Chapter XVII: Section II: Printed Books Illustrated with Engravings by Tory or His (1)

PUPILS.

1515

There appeared for the first time, in the books of Hours published by Simon Vostre about 1515, three engravings which are clearly distinguishable in method of execution from those previously used by the same bookseller, to which the three new ones were thereafter added.

Thenceforth Vostre's Hours contained three varieties of engraving: (1) The old gothic woodcuts (among which must be reckoned the Dance of Death with dotted background), which figure in the editions issued by that bookseller even in the fifteenth century; (2) Two large drawings in the Renaissance style, which appear in his editions of 1507 and which may be attributed to Jean Perreal, Tory's teacher; (3) The three in question, which do not appear earlier than 1514 or 1515. These engravings are: (I) The Adoration of the Shepherds, signed with the letter G in a gothic shield; (II) The Adoration of the Magi; (III) The Circumcision; the last two signed with this monogram: . The G is still inclined to the gothic, but the second letter is altogether roman. In my judgement, this monogram should be translated by the words, 'Godofredus faciebat,' or 'fecit.' It is true that the ascription of these engravings to Tory has been contested; but Jules Renouvier, whose taste was so unerring, and who cannot be accused of infatuation for Tory, did not hesitate to adopt my hypothesis. 'In the last of Vostre's Hours,' he says, in the pamphlet that he published concerning that bookseller, 'we see, besides the plates executed in the old French manner, which have not disappeared as yet, other plates in the Italian and German manners, subjects treated in an altogether novel style: the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Adoration of the Kings, and the Circumcision, are composed of small figures in a large ground; the design has recovered all its delicacy, in its clearly drawn forms, and the cutting is done with no less diversity than care. Here, luckily,' continues Renouvier, 'a monogram enables us to attribute the engravings to their author. It is a G alone, or enclosing an F, subscribed on a shield or in a cartouche hanging from a branch. They have been claimed for Geofroy Tory, and with good reason, for the manner in which these plates are executed accords with what we know of that excellent artist.'

It is, perhaps, to these engravings, so successfully executed, that we should ascribe the partiality that Tory afterwards displayed for books of Hours, of which, as we have seen, he put forth several editions, in diverse formats, and with a large number of engravings on wood done by himself.

1516-1518

Here is to be placed Tory's second journey to Rome,[319] from which he returned more Italian than ever, in respect to art.

1519-1520

Under this date, which was when Tory was working at the manuscripts I have described above, I shall place, albeit somewhat conjecturally, two small engravings on wood, signed with the letters G T, which appear in a publication of M. Varlot entitled: 'Illustration de l'ancienne imprimerie troyenne' (4to, 1850). They are numbers 84 and 131, the first in the criblé style, the second in the style of the Renaissance. My ascription of them to Tory is based upon the facts that they are of his time, as we may infer from the one in the criblé style, and that the initials G T are entirely consistent with that period of the life of our artist, who sometimes signed his name in full, Geofroy Tory, as witness his Hours of 1524.

The first of these engravings, number 84, represents a Descent from the Cross. The letters G T are at the foot of the plate, and are some distance apart.[320] In the same collection there is another engraving of the same series, but not signed--number 78. It represents a bishop blessing a sick man who lies entirely nude before him. These two are 48 millimetres wide by 62 high.

Number 131 represents a scene from Terence. The letters G T are side by side at the foot of the plate, which is 33 millimetres high by 55 wide. In the same collection, numbers 132 and 133, are two other woodcuts of the same series, but not signed. Lastly, in an edition of Æsop, published recently at Troyes, by the printer Baudot, we find a woodcut which probably had the same origin, and found its way into this volume by chance. These four engravings are evidently from an edition of Terence in a small format; I have been unable to find it.

1520-1521

I shall place under this date a title-page, in octavo, forming a border, engraved for Simon de Colines, and bearing his mark and his initials. This printer, who succeeded in 1520 Henri Estienne, the first of the name, whose widow he married, wished to mark his printings in some special way, and to that end applied to Tory, who was a friend of the family. Tory engraved the title-page in question, in the criblé style, then much in vogue; and on it are seen rabbits, or _conils_, which is believed to be an allusion to the name of Colines.[321] Tory's mark appears in white, at the foot of the engraving, to the right. I have seen this engraving in an Epitome of the 'Adages' of Erasmus, in Latin, printed by Simon de Colines, in 1523, in octavo, under this title: 'Johannis Brucherii Trecensis Adagiorum ad studiosæ juventutis utilitatem ex Erasmicis chiliadibus excerptorum epitome.' It was probably Tory, too, who engraved Colines's large mark with the rabbits (Silvestre, no. 79), which is in the same style, and which appears in the Hours of 1524; but it does not bear the double cross. Tory also engraved for Colines two other marks in a very different style (Silvestre, nos. 80 and 329), and a multitude of borders and illustrations for his books.

