king Henry VII.
In 1492 appeared a collection of four treatises in one volume: L'art de bien mourir, Traité des peines d'enfer, Advenement de l'antichrist and L'art de bien vivre.
In 1493 Chroniques de France, three volumes printed for him by Jean Morand.
In 1495/6 St Vincent de Beauvais Miroir historiale, a magnificent five volume edition.
In about 1498 the Bible historiée translated from the Latin of Pierre le Mangeur by Guyard des Moulins.
In about 1500 Terence en français illustrated from composite blocks where the characters in the comedies are interchangeable, an idea first used by Trechsel of Lyon and Grüninger of Strasburg.
In 1493 Chroniques de France, three volumes printed for him by Jean Morand.
In 1495/6 St Vincent de Beauvais Miroir historiale, a magnificent five volume edition.
In about 1498 the Bible historiée translated from the Latin of Pierre le Mangeur by Guyard des Moulins.
In about 1500 Terence en français illustrated from composite blocks where the characters in the comedies are interchangeable, an idea first used by Trechsel of Lyon and Grüninger of Strasburg.
The art of good lyvyng and good deyng. - Paris : Antoine Verard, [ 1503. - Woodcut of Jesus at Bethany. Printed in English.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Martinus (Streus) Polonus. La chronique Martiniane de tous les papes. - Paris : Antoine Verard, [ 1503?]. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Vérard was a pioneer in introducing Renaissance designs, but he was not without his faults. For example he was not above piracy and, like Koberger, he frequently re-used blocks, for example in Lucien Suetone et Saluste he used five cuts from an earlier book 64 times. Woodcuts were frequently introduced to texts completely unrelated to the work for which they had originally been made. The USTC lists 364 editions by him between 1485 and 1515, making him the second most prolific Parisian publisher of his time although he used 26 printers, mostly Parisians, to print his editions as well as several painters and illuminators to decorate them. He was the author of poems and wrote prologues to his editions. From 1491 he had a bookstore in Tours where he purchased a house in 1505 fom which he sold his edition of the custumal of Touraine in 1507 and 1508. His son Barthélemy Vérard succeeded him.
Books of hours (Horae) contained prayers for the various times of day. The essential part were the seven hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary, each accompnaied with an illustration of an incident in the life of the Virgin or Christ. There could be from two to six subsidiary hours added, such as the Crucifixion. There was also a calendar, gospel passages, private prayers, psalms, the litany, vigils of the dead, all illustrated. The richly illuminated miniatures and borders of the manuscripts were replaced by woodcuts, often hand-coloured, arranged as a frame round the printed text. Manière criblée or metal cut borders could give a congested appearance to the page. At first the content was mainly decorative with flowers, birds of motifs reflecting the main picture but as their popularity grew they became more secular with scenes from daily life. The calendars also have lively cuts of occupations reflecting the different seasons of the year.
Horae made two main contributions to book production:
Firstly the small format, as befits a book for private devotions.
Secondly the development of the two-page spread as the unit of design, a revolutionary concept where the illuminated miniature had received the greatest emphasis in the manuscript era. The woodcut had to fit into a planned page together with the type of the text, which was no longer a subsidiary element. However the borders were treated as with manuscripts, a means of filling blank margins. The cuts were generally good but they were often re-used and there is much evidence of trimming to fit new formats.
Horae were primarily a French phenomenon but they spread throughout Europe. Aldus Manutius and some English priters produced examples as did many other in the period 1485-1568. In Paris there were six main printers of books of hours:
1. Antoine Vérard was the first to issue a book of hours in 1485. In all he published more than 200 examples. At first they were simple transitional works but in 1490 they came into full flower with the "grandes heaures" produced for the king.
2. Jean Dupré has been described by Pollard as "perhaps the finest printer of the century". He should not be confused with this namesake in Lyon (1484-1503), Salins-les-Bains, Uzès (1491-1493) and Avignon (1497) to whom he was perhaps related. He opened a shop at the sign of the Two Swans in 1481, the year his first dated book appeared on 22 September, a Paris missal with two full page woodcuts, the earliest in Paris, in a crude indigenous style, including one of the crucifixion. On 26 November appeared a Verdun missal with new and better executed illustrations.
In 1482 he introduced printing to Chartres by printing a missal and a breviary for the canons. In 1484 appeared Boccaccio's De la ruine des nobles hommes et femmes infortunés, his first secular book and the first illustraed vernacular book to be printed in Paris. The woodcuts were re-used in London by Pynson in Lydgate's Fall of princes. They were long considered to be of English origin and are among the best of their kind.
In 1486 he introduced printing to Abbeville by entering into partnership with Pierre Gerard to print Augustine's De civitate Dei, a folio in two volumes with 23 fine woodcuts executed in Paris and based on manuscripts belonging to Bâtard de Bourgogne. The type was also from the stock of Dupré who may merely have supplied the material, although he is named first in the colophon. Pollard calls it "the first really magnificent French illustrated book in which paper and print and woodcuts of artistic value all harmonise". Dupré is known to have employed Venetian craftsmen. In 1488 with Jean le Bourgeois of Rouen he published a fine edition of Lancelot du lac.
His first really fine Horae, for the use of Rome, appeared in 1488 with manière criblée borders that were models for many later editions. They were copied by Vérard. His second book of hours published in 1489 includes an early attempt at colour printing, in red, blue, and green.