Colines certainly employed Tory more than any other printer did, as we shall see in the sequel. This fact leads me to believe that Lottin is mistaken in bestowing upon Colines the title of engraver of letters, attributing to him doubtless the engraving of the graceful italics that he used in works written in verse; I am convinced that those letters are the work of Tory. I will call attention, however, to the fact that the capitals that go with these italics are roman, and may belong to the roman letters which Simon de Colines had from Henri Estienne. But the font is enriched with some white two-line letters, of a charming design, which are certainly Tory's, as are the floriated letters used by Colines and his stepson Robert Estienne.

1521-1522

I. Tory engraved also for Simon de Colines a magnificent title-page intended for a very rare work, which, for that reason, I think that I ought to describe in detail (after one of the copies in the Bibliothèque Nationale), for its existence has been doubted.[322]

The book is entitled: 'Commentarii initiatorii in quatuor Evangelia,' etc., with no author's name on the title-page; but it was written by Jacques Lefèvre d'Etaples, as we shall see in a moment. It is a folio, of 6 unnumbered preliminary leaves, and of 377 numbered leaves, making 192 sheets, divided into 50 folds of 4 sheets each, except the first, which has only 3. The signatures go from _a_ to _ddd_ consecutively. The text of the Gospels is set in large type (great primer), the notes in smaller type (pica), in which there are some very handsome Greek characters, with accents, which were still a novelty at that time.

The title is in a wide border, engraved on wood, decorated with the symbols of the four evangelists, beneath which are printed passages from their works. This border, which is signed with the Lorraine cross at the foot, on the right side, is .225 metre high by .166 wide.

On the second preliminary leaf the author's preface begins, under this heading: 'Jacobi Fabri Stapulensis ad Christianos lectores in sequens opus Præfatio.' It ends on the fourth preliminary leaf, with the date, 'Meldis, anno M. D. XXI.' Then follows a concordance of the four Gospels, in the form of tablets closed at top and bottom by unsigned engravings.

The Gospel according to St. Matthew, which opens the book, begins with a superb ornamented L, on a criblé background, .058 metre in height by .055 in width. The Gospel according to St. Mark, which opens on leaf 115 (erroneously printed 215), begins with an I of the same style and dimensions. The Gospel according to St. Luke begins on folio 175 verso, with an F like the two preceding letters. The Gospel according to St. John begins on folio 259, with the I that has already done duty in the Gospel of St. Mark. These letters, which are altogether in the style of those afterwards engraved by Tory for Robert Estienne, seem to me to be fairly attributable to him, although unsigned.

In the balance of the book we find a large number of other letters ornamented in the criblé style, but of smaller size, which cannot be Tory's.

On folios 101 verso and 102 recto are certain astronomical figures, unsigned, which I dare not attribute to Tory; but I do not hesitate to attribute to him a large engraving on folio 182 verso. It represents Jesus in an aureole of flame. Below him is the sea; above him the Father Everlasting, blessing with the right hand, and holding in his left hand the globe surmounted by a cross. He is uttering these words which we read in a scroll: 'Hic est filius meus dilectus in quo mihi bene complacui.' This engraving, including its border, is .210 metre in height by .137 wide.

On the last page is a subscription in these words: MELDIS, IMPENSIS SIMONIS COLINAEI ANNO SALVTIS HVMANAE M. D. XXII. MENSE IVNIO.

Who printed this book? Not Simon de Colines, as La Caille said, and as Maittaire and Panzer have repeated after him, for the subscription means simply that the printing was done at his expense. One can understand, in truth, that Simon de Colines, who had at the time an extensive typographical establishment at Paris in full blast, could not leave that city to print a book at Meaux. Nor was it a local printer, for no other contemporary printing at Meaux is known; moreover, the mechanical execution of this volume, and the engravings with which it is embellished, prove that it did not come from a wretched provincial workshop.

In my opinion there is but one way of explaining this typographical enigma. It is this: Guillaume Briçonnet (second of the name), having been appointed Bishop of Meaux in 1518, took with him to that town his friend Lefèvre d'Etaples, to whom he entrusted the administration of his diocese. Etaples employed his leisure in writing various religious works, among others the Commentaries on the Gospels, which were finished in 1521. Wishing to have this bulky volume, which was of capital importance to him, printed under his own eyes, and being unable to leave Meaux, where he was detained by his duties, Lefèvre simply imported from Paris a portion of Simon de Colines's printing-office, with a small staff.[323] In this way he could not only superintend the printing of his book, but also lend a hand at need, after the example of many another scholar of that time who did not scorn to practise the printing art.