Although he specialised in editions de luxe like Vérard he had a fine business capacity. Like Koberger in Germany he controlled the French book market for a while through his association with wealthy financiers and by the foundation of branches and agencies. He was active in Chartres (for canon Pierre Plumé) in 1482-1483, in Tours in 1485, in Abbeville in 1486-1487 and he also lent his types or presses to various provincial printers: Gaillard Le Bourgeois and his son Jean Le Bourgeois in Rouen in 1488, Étienne Larcher in Nantes en 1493, Pierre Alain and André Chauvin in Angoulême, Arnoul Bocquillon in Châlons-en-Champagne en 1498, etc. He was also the first to print a surviving poster, for "Le Grant Pardon de Nostre Dame de Paris" in October 1482. He died before 25 September 1504, the date his will was proved and was succeeded by his widow Claire Dimanche as "Clara, vidua Johannis de Prato" or "vefve Jehan Du Pré".
Jacobus de Voragine. Legenda aurea. - Paris : Jean Dupre, 1489. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Daigue, Etienne. La propriete des tortues, escargotz, grenouilles & artichautz. 1st edition. - Paris : Galliot Ddu Pre and Pierre Vidoue, [ 1530?]. - First monograph on turtles.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Le mirouer historial de France. - Paris : Galliot Du Pré, 1516. - Printer's device.
Copies: EWP archives. -
3. Simon Vostre was active from 1486 to 1520 and published many Horae, mostly printed by Pigouchet his associate. In 1497 he also published a missal for the use of Rouen printed for him by Gering, who had introduced printing to Paris, and Rembold.
Catholic Church. Heures a lusaige de Romme. - Paris : Simon Vostre, [ 1515?]. - Printer's device.
Copies: EWP archives. -
4. Pierre Pigouchet completed his first Horae ad usum romanum for Vostre on 16 September 1488. By 1496 he had acquired his distinctive style with extensive use of metal cuts and elaborate decoration. His later productions were mostly for Vostre and are among the finest of the kind. He ceased work in 1505 having produced 113 editions between 1488 and 1507, at this peak in the 1490s between 7 and 15 editions a year.
Catholic Church. Horae BVM ad usum Sarisburiensis. - Paris : Philippe Pigouchet for Jean Richard of Rouen, 1494. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Catholic Church. Horae BVM ad usum Sarisburiensis. - Paris : Philippe Pigouchet for Simon Vostre, 1498. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
5. Thielmann Kerver published his first dated work on 26 May 1498: Diomedes De arte grammatica. He was a successful imitator of Pigouchet and died in 1522. His widow Yolande, the daughter of Pasquier Bonhomme, continued the business until 1529 when her son Thielmann II took over until his death in 1557.
Catholic Church. Horae BVM ad usum Sarisburiensis. - Paris : Thielman Kerver for William Bretton, 1510. - 16 woodcuts. Bretton published six French printed books in London.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Catholic Church. Horae BVM secundum usum Romanum. - Paris : Thielman Kerver, 1503. - Printer's device.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Catholic Church. Horae BVM secundum usum Romanum. - Paris : Thielman Kerver, 1520. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Colonna, Francesco. Hypnerotomachie de Poliphile. - Paris : Jacques Kerver, 1546. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Catholic Church. Horae BVM secundum usum Romanum. - Paris : Thielman Kerver, 1556. - 14 woodcuts by Geoffrey Tory.
Copies: EWP archives. -
The finest Horae were produced between 1490 and 1515, then there was a decline after Pigouchet ceased to work. It was a more conservative genre than most through its attempt to emulate manuscripts. The gothic type and grotesque medieval ornamentation survived for a ling time but after 1505 it lost its lightness and under German influence became overelaborate.
6. Geoffry Tory in 1525 published a book of hours printed by Simon de Colines in a new Renaissance style where decoration predominates over the religious. It contained delicate borders and illustrations engraved by Tory, refined, balanced but perhaps somewhat frigid. He also discarded gothic for roman type. It improved on the elaborate prayer books of the 1520s and made up for the vigour of the earlier Horae by its elegance. It was followed by several later editions and after Tory's death in 1533 the blocks were used by others. They were also much imitated, for example in the 1543 edition of Simon de Colines the borders used are ascribed to Tory and they also appear in a 1549 edition by Chauldière.
Catholic Church. Horae BVM secundum usum Romanum. - Paris : Geofroy Tory, 1525. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Catholic Church. Horae BVM secundum usum Romanum. - Paris : Geofroy Tory, 1529. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
After 1550 the work lost popularity among the laity and publication ceased in 1568 when on 9 July Pius V issued an apostolic brief that the new revised breviary should be adopted as soon as copies were available and horae were no longer obligatory. By then more than 650 editions had been published, about 380 of them in Paris.
Catholic Church. Horae BVM secundum usum Romanum. - Paris : Geofroy Tory, 1525. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Catholic Church. Horae BVM secundum usum Romanum. - Paris : Geofroy Tory, 1529. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
After 1550 the work lost popularity among the laity and publication ceased in 1568 when on 9 July Pius V issued an apostolic brief that the new revised breviary should be adopted as soon as copies were available and horae were no longer obligatory. By then more than 650 editions had been published, about 380 of them in Paris.
Lyon was the only significant French centre for printing outside Paris and received its first press in 1473. There were 160 printers by 1500, the majority of them German, in fact printers as a whole were referred to as "les allemands". The town was an important commercial centre on many trade routes. Merchants came from Germany, Italy and Spain and enjoyed the special patronage of Louis XI (1461-1483). Printers were extremely active with much piracy of Venetian and Parisian books. There was also much independent production, especially of light literature in the vernacular in contrast to the normal theological and scholarly texts of other centres, although some law books were produced for the Lyon law schools. French literature, chivalric romances, fables and histories flowed from the presses, also illustrated books, often employing the best artists. There was a strong influence of the German speaking area, especailly Basel, in the early production and illustration, for example in 1478 the Miroir de la redemption contained woodcuts imported from Basel and many printers worked for Koberger who had an agency there.
Guillaume Le Roy (Wilhelm König) was a native of Liege and seem to have had typographical links to Johann and Wendelin de Speyer in Venice. Around 1470 he was invited over by Bathelemy Buyer, a wealthy merchant and bachelor of law in Lyon and set up his presses in Buyer's house. It is Buyer's name alone which appears in the colophons. Le Roy is mentioned only three times during Buyer's lifetime, in 1473, 1477 and 1482. However Le Roy is accepted as the printer of 177 editions between 1473 and 1492, all but a handful in French. His earliest book is dated 17 September 1473, the Compendium breve by Cardinal Lotharius, later pope Innocent III, printed in a heavy gothic type. In 1476 on 18 April with Buyer he published the earliest dated book in French, Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda aurea translated by Jean de Vignay, a folio of 368 pages. On 4 April 1480 appeared the first French translation of Sir John Mandeville's Itinerarium and in 1481/2 Buyer's last and greatest undertaking, an eight part edition of Bartolus de Saxoferrato's commentaries on the "Corpus juris". The colophon describes Buyer's pains to obtain a good text and speaks of the "type and royal craftsmen William afforded for the work by the famous city of Venice". The type was designed by Ratdolt and Le Roy probably visited his workshop to improve his technique.
Lorris, Guillaume de. Roman de la rose. - Lyon : Guillaume Le Roy, [ 1486?]. - Popular verse romance.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Buyer died in 1483 and Le Roy printed a number of popular French illustrated books after his death up to 1488, including the Roman de la rose and the Aeniad probably employing local artists for the illustrations. He was still living in 1493.
Lorris, Guillaume de. Roman de la rose. - Lyon : Guillaume Le Roy, [ 1486?]. - Popular verse romance.
La grant danse macabre. - Lyon : Matthias Huss, 1499. - First printed illustration of printing press.
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Johann Trechsel had studied in Erfurt and employed the humanist Josse Bade as proof reader. In 1493 his edition of Terence's comedies contained 150 woodcuts with a humorous feel, more German than French and is among the finest of French illustrated books.
Terence. Comoediae. - Lyon : J. Trechsel, 1493. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Occam, G. de. Opera plurima. - Lyon : J. Trechsel, 1494-1496. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Occam, G. de. Opera plurima. - Lyon : J. Trechsel, 1494-1496. - Image of Jodocus Badius Ascensius who worked as proofreader and editor for Trachsel before setting up as printer in Paris. .
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Dialogus creaturarum. - Lyon : Claude Nourry, 1509. - Bestiary first published Gouda : Gerard Leeu 1480.
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Trechsel died in 1498 and the business was continued by Johann Klein who married the printer's widow. He printed until 1528 and was succeeded by Trechsel's sons Melchior and Kaspar who commissioned two series of designs by Hans Holbein which were cut in wood by Lützelberger:
1. Les simulacres et historiés faces de la mort a version of the dance of death.
2. Historiarum veteris instrumenti icones (1538) used to illustrate works by Michael Servetus, the Spanish theologian, physician, cartographer, and Renaissance humanist. The Trechsels had printed his edition of Ptolemy's geography in 1535. He was the first European to correctly describe the function of pulmonary circulation, as discussed in Christianismi Restitutio (1553) which was published in the relative obscurity of Vienne by Balthasar Arnoullet.
Holbein, Hans. Icones historiarum Veteris Testamenti. - Lyon : J. Trechsel, 1538. - Woodcuts by Hans Holbein the younger.
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In 1553 he was denounced as a heretic for this work and was imprisoned in Vienne by the Catholic authorities. He escaped to Geneva where he was arrested after attending a sermon by Calvin. Servetus had managed to fall foul of both the Protestants and the Catholics. Calvin and other ministers asked that he be beheaded instead of burnt, but his plea was refused and on 27 October, Servetus was burnt alive on a pyre of his own books. Most copies of the heretical work were destroyed and its existence was apparently unknown to William Harvey when he published Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus in Frankfurt in 1628. This is just one example of the Lyon printers becoming entangled with those who espoused controversial and dangerous views. During the investigation in 1553, Lyonese printer Jean Frellon confessed to the French Inquisition that Michael Servetus had been working at his print shop, and had translated for him, among other works, several Latin grammar treatises to Spanish, and a “somme espagnole” and other works by Servetus had also been printed in Lyon.
Sebastian Greyff (or Gryphius - his device was a griffon) was the son of the printer Michael Greyff of the Swabian imperial city of Reutlingen from 1478. Born in 1493, he worked in Venice and by 1524 had settled in Lyon invited there, it seems, by members of the Compagnie des libraires. In November 1532 he obtained letters of naturalisation. His editions of the classical writers rivalled those of Aldus Manutius. He printed the scientific works of François Rabelais, notably his editions of Galen and Hippocrates in 1532. In 1538 he printed the poems of Clement Marot. He employed Étienne Dolet as corrector in his workshop in 1534 and was the first printer of his writings, his Commentariorum linguae Latinae appearing in 1536. He was the author of numerous prefaces and dedicatory epistles. He died in September 1556 after producing more than 1600 editions in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Italian and French and was succeeded by his widow Françoise Miraillet and his son Antoine Gryphius under the style of "Héritiers de Sébastien Gryphius".