What I have said is a mere hypothesis, it is true; but this hypothesis is surrounded by circumstances which give it a powerful appearance of truth. In addition to what I have said above, I will say that the types of Lefèvre d'Etaples' book are the same as those used in an octavo printed at Paris by Simon de Colines in 1523,--a book which I have already cited and which I now have before me. It is entitled: 'Joannis Brucherii Trecensis Adagiorum ... ex Erasmicis chiliadibus excerptorum Epitome.' The title-page has a border signed with the Lorraine cross. More than that, the first ornamental letter in Etaples' book, which is an A on a criblé background, is also the first letter of the book of Johannes Brucherius; whence we see that the typographical material sent to Meaux returned to Paris immediately after Etaples' book was printed.

Doubtless that is why we have only one book dated at Meaux at that period; it might be, however, that advantage was taken of the momentary existence of this printing-office at Meaux to set up some trifling work, in 1521 or 1522; but that would not in any wise modify my conclusion.

II. Tory engraved also, at about the same time, for a printer at Troyes named Jean Lecoq, the title-page, in the shape of a border, of a 'Gradual'[324] of the Cistercian Order--a very large and handsome folio, printed at Troyes in 1521. This engraving is in the criblé style, with the double cross in white at the foot, on the right. At about the same time he engraved in the same style Jean Lecoq's mark, which appears at the end of the volume, and of which a reproduction may be seen in M. Silvestre's book, no. 875.

As this Gradual is very rare (only one copy of it is known to exist, which I have seen in M. Tross's collection) and very beautiful, I think it well to describe it. It is almost needless to say that it is printed in gothic type.

First of all, above the title there is a line printed in black:--

Jesus ✥ Maria Bernard

(It is well known that St. Bernard was the founder of the Cistercian Order.) Then, in red (I complete the abbreviated words):--

'Graduale ad usum Cisterciensis ordinis: secundum capituli generalis venerabilium patrum ejusdem ordinis diffinitionem in sequenti paginas declarata: noviter per quendam Clarevallensem monachum ad debitam formam utiliter redactum. Et Johannis Lecoq impressoris Trecis commorantis solertia diligenter impressum. Anno Domini Millesimo quingentesimo vicesimo primo.' (Here Lecoq's large mark: Silvestre, no. 877.) 'Cum privilegio.'

The volume is made up of 2 preliminary leaves, for the title, etc., and 252 pages of text, divided as follows: First part, without pagination, of 18 signatures (_a_ to _s_) of 4 sheets each, except the last, which has only 2,--in all, 140 leaves. Second part, folios 1 to 112, having 14 signatures (A to O) of 4 sheets--in all, 112 leaves.

The paper is very strong and fine. It is one of the earliest books printed with music in France, and it reflects great credit on the presses of Troyes, and especially upon Jean Lecoq, first of the name. Names of places and persons are consistently printed with capitals. The work is illustrated with a few engravings; but its most remarkable feature is the ornamental initials and uncial letters with which it is embellished.

At the end, by way of colophon, are these words:--

'Explicit Graduale secundum usum ordinis Cisterciensis, Trecis impressum

Per Johannem Lecoq, Anno Domini Millesimo quingentesimo vigesimo primo Die sexta mensis Martii. Laus Deo.'

Here Lecoq's mark with the Lorraine cross in white.

This volume came from the ancient monastery of Oliva, near Dantzig.

1522

I. We may place under this date two other frontispieces signed with the Lorraine cross. The first is a large engraving divided into four compartments, and representing armies in battle array, with cannon. The two upper compartments are connected by the shield of France, surmounted by a crown and encircled by the order of Saint-Michel, from which branches of rose-bushes depend on either side. In each compartment there is a cartouche. Tory's mark is at the foot of the lower left-hand compartment, in which the banner of France is seen waving. This engraving appears in the 'Rozier historial de France,' a folio printed in gothic type, at Paris, for François Regnault, February 10, 1522, before Easter; that is to say, 1523 new style. In the cartouches the following words are printed in red, in gothic type: 'Bataille ronde,' 'Bataille de pointe,' 'Bataille de feu,' 'Bataille de fourche.'[325] It appears in another edition of the same book, printed in 1528 for the same bookseller; also, in a translation of Cæsar's 'Commentaries,' printed by Pierre Vidoue, in 1531, for the booksellers Poncet Le Preux and Galiot du Pré. This translation is a folio volume divided into two parts, the first translated by Étienne Delaigue, called Beauvoys, the second by Robert Gaguin. The plate in question is at the end of the first part, folio 95 verso. The whole book is printed in black, both text and engraving. I am indebted for my knowledge of the engraving to M. Robert-Dumesnil _fils_.

II. The second engraving, in the form of a border (folio size), representing a number of grotesque and licentious subjects, appears in an edition of the 'Histoire du saint Graal,' published by Philippe le Noir, sworn bookseller and binder to the University of Paris, on October 24, 1523. The bookseller's initials are in the compartment at the top of the border.[326]

In this book, as well as in those last described, there are other engravings; but they are not the work of Tory, to whom only the important pieces were assigned. These other engravings had, doubtless, appeared elsewhere.

As for the engraving executed by Tory (which reappears in many other works printed by Philippe le Noir), it is a copy of a plate engraved by Urs Graf, dated 1519, and used by Pierre Vidoue, printer at Paris,[327] particularly in a Virgil of 1529, folio, which is now in the Bibliothèque Mazarine. The four principal subjects of this engraving, placed at the four corners of the border, represent: (1) Men lighting torches at a woman's posterior; (2) A woman carrying off a man in a basket[328]; (3) The death of Pyramus and Thisbe; (4) The judgement of Paris.

1523

While working for others, Tory busied himself with a long series of engravings intended for books of Hours to be published by himself.[329]

'It is upon turning over these plates,' says M. Renouvier,[330] 'that one appreciates to the full his style--rich, diversified and immeasurably clever in ornamentation, distorted out of proportion, diabolic in the drawing of faces, descending too often to downright awkwardness in the carriage of the head and to a habit of bellying out draperies; and, finally, overweighted by a sort of heaviness in the forms. The artist's greatest facility is shown in the arrangement of his figures, and in the decoration of his porticoes. Whatever he may say, it would seem that what he studied at Rome with the best results were the baths of Titus and the arabesques of Giovanni da Udino.'

1524-1525

We have seen that Tory had been in the habit for some time of signing his engravings with a double cross; but this had not yet become an invariable signature. For instance, about 1524 he often used a monogram in which his name and surname--or, to use the terms of the present day his Christian name [_prénom_] and his family name [_nom de famille_]--both appear. It consists of a capital G, enclosing a smaller S, with the double cross above. This means, in my opinion, that Tory was the _engraver_ only ('Godofredus Torinus sculpsit'), in distinction from the cross alone, which means that Tory both drew and engraved the pieces on which it appears. In fact, we find in most of those signed with the monogram a roughness of aspect which is not characteristic of Tory's usual style.

However that may be, here is a list of the pieces known to me on which this monogram appears.

* * * * *

I. LE BLAZON DES HERETIQUES.

Quarto of 14 leaves, in gothic type, printed by Philippe Le Noir, 'sworn binder to the University of Paris,' with a privilege from the court of the Parliament of Paris, dated December 21, 1524. This is a satirical production, in verse, attributed to Pierre Gringoire, otherwise called Vaudemont, at the head of which appears the figure, or effigy, of the 'heretic,' signed with the monogram in question. The description of the effigy is as follows:

En gibeciere on luy voit ratz avoir,
Qui sont rongeans et serpens detestables
En son giron faisant mords diffamables.
De son sian sort ung aspre feu vollant,
Qui cueur et corps et livres est bruslant.[331]

This very rare work was reprinted at Chartres, in 1832, under the auspices of M. Hérisson, the librarian of that city. The reprint contains a facsimile of the engraving.

* * * * *

II. HEURES DE NOSTRE DAME, TRANSLATEES EN FRANCOYS
ET MISES EN RITHME PAR PIERRE GRINGOIRE, DIT VAUDEMONT, PAR
LE COMMANDEMENT DE ... MADAME REGNEE DE BOURBON, DUCHESSE DE
LORRAINE, etc.

A quarto, in gothic type, undated, but containing a table of Easter-Days beginning with 1524, and a privilege dated October 10, 1525.

This book, which was published by the bookseller Jean Petit, contains 13 large engravings, a list of which follows:--

1. The Annunciation.
2. Adam and Eve.
3. The Cross.
4. The Holy Ghost.
5. The Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles.
6. David praying for Zion, threatened with the divine thunderbolts.
7. The Virgin and the Child Jesus.
8. A Family at Table (Pentecost?).
9. Eight Naked Children Praying; the Holy Trinity in the Heavens.
10. The Manna.
11. David's Penance.
12. The Triumph of Death.
13. Jesus receiving the Crown of Thorns and the Reed.