François Juste was active from 1524 to 1547, producing 139 editions, but is best known as the first printer of François Rabelais most famous works. Gargantua first appeared in 1534 with later editions by Juste in 1535, 1537 and 1542. The author claimed that more copies were sold in two months than Bibles in nine years. Pantagruel had appeared with Claude Nourry in 1532 and was followed by five counterfeit editions before Juste published the second edition in 1533 with a definitive edition in 1542. Le tiers livre was first published in Paris by Chrestien Wechel in 1546, Le quart livre in 1548. By then it had become common property and Pierre de Tours was the main Lyon printer to publish collected editions of this most popular of French writers.
Etienne Dolet was born in Orléans in 1508 and started his studies at the age of twelve. He soon became engaged in religious controversy, neither completely in the Catholic nor Protestant camp, but fled to Lyon where between 1534 and 1538 he was corrector for Gryphius. In 1536 François I gave him a ten year privilege to print his own books or those supervised by him. He set up his press in 1538 and printed Clement marot's Calvinist satire L'enfer and other heretical tracts, many written by himself, a total of 128 editions 50 of them in 1542. On his birthday 3 August 1546 in the Place Maubert in Paris he was tortured and burned at the stake. He had been arrested for publishing a translation of a dialogue attributed to Plato denying the immortality of the soul. He has been seen as a martyr of the Renaissance and a statue was erected to him in 1889.
Dolet, Etienne. Carminum libri quatuor. - Lyon : Etienne Dolet, 1538. - First book with Dolet's imprint. Denounced as heretical.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Lyon was remote from the Paris schoolmen and the town was widely considered as the true intellectual capital of France with a stong streak of humanism and Protestantism. It also became the home of one of the first type foundries to specialise in the supply of types to other printers. Robert Granjon moved to Lyon about 1556 although already in 1546 he had supplied an italic fount to a Lyon printer for a work on the astrolabe illustrated by Bernard Salomon.
Jean de Tournes the elder (1504–1564) was the printer in question. Born in Lyon in 1504, we was apprenticed to the Trechsels and was later foreman for Greyff. He started to set up his own press about 1540 and in 1542 his first book appeared Le chevalier chrestien. He was connected with the literary salon of Lyon presided over by Louis Labé. In 1555 he published her only book, containing fine sonnets in the Petrarchian manner. He also published the works of Clément Marot. He was a fine designer, probably inspired by Tory but greatly indebted to Bernard Salomon for his decorations. In 1554 André Thevet's Cosmographie du Levant contained 27 cuts by "le petit Bernard" and in 1557 Salomon provided 178 vignettes for Ovid's Metamorphose figurée. Salomon was especially noted for his his virtuosic arabesques, which were copied in Paris, Antwerp, Venice and London. They were reduced to units of cast tye by Granjon and became a major form of decoration for a century or more.
From 1559 Jean de Tournes was the imprimeur du Roi and more than 600 editions are recorded from his press. He died of the plague in 1564.
Paradin, Claude. Devises heroiques. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes and Guillaume Gazeau, 1557. - 182 woodcut emblems.
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Marguerite de Navarre. Marguerites de la Marguerite des princesses. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes, 1547. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Peletier, Jacquies. L' algebre. - 1st edition. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes, 1554. - One of first practical books on algebra.
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Acturarius, Ioannes. De actionibus et spiritus animalis affectibus. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes, 1556. -
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Labé, Louise. Euvres. - Revues & corrigees par ladite dame. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes, 1556. -
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Ovid. Les métamorphoses […] figurées. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes, 1557. - Woodcuts by Bernard Salomon.
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Ovid. Les métamorphoses […] figurées. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes, 1557. - Woodcuts by Bernard Salomon.
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Bible. Biblia sacra. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes, 1558. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Lyon : TOURNES : 1558A. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Marot, Clement. Clement Marot. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes, 1558. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Calendrier> Calendrier historial. - Lyon : Jean de Tournes, 1563. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Jean de Tournes the younger (1539-1615) continued his his father's business in Lyon from 1564 to 1585 when, because of his Protestant faith he was forced to move to Geneva, where he died.
The final lustre of Lyons printing came from the decorations of Salomon, the types of Granjon and the presswork of the De Tournes family, but it was finally outdone by the overpowering competition of Paris.
Henry VIII. Assertio spetem sacramentorum. - Lyon : Guillaume Rouille, 1561. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Simeoni G. Figure de la Biblia. - Lyon : Guillaume Rouille, 1577. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Ringhier, Innocent. Dialogue de la vie et la mort / traduit en francoyse par Jehan Louveau. - Lyon : Robert Granjon, 1557. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Gueroult, Guillaume. Le premier livre des narrations fabuleuses avec les discours de la verite et histoire d'icelles / traduit par Guillaume Gueroult, Lyon : Robert Granjon, 1558. - Granjon's small civilité type.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Typography's golden age is seen by many as occurring in 16th-century France. About the turn of the century the taste for medieval forms declined and was replaced by the atmosphere of the Italian Renaissance. The way was pioneered by Vérard but he was followed by scholar printers who helped to develop a French brand of classicism. Paris was ideally situated to become the centre of book production in this golden age. It was removed from the violent centre of the religious Reformation but minds were still quickened by it. The Sorbonne was conservative and in decline but the campaigns of François I in Italy between 1514 and 1544 brought him into contact with the ideals of Renaissance scholarship which he fosterd. However he was strongly opposed to Protestantism, so intellectual freedom in the 16th century had to flourish as best it may under the shadow of the state. The primary typographical influence came from Venice, with Basel also playing an important role, and there was an enthusiasm in Paris for the Renaissance both in the church and the court, leading to the development of a local style.
Jodocus Badius Ascensius (1462-1537) was born in Ghent and lived his early life at Aasche near Brussels. He studied in Italy and became a proof reader for Johann Trechsel in Lyon. He married Trechsel's daughter Thalia. On the death of Trechsel he left for Paris in 1499 where he set up as a printer and a teacher of classics. He produced a series of ancient and modern authors including early editions of Erasmus. He was also the first publisher of the great Greek scholar Guillaume Budé and also published the first French edition of Sebastian Brant's Ship of fools. Within five years his business had gained wide recognition. He designated his printing office as the Praelum Ascensianum and from 1507 used the image of a printing press as his device, an edition of the works of Baptista Mantuanus being perhaps the earliest example. It was recut several times, including 1520 and 1529, vith various errors in the depiction of the mechanics of the press.
The USTC credits him with more than 1,000 imprints, many of them large format volumes. His daughter Perette married Robert Estienne and on Bade's death the firms merged. Three other daughters also married printers, his brother and son Conrad were also printers. Conrad moved to Geneva following his conversion to Calvinism.
Gellius, A. Noctium Atticorum libri undeviginti. - Paris : Jodocus Badius Ascenius, 1532. - Printer's device.
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Geoffroy Tory (1480?-1533) was one of the most versatile men associated with printing. He was a craftsman, theoretician, author, poet and reformer. In a very short space of time he brought about the transition from gothic to classical style. He was born and studied at Bourges, and later at Rome. His scholastic ability brought him a professorship at the Collège de Plessis in Paris where he taught philosophy and edited the classics. In Paris he met Henri Estienne for whom he worked as editor. He spent much of his spare time engraving letters and ornamental borders. So successful was he that he gave up his professorship and went to Italy in 1516 to study design. He returned to Paris in 1518 as an illuminator but later abandoned this for wood engraving at which he was soon a master. He registered as a bookseller and began work on a book of hours in the classical style which was printed for him by Simon de Colines in 1525. Following this he designed other borders for Simon de Colines and also cut an italic fount. In 1523 he began his work on the French language and type design. He opposed the introduction of Latin words and was anxious to reform spelling. He introduced the accent, apostrophe, and cedilla. He also believed that letter shapes should be based on the proportions of the human body and that the ideal capital letter must combine these proportions. In 1529 his Champfleury was printed for him by Gilles de Gourmont. It is made up of theree books. The first extolls the French language and suggests improvements while the second and third expound his theories on type design, breaking away from manuscript traditons and illustrated with excellent woodcuts. In 1529 he became a licensed printer, his first book being a 16mo book of hours dated 8 February 1529. In 1530 he was appointed imprimeur du Roi by François I but he did not have long to enjoy his new status as he died in 1533.
He was pre-eminent as a maker of woodcuts and gathered around him an infuential school, influenced by Italy but with a distinctive style. He also produced a series of initial letters with different weights to match a range of type sizes and designs. His delicacy and taste is manifested in the design of his printer's device, the famous "pot cassé", a broken pot pierced by a wimble (toret in French) with the motto Non plus, commemorating the death of his brilliant ten-year old daughter. A mark like the cross of Lorraine, interpreted as "TT", which appears on some of his engravings as well as those by other hands, has been seen as the mark of a studio founded by Tory.
As a result of Tory's work, books produced in Paris appeared with lighter typefaces and with lighter decorations. The heavy types, initials and ornaments used by Josse Bade under the influence of Basel were discarded by his son-in-law and successor Vascosan.
The Estienne family was perhaps the most famous dynasty of scholar printers, also known by the Latin form of their name: Stephanus.
Henri Estienne (1460?-1520) was born in Provence and founded the firm in about 1502 by taking over the business of Jean Higman whose widow Guyenne Viart he had married in 1501. From 1496 to 1502 he had been associated with Wolfgang Hoypl but now he printed his first book independently, Aristotle's Etics. He mainly produced scholarly editions of Greek and Latin classics with his chief advisor being Jacques Lefevre d'Etaples (Faber Stpulensis), a teacher of Calvin and a leading French scholar of the Greek language. His editions of commentaries of the Psalms (1507) the Psalterium quintuplex (1509), and the Pauline epistles (1512) first subjected biblical studies to philological methods. He employed Tory for his later editions. He gave full credit to his editors in his colophons and assumed personal reponsibility for any errors. He died in 1520 after producing 160 editions, including De sectis medicorum, Georgio Valla interprete, libellus. Alexandri Aphrodisci ... de febribus / eodem interprete. Hippocratis de natura humana / Andrea Bre¯tio ... interprete, Giorgio Valla's translations of Galen and other medical writers, in 1518. Apart from his scholarship, his publications show skill in combining the best features of French and Italian typography.
Simon de Colines was the foreman of Henri Estienne and ran the press after his retirement. On his death his widow Guyenne Viart took him as her third husband and he continued to work for the family while his second son Robert, who was only seventeen when his father died, finished his apprenticeship. He then continued the business until his death in 1546. He was a skilled craftsman and scholar, mainly producing editions of the classics, often working with Tory, Robert Estienne, and Michel de Vascosan, a son-in-law of Joss Bade and printer to the King, who died in 1577. Simon de Colines introduced the principles of the Aldine press to France, producing cheap 16mo editions of the classics. He was also influenced by Tory in exclusvely using roman and italic founts. He printed Tory's books of hours from 1525 and Tory designed many of his initials and borders and possibly his italic fount. He employed Garamond as his punchcutter and typographical advisor. Colines designed excellent greek types with accents with which he printed fourteen works and also a roman type employed by Robert Estienne to print Augustine Sylvius's Latin-French dictionary in 1531. He was the first French printer to set a book entirely in italic and in all produced more than 800 editions according to the USTC, many of them illustrated. They included the classics (Horace and Martial in the Aldine style) but also natural sciences, cosmology and astrology. He printed the French translation of the Colloquia of Erasmus in 1527, forbidden by the Sorbonne, but Colines simply suppressed the title in order to dispose of a large edition of 2,400 copies. He was no mere copier of the Venetians; his title-pages avoid the standardisation of the Aldines and are sometimes decorated with delicate borders, giving them a distinctively French feel.