Only the last of these bears the monogram that I have described[332]; but the other engravings, being in the same style, should all be attributed to Tory. We might perhaps also attribute to him the six analogous engravings which appear in the same author's 'Chants royaux' (printed at the same time and usually bound with the Hours), but not one of which is signed. They represent:--

1. The Synagogue: Jesus in the background, entering a pillar.
2. The Prodigal Son: Jesus in the background, curing a woman.
3. Hunters: Jesus in the background, curing one possessed of devils.
4. The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes.
5. Entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem.
6. The Crowning with Thorns.

These two books have been reprinted several times. I know of four quarto editions of the Hours.[333] The first is the one I have just described. It contains some other engravings, in an entirely different style from Tory's, which appear also in other books of Hours of older date. The second has a table of Easter-Days beginning with 1528, and a privilege dated November 15, 1527. In other respects it is similar to the earlier one. The third has a table of Easter-Days beginning with 1534. It is like the last except in one point: in place of the final engraving there is a different one, signed in the same way, representing Job at prayer before his burning house, and his neighbours reviling him. This engraving proves that Tory must have engraved a longer series from which the printer took this one at random, being unable at the moment to find the one that he required. The fourth has a calendar beginning with 1540. It is like the second, except for the privilege, which is dated November, 1525, doubtless by mistake. These four editions are all in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal.

* * * * *

III. HISTOIRE ... DE LA ... GLORIEUSE VICTOIRE OBTENUE
CONTRE LES SEDUITZ ET ABUSEZ LUTHERIENS MESCREANZ DU PAYS DAULSAYS
... PAR ... ANTHOINE ... DUC DE CALABRE ..., PAR NICOLE VOLCYR
(otherwise called Volkire) DE SEROUVILLE, etc.

Small folio, in gothic type, without date of printing, but with a privilege dated January 12, 1526 (1527 new style), issued by Jean de la Barre, 'garde de la prévôté' of Paris. The battle took place in 1525.

Volcyr's work contains seven engravings, but only the last two, at the beginning of the last two books, are signed. We may, however, I think, attribute to Tory the one at the head of the first book also. A description of these engravings follows:--

1. Frontispiece representing Faith: a helmeted woman trampling upon the dragon.

2. The author, seated, writing his book.

3. A large plate representing a warrior (the Duke of Calabria?) amidst his men, waving his sword.

4. A bishop praying.

5. The author offering his book to the prince. A fine plate on which are several scattered letters, the meaning of which I am unable to conceive.

6. A large plate representing the attack on the town of Saverne. At the top is the word 'Saberna.'

7. A large plate representing the vision of the Passion. Jesus at prayer, a halo about his head; facing him, angels presenting the Cross; behind him, other angels bearing the post to which he was bound; all about him, the instruments of his torture. This plate is altogether in the manner of those in the following work.

* * * * *

IV. THE LABOURS OF HERCULES.

Twelve large plates, folio, owned by the Bibliothèque Nationale. Each of them was formerly accompanied by a number and by a quatrain in French explaining the subject; unfortunately these have been removed from most of the plates,[334] and it is impossible for me to-day to place them with full assurance in the order in which they belong. However, that given below seems to me most natural. The three which retain their numbers are marked by an asterisk.

1. The Nemean Lion.
2. The Lernean Hydra.
*3. Cerberus.
4. Antæus.
5. Archelaus.
6. Hippodamia.
7. Geryon.
8. The Pillars of Hercules.
*9.The Cretan Bull.
*10. The Erymanthian Boar.
11. Cacus.
12. Hercules at the Stake.

All of these engravings are signed:

We give here, as specimens, three of the quatrains accompanying the engravings; they are the only ones preserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale. They may very well be the work of Gringoire, like the verses of the 'Blazon des Hérétiques,' of the same date.

_Number_ 3

Il braue les enffers (chose à luy tresaisee),
Et le chien Cerberus, aux trois chefz surmontant;
Il va les Infernaux main à main combattant,
Pour mettre en liberté son bon amy Thesee.

_Number_ 9

Les furieux Thaureaux (choses esmerveillables)
De ses deux bras nerveux Il maitrise aisement,
Et leur faict faire Ioug desoubs luy forcement
Encor qu'on estimat qu'ils fussent indomptables.

_Number_ 10

Ung sanglier escumeux à la grand' dent pointue,
Qui hommes, vignes et bleds degatoient enragé,
Et par qui l'vniuers estoit endommagé,
Seul, par sa hardiesse, Il acreuante et tue.[335]

The orthography of these verses proves that they were printed in the seventeenth century[336]; but the very appearance of the verses, and the condition of the plates, which are already worm-eaten, are sufficient to justify one in assigning to the latter a very much earlier date than to the former. So that I can do no better than to refer them to the year 1525, when we find Tory using the same monogram.