Lactantius. De opificio Dei. - Paris : Simon de Colines, 1529. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Finé, Oronce. Quadrans astrolabicus. - Paris : Simon de Colines, 1534. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Horatius Flaccus, Quintus. Odarum sive carminum libri quatuor. - Paris : Simon de Colines, 1539. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Millaeus, Boius Sylvigniacus. Praxis criminus persequendi. - Paris : Simon de Colines, 1541. - 13 woodcuts showing stages of criminal proceedings.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Millaeus, Boius Sylvigniacus. Praxis criminus persequendi. - Paris : Simon de Colines, 1541. - 13 woodcuts showing stages of criminal proceedings.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Finé, Oronce. De mundi spheara. - Paris : Simon de Colines, 1542. - Woodcut of Urania and the author.
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Finé, Oronce. Quadratura circuli. - Paris : Simon de Colines, 1544. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Estienne, Charles. La dissection des parties du corps, Paris : Simon de Colines, 1546. - Printer's device.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Estienne, Charles. De dissctione partium corporis humani. - Paris : Simon de Colines, 1546. - Illustrations cut by Geofroy Tory after Mercure Jollat and Estienne de La Riviere.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Sacrobusco, J. Textus de sphaera / illustrated by Oronce Finé. - Paris : Simon de Colines, 1548. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Robert Estienne (1503-1559) was born in Paris, the second son of the famous humanist printer Henri Estienne. After Henri's death in 1520, the printing establishment was maintained by his former partner Simon de Colines who married Robert's mother, Henri's widow. Robert completed his apprenticeship with Simon de Colines and set up on his own in 1524. He had gained a sound knowledge of printing and an interest in classical scholarship. In 1526 he married Perette Bade, daughter of the printer Josse Bade, who brought a good dowry and probably scholastic ability. She spoke Latin, and that became the language of communication in the establisment, even by the children and servants, as ten nationalities sat down to table. In Paris became renowned for his numerous editions of grammatical works and other schoolbooks, including many of Melanchthon's, and of classical and patristic authors, such as Dio Cassius, Cicero, Sallust, Julius Caesar, Justin, and Socrates. Many of these, especially the Greek editions, printed with typefaces made by Claude Garamond, were famed for their typographical elegance. The first printed editions published by Robert Estienne were eight in number: Eusebius of Caesarea (1544–1546), Manuel Moschopulus (1545), Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1547), Alexander of Thrales (1548), Dio Cassius (1548), Justin Martyr (1551), Xiphilinus (1551) and Appian (1551). The last was completed, after Robert's departure from Paris, by his brother Charles and appeared under his name. These editions, mostly in folio, are esteemed for their beauty. Robert also printed numerous editions of Latin classics, of which the folio Virgil of 1532 is probably the most noteworthy. He printed a large quantity of Latin grammars and other educational works, many of which were written by Maturin Cordier, his colleague in the cause of humanism.
Scarcely out of his apprenticeship he had edited in 1523 he had edited the New Testament, incorporating amendments by Erasmus. He later introduced verse divisions, which incurred the wrath of the Sorbonne. In later editions of the Bible in Latin, Greek and Hebrew he also employed critical methods to restore texts. The faculty of theology, entrenched in orthodoxy, complained "knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages would operate to the destruction of all religion". Estienne, associated with Faber Stapulensis (Jacques le Fevre d'Etaples), was more liberal. Estienne was attacked from the pulpits, his work was hampered, his house searched several times and he was obliged to seek sanctuary in the church. In almost all cases he was able to disprove heresy and prove their inability to translate Greek. He always strove for accuracy and was accustomed to hang up proof sheets in front of his shop and give rewards for people discovering erors. This quest for accuracy was maintained despite continuing conflict with the authorities.
Hutte, Ulrich von. Ars versificatoria. - Paris : Robert Estienne, 1528. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Sylvius. Isagoge. - Paris : Robert Estienne, 1531. - With St Augustine Sylvius type designed by Simon de Colines.
Copies: EWP archives. -
Budé, Guillaume. De transitu hellenismi ad christianismum. - Paris : Robert Estienne, 1535. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
His editions of the Bible combine his classical instincts with christian devoutness. The Vulgate was published in 1527-1528, with later editions in, 1532, 1540 and 1546. An edition of the Old Testament appeared in 1539-1541 with a revised edition in 1544-1546. There was also a superb Biblia sacra in 1533 in a fount based on Aldine roman probably cut by Garamond. In all he published eleven editions of the complete Bible, eight in Latin. Twice he published the entire Hebrew Bible: in 13 vols. quarto, 1539-43 and in 10 vols. sextodecimo 1544–46. He also published twelve New Testaments, five in Greek including editions in 1546, 1549 and 1550, five in Latin and two in French. His editions, especially that of 1546 which also contained a new French translation, were the subject of sharp and acrimonious criticism from the clergy.
He compiled Latin, Greek and Hebrew dictionaries, which are probably his greatest achievement. His monolingual Thesaurus linguae latinae first appeared in 1531 and was several times revised with a second edition in 1536, and a third in 1543. In 1538 he published his Latin-French Dictionarium latino-gallicum with a second edition in 1536 and the third, the culminationof his work in this field in 1552. Its partner Dictionnaire françois-latin appeared in 1539, the second edition in 1549 and new editions by Thierry, Dupuys, Nicot, Stoer, Marquis, Poille and others from 1564 to 1628. He also published an abridged version for beginners Dictionariolum puerorum latino-gallicum in 1542 with many later editions. He has been called the father of modern lexicography and his works were widely pirated.
He was designated royal printer in Hebrew and Latin by François I, a patron of learning, but also with the intention of protecting him from the ecclesiatical authorities. Royal partonage amounted almost to a personal friendship. François lavished care on printing that other monarchs spared for treasures or mistresses but he remained aware of the power of printing to influence or promote government opinion. Already in 1527 he had justified government policy in a pamphlet Lettres de François Ier au Pape which demonstrates a slanted view typical of many later government publications. Estienne printed several other "blue papers" explaining the reasons for the alliance of the catholic François with the Turkish sultan in 1536 and also with Charles V with whom he was often at war.
In 1539 he adopted as his device an olive branch around which a serpent was twined, and a man standing under an olive-tree, with grafts from which wild branches were falling to the ground, with the motto Noli altum sapere, sed time (Be not high-minded, but fear - Epistle to Romans 11, 20).
Eusebius. Evangelicae praeparationis. - Paris : Robert Estienne, 1544. - Printer's device.
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In 1540 Conrad Néobar, royal printer in Greek, died. The post was given to Robert Estienne. Since 1538 he had given a copy of every French book he printed to the royal library, forming the basis of a copyright library. In 1539 François promulgated a code of regulations for printers including the banning of any printer's mark that might be confused with another.
In 1543 appeared the Alphabeum graecum, an octavo in 16 leaves showing the celebrated greek types for the first time. Tese were cut by Garamond based on the hand of the Cretan scribe Angelos Vergetios. The first book in which it was used was the Ecclesiastical history of Eusebius in 1544 and it was followed by the first editions of several Greek authors to 1551.
In 1547 the death of François I deprived him of his patron. In December of that year the Privy Council of Henri II on the advice of the Sorbonne banned editions of Estienne's Latin Bible that had appeared between 1527 and 1546. In 1548 Estienne obtained a guarantee of immunity but in 1551 he moved to Geneva, the home of Calvin and a place of refuge for Protestants.
On his arrival at Geneva, renounced Catholicism and set up a new printing press. He had taken his greek matrices with him. Later, when thay were required for further casting in the time of Louis XIII, they had to be redeemed for 3,000 livres, as the grandson of the printer had pawned them. He published a defence against the attacks of the Sorbonne and in 1551 a new edition of the Greek New testament. This 1551 edition contains the Latin translation of Erasmus and the Vulgate, is not nearly as fine as the other three typographically but it was in this edition that the division of the New Testament into verses was introduced. He also issued the French Bible in 1553 and many of John Calvin's writings, including the finest edition of the Institutio in 1553. His fine edition of the Latin Bible with glosses (1556) contained the translation of the Old Testament by Santes Pagninus and the first edition of Theodore Beza's Latin edition of the New Testament. He was made a citizen of Geneva and died there 7 September 1559.
Although he was mainly interested in scholarship, he was also keen on good design and helped to free typography from hampering medieval traditions. Many of his books were printed in types designed by Claude Garamonde with ornaments, initials and borders by Tory.
Estienne, Robert. Dictionarium, seu latinae linguae thesaurus. - Parisiis : ex officina Roberti Stephani, 1536. - Title page.
Copies: Exeter Library: d1536, Script to print exhibition 1999.
Estienne, Robert. Dictionarium, seu latinae linguae thesaurus. - Parisiis : ex officina Roberti Stephani, 1536. - Start of letter B.
Copies: Exeter Library: d1536, Script to print exhibition 1999.
Giovio, Paul. Vitae duodecim vicecomitum Mediolani principum. - Paris : Robert Estienne, 1549. - Biographies.
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Baif, Lazare. Annotationes [..] de re navale. - Paris : Robert Estienne, 1549. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Giovio, Paul. Vitae duodecim vicecomitum Mediolani principum. - Paris : Robert Estienne, 1549. - 10 wooduct portraits attibuted to Geoffroi Tory.
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Tumbeau de tres haulte, tres puissante et tres catholique princesse Madame Elisabeth de france. - Paris : Robert Estienne, 1549. -
Copies: EWP archives. -
Three of Robert's sons, Henri, Robert [2], and François [2], became celebrated as printers.
François Estienne I (1502?-1553), the older brother of Robert I, was a Parisian bookseller who distributed the publications of his brothers. In 1542 he was ordered to surrender prohibited books in his possession.
Charles Estienne (1504-1564) was the younger brother of Robert. When the firm split on Robert's departure for Geneva he took over the Paris branch in 1551, remaining a Catholic. He had received a classical education, studied medicine and became a doctor at the faculty of medicine in the Sorbonne. He was noted for his learning, compiling works on medicine, agriculture and pedagogy from ancent authors. However the Estiennes were in disfavour, so the title of royal printer of Greek was transferred not to Charles but to Adrien Turnèbe. On the latter's retirement in 1555 it transferred to Guillaume Morel to whom he had already passed the greek types in 1551. Morel continued as imprimeur du Roi pour le grec until his death in 1564, while Charles Estienne had to contant himself with the more colourless title of imprimeur du Roi. He published the complete works of Cicero in 1555 and a Guide des chemins de France in 1552, the first printed road book, with lively comments about bad roads infested by brigands, good wine, plentiful oysters, probably the result of personal experiences on his business trips. In 1553 the encyclopaedic Dictionarium historicum et poeticum appeared. However the business failed in 1561 and in 1564 he died in a debtors' prison. Robert said of him that he possessed the attributes of being the best printer and having the worst temper of the family.