Tory seems to have attempted in these plates to imitate Mantegna, whose work he may have studied in Italy; but he had the good sense to abandon this manner, which was not his own; or perhaps we should say that he did no more than follow designs which were supplied to him.

This is what M. Renouvier has to say on this subject:--

'The plates signed with a G surmounted by the Lorraine cross are of more importance. The Labours of Hercules, in twelve plates, are the work of no commonplace artist. The drawing assumes a masterly, even a rough, character, seeking effects in the play of muscles and of facial expression in imitation of Mantegna and Albrecht Dürer; the cutting follows up the effect of the burin. Bartsch mentioned them among the old German masters, and the monogrammatists wavered between Jean Schoorel, Georges Scharfenberg, Giuseppe Scolari, etc.; their French origin was not suspected until some proofs were found on which the engravings were accompanied by French quatrains. Then, when the same mark was found on a plate used as a frontispiece to Pierre Gringoire's "Blazon des Hérétiques" (1524), and on several vignettes in the Hours _rendered into verse_, by the same poet, it was attempted to make a wood-engraver of Gringoire, who was a Lorrainer, herald-at-arms to Duc René II, and likely enough to display the cross of Lorraine over his initial. This much is certain: that the mark consisting of a G with the cross of Lorraine is found also on the plates of a Lorraine book--"Duc Anthoine's Victory over the Lutherans"--published by his secretary Volcyr, who paid the expenses of the publication, "being unable to find any bookseller who was willing to undertake it, as well because of the portraits and cuts of the illustrations as of the printing hereof," and caused it to be issued, not in Lorraine, but in Paris, by Galliot Dupré, in 1526. It is to be noticed that this bookseller's mark, which represents a galliot, also has a Lorraine cross surmounting his cipher. Now, the attribution of these plates to Geofroy Tory is based upon some very ingenious comparisons of marks; the style of the engravings places no insurmountable obstacle in the way of such attribution, but it must be admitted that the engraver was led very far astray from his earlier works by his imitation of the German manner. It is possible, because French engraving, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, was pulled in four directions at once, so to speak, by national habit, by Flemish taste, by German mania, and by Italian charm. M. Bernard would give the fullest sanction to this second attribution if he could find any evidence of a journey of Tory's to Alsace or Lorraine of a later date than his journey to Italy; the importation of woodcuts from those provinces, then a common occurrence, would indeed suffice, so far as the common herd of our engravers is concerned, to explain this alteration in their manner. I will mention in a moment an example, also out of Lorraine, which must certainly have been known to Tory. Whatever the fact may be, the Labours of Hercules deserve an honourable place among the first attempts on a large scale of French engraving, beside the plates of Jean Duvet. The British Museum, like our Cabinet des Estampes, has acquired a set of them. Two of the plates in the latter set have the quatrains which are lacking in the corresponding ones in the Paris set; these are, the fifth: "The sly Archelaus 'gainst Hercules doth contend"; and the seventh: "The mighty Geryon, despicable tyrant," etc.'

1526

I. I have said that the floriated letters of Simon de Colines and Robert Estienne were engraved by Geofroy Tory. I cannot furnish material proof of the fact with regard to those of Colines; but I am about to produce incontestable evidence with regard to Estienne's. A letter in one of his alphabets is signed with the Lorraine cross, and that letter is the G, the initial of Tory's own name, or, as we say to-day, his first name (_prénom_). It is as if he had written 'Geofroy Tory' in full. But in this case, in opposition to what we find in the preceding engravings, the cross, instead of being above the G, is below it, and hidden as much as possible in order not to injure the design of the 'antique letter.' This circumstance proves not only that Tory was the engraver of Robert Estienne's floriated letters, but also that the double cross was that artist's mark.

Is it not, in truth, a striking fact that Tory chose the letter G to place his mark upon? He was not withheld by the consideration that that letter, not being in very common use, especially at the beginning of words, appeared rather infrequently in books.[337] As always, logic prevailed with him over every other consideration. Let us see how far it carried him.

Later, he engraved a Greek alphabet, in the same style, for Robert Estienne; as he could not put his mark on the _gamma_, which bears no resemblance to the G, he put it on no letter, but on one of the friezes executed to accompany those beautiful floriated letters.[338] See the frieze in question at the beginning of the second volume of the Works of Eusebius, three volumes, folio, 1544.[339]

II. Besides these two alphabets of capital letters, Tory engraved for Robert Estienne about the same time, six different marks for his typographical sign, the 'Olive-Tree,' of which a description will be found later on, in section 3.