Appian. Roman history. - Paris : Charles Estienne, 1551. - Printed with Garamond's grecs du Roi.
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François Estienne II (1537?-1590?), the fourth son of Robert I printed on his own account in Geneva from 1562 to 1582, issuing a number of editions of the Bible in Latin and French, and some of Calvin's works. He absented himself fom Geneva to avoid debts from 1569 and retired to Normandy in 1582.
Henri Estienne II (1528?-1598) was probably the most learned member of the family. A precocious child, he finished his education early and travelled in Italy, England and the Netherlands conversing with learned men and collecting manuscripts. He took over the press in Geneva on the death of his father Robert in 1559. He produced numerous editions of the classics, many edited by himself from newly discovered manuscripts. They included first editions of works by Anacreon, Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus (books 11-20 which he himself had discovered). In 1572 appeared the Thesaurus linguae graecae in five folio volumes, an immense labour which impaired his health and fortune but is still used by scholars. His Apologie pour Hérodote (1556), perhaps his most famous work, caused Estienne trouble in Geneva. Ostensibly designed to show how the strange stories in Herodotus are paralleled by equally strange ones in modern times, it is bitterly satirical of his own age. It was popular with readers but not with the Consistory of Geneva. He was arrested, tried and forced to cancel the offending passages. He was in trouble again in 1578 when he published Deux dialogues du nouveau langage françois, a defense of pure French against Italianizing innovations. The Genevan authorities seized part of the edition and Henri returned to Paris where he continued to print the classics and in 1579 Henri III awarded him a pension of 300 livres. His book in praise of the French language was printed in Paris in 1579. He seems to have wandered in search of new patrons from 1583 and conducted his affairs in exile. He died in Lyon on his way back to Paris in 1598.
Robert Estienne II (1530?–1571?), son of Robert refused to abandon the Catholic faith and began to print in Paris in 1556, receiving the title of Typographus regius in 1563 after his uncle Charles ceased printing. His presses issued largely official documents. As he held to the Catholic faith he won the support of Charles IX on his succession in 1560. By 1563 he appears to have fully reconstituted his father's establishment in Paris. His edition of the New Testament of 1568–1569, a reprint of his father's first edition rivals it in typographical elegance.
Paul Estienne (1566-1637) maintained the scholarly reputation of the Geneva branch by co-operation with the Geneva philologist Isaac Casaubon, his brother-in-law, but he fell foul of the authorities and was banished in 1605 because of his participation in the conspiracy in favour of the Duke of Savoy. He fled to Paris, returned to Geneva from 1620 to 1627, then returned again to Paris, where he died.
Antoine Estienne (1592-1674) returned to the old faith and was rewarded with the title of "imprimeur du Roi et gardien des matrices grecques". However his business was not always successful. He was bankrupt in 1630 and endured several spells in prison for debt between 1633 and 1636. He seems to have ceased printing in 1664 and died in the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris, blind, infirm, and ruined in 1674. Thus ended rather ignominiously a family tradition that spanned the age of uncunabula and the Imprimerie royal of Louis XIII. The Estienne family active as booksellers in Paris in the 18th centruy are not related.
Other works and illustrations not incorporated in the main section
Benoît Prévost. Printed in 1555 Pierre Belon's Le second livre de la nature des oyseaux. - [A Paris : Chez Guillaume Cauellat, devant le college de Cambray, a` l'enseigne de la Poulle grasse?], 1555. 2°. - Hand-coloured plates, contemporary ms notes. "Imprime a Paris par Benoist Preuost" on verso of final leaf. Pierre Belon (1517–1564) was a French traveller, naturalist, writer and diplomat. Ivan Pavlov called him the "prophet of comparative anatomy". Born at the hamlet of Souletière near Cérans-Foulletourte, he was apprenticed to an apothecary at Foulletourte. About 1535 he worked as an apothecary to the bishop of Clermont, Guillaume Duprat. He travelled through Flanders and England, taking a keen interest in zoology. Returned to Auvergne, supported by René du Bellay, bishop of Le Mans, to study at Wittenberg with the botanist Valerius Cordus (1515—1544) with whom he travelled around Germany. On arrival at Thionvillehe was arrested on suspicions that he was a Lutheran. Around 1542 he studied medicine at Paris. He beacam apothecary to Cardinal François de Tournon under whose patronage, he undertook extensive scientific voyages including to Greece, Crete, Asia Minor, Egypt, Arabia and Palestine, and returned 1546-1549. In Rome he was in the household of Cardinal de Tournon for the Papal conclave in 1549-1550, when he met the naturalists Guillaume Rondelet and Hippolyte Salviani. He returned to Paris with notes and began to publish. He travelled in northern Italy, Savoy, the Dauphiné and Auvergne in 1557. A typical renaissance scholar, he took an interest in "all kinds of good disciplines": zoology, botany and classical antiquity. He wrote several scientific works of considerable value, particularly L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux (1555) where he included two figures of the skeletons of humans and birds marking the homologous bones. This is widely cited as one of the earliest ideas on comparative anatomy and is found in "one of the earliest books dealing entirely with birds". Other works include: Histoire naturelle des estranges poissons (1551), on fish, De aquatilibus (1553), De arboribus coniferis, resiniferis aliisque semper virentibus (1553), a basic text on conifers, pines and evergreens, De admirabili operi antiquorum et rerum suspiciendarum praestantia (1553), on the funerary customs of antiquity, including mummification and Les observations de plusieurs singularitez et choses memorables trouvées en Grèce, Asie, Judée, Egypte, Arabie et autres pays étrangèrs (1553) based on remarkable things observed during his travels.