III. Tory also engraved, about the same time, for Simon de Colines, a border in the criblé style, at the foot of which is a sun which certain centaurs, incited thereto by women, are trying to seize. (Silvestre, no. 523). This border is probably of 1526, when Colines turned over to Robert Estienne his father's establishment and set up for himself at the 'Soleil d'Or,' opposite the Collège de Beauvais. It appears, to my knowledge, in two octavo volumes of 1529: 'Compendium Grammaticæ græcæ Jacobi Ceporini,' and 'Liber de opificio Dei.'

1526-1528

This whole period was, in all probability, absorbed by the labour of engraving and editing 'Champ fleury.' For one of the first engravings in that book is dated 1526, and it was finished early in 1529. Although the majority of these engravings are not signed, they must all belong to Tory, at all events so far as the designs are concerned.[340] I cannot attempt to enumerate them all here, for there are more than five hundred, counting as one each of the letters in the various alphabets; but I propose to mention the more important ones. For historical information concerning the book, I refer the reader back to what I have said thereon in the first and second parts of this volume.

The title-page is enclosed in a very pleasing border,[341] and it has moreover an engraving of the Pot Cassé reversed.[342] On the verso are the arms of France.[343]

Folio 1 of text: the letter L, which I have already reproduced.[344]

Folio 3 verso: the Gallic Hercules. This engraving, dated 1526, and signed with the Lorraine cross, represents Hercules holding his club in one hand and a bow in the other. He is followed by divers persons of all conditions, fastened by the ear to a chain that issues from the hero's mouth. This is an allusion to the power of eloquence over the French. The strength of the Gallic Hercules lies not in his arms but in his mouth.[345]

Folio 9 verso: cut of the _lisflambe_, a species of lily; it is the swamp iris, called to-day the _iris flambe_.

Here the first book ends.

The second contains thirty-seven geometrical figures, which it would be no less difficult than unprofitable to describe. They are, for the most part, representations of different letters. At the end of this book is the 'Triumph of Apollo and the Muses,' 'to show that they who have knowledge of goodly letters have the advantage over the ignorant.' This engraving, which is in two parts,[346] both signed with the Lorraine cross (folios 29 verso and 30 recto), represents Apollo in a chariot, escorted by the Muses, Liberal Arts, etc., and followed by Bacchus, Ceres and Venus as prisoners.[347]

On the very last page (folio 30 recto) is an engraving of the _lisflambe_ surmounted by an A made up of three I's.[348]

The third book has, in the first place, twenty-eight engravings of Roman letters. The twenty-ninth represents a gothic S (folio 42 verso). The thirtieth is a representation of the Pot Cassé, signed with the Lorraine cross (folio 43 verso).[349]

Next come thirty-eight other cuts of letters, and two curious drawings of the letter Y (folio 63 recto and verso).[350] Then two ordinary copies of the letter Z, and an allegory based on the shape of that letter (folio 65).[351]

On folio 65 verso is a representation of various punctuation marks.

Folios 68 verso and 69 recto: a Hebrew alphabet of forty letters or symbols.

Folio 71 recto: the Greek alphabet of twenty-four letters and three accents.[352]

Folio 72 recto: the Latin alphabet[353] of twenty-three letters, with three punctuation marks, and the Greek abbreviation of the name of Jesus.

Folio 74 recto: the alphabet of _cadeaulx_ letters, consisting of twenty-three letters and one mark.

Folio 74 verso: the alphabet of letters _de forme_, consisting of twenty-nine letters or symbols, with two lines of text added.

Folio 75 recto: the alphabet of _bastardes_ letters, consisting of twenty-eight letters or symbols, followed by two lines of text.

Folio 75 verso: the alphabet of _tourneures_ letters, consisting of twenty-three letters.

Folio 76 recto: the alphabet of Persian, Arabic, African, Turkish and Tartar letters, thirty in all.

Folio 76 verso: the alphabet of Chaldæan letters, consisting of twenty-three.

Folio 77 recto: the alphabet of _goffes_ letters, otherwise called _imperiales_ and _bullatiques_, twenty-three in number.

Folio 77 verso: the alphabet of _fantastic_ letters, to the number of twenty-three.

Folio 78 recto: the alphabet of _utopiques_ and _voluntaires_ letters, to the number of twenty-three.

Folio 78 verso: an alphabet of floriated letters used in the course of the book, twenty-three in number.[354]

Folio 79 recto: a series of ciphers or intertwined letters, to the number of ten.

Folio 80 recto, and last: a border of graceful design,[355] in which occur Tory's mottoes: 'Menti bonæ Deus occurrit'; 'Sic ut, vel ut'; 'Omnis tandem marcescit flos.' And in the centre is the Pot Cassé, unsigned, although it seems to be the same cut that appears on folio 43 verso, with the cross removed.

1527

* * * * *

I. NOTABLES ENSEIGNEMENS, ADAGES ET PROVERBES, FAICTZ
ET COMPOSÉS PAR PIERRE GRINGOIRE, DIT VAULDEMONT.

Octavo, in gothic type, of 68 leaves; for sale by Galliot du Pré; printed by Simon du Boys, February 1, 1527 (1528 new style).

On the verso of the second leaf is a wood-engraving with the Lorraine cross at the right. It represents Gringoire offering his book to the king, who is seated. In the background, a garden with a bee-hive and bees flying about it. (Bibliothèque Nationale.)

* * * * *

II. LES HYMNES COMMUNES DE L'ANNEE: TRANSLATEZ DE LATIN
EN FRANÇOIS EN RITHME, PAR NICOLAS MAUROY LE JEUNE, DE TROYES,
avec privilege du roy pour trois ans. (Mark of Jean Lecoq.) On les
vend à Troyes es hostels de Nicolas Mauroy, etc.

The privilege is of 1527. Small folio, in gothic type, printed in red and black; signatures A to T.

This volume, which I saw in 1858, at M. Techener's, contains a large number of engravings in the criblé style, and others in the modern style; but only three of them are signed; these are:--

1. A Last Supper, criblé.
2. A Last Supper, 'à la moderne.'
3. The Virgin, seated, holding the Child Jesus (folio 89 verso).

This book may give us the date of the other signed engravings found at Troyes, which were published by M. Varlot in his 'Illustration de l'imprimerie troyenne' (Troyes, 1850, folio).

III. HOURS OF THE VIRGIN, in Latin, published by Tory, but printed by Simon de Colines; octavo.[356]

IV. HOURS OF THE VIRGIN, in Latin, published by Tory, but printed by Simon Dubois; quarto.[357]

1528

* * * * *

I. ARISTOPHANES.

In 1528 Pierre Vidoue printed, at the expense of Gilles de Gourmont, nine comedies of Aristophanes, in Greek, which were published separately, in quarto form, under the editorship of Jean Cheradam.[358] All of these have a frontispiece engraved by Tory, of which a description follows. At the foot, under the words 'Egidivs Gormontivs' in large letters, is a shield with the Gourmont arms (three roses in chief and a crescent in point), supported by two winged stags with ducal coronets about their necks, the crest being a helmet above which is a St. Michael holding a naked sword.[359] At the left, a Greek inscription; at the right, an inscription in Hebrew. The two uprights represent the wise men offering their gifts to the Child Jesus lying on his mother's knees. At the top is a shield with three crowns in chief (this was the sign of Gilles de Gourmont, as may be seen on the title-page of 'Champ fleury'), and tears in the field. This shield has for supporters, on the right a lion, on the left a griffin, and for crest a helmet surmounted by a fan-shaped ornament. On either side is an angel with wings holding a shield; that on the left enclosing an E, that on the right a G, the initials of Gilles de Gourmont's name in Latin (Egidius Gourmontius). The Lorraine cross is at the foot of the border, on the left.[360]

* * * * *

II. ENCHIRIDION PRECLARE ECCLESIE SARUM, DEVOTISSIMIS
PRECATIONIBUS AC VENUSTISSIMIS IMAGINIBUS, ET IIS QUIDEM NON PAUCIS
REFERTUM. (Here the mark of Thielman Kerver--two unicorns
holding a shield _au Gril_, with the T. K., and, beneath, the
full name, Thielman Kerver.) Parisiis ex officina librarie vidue
spectabilis viri Thielmanni.

Small octavo, Paris, 1528, with engravings signed with the Lorraine cross.[361] Printed in red and black, in gothic type. There are 31 signatures of 8 leaves,--_a_ to _z_, and A to G (signatures _x_ and _y_ have only four leaves each). In all there are 232 numbered leaves, plus 4 leaves of index not numbered.

The volume begins with the title-page, followed by a calendar, the whole occupying 13 leaves, after which comes the text. It contains 54 engraved plates, 12 of which are in the calendar, and a large number of initial letters representing sacred subjects. Beneath each plate is a quatrain in English.

The 12 plates in the calendar represent allegorical subjects. They are enclosed in oval borders, and are 71 millimetres by 55. Consequently they are all out of proportion to the size of the book, which is 84 millimetres by 48. It is evident therefore that they were not made for it. At the foot of each, in the border, is the name of the month. The engraving for the month of February represents a school; that for March, a hunt; that for April, a gentleman and lady, walking in the country, arm in arm; that for July, a domestic interior. The last is the only one of these engravings that I have seen, and that only in a copy. The Lorraine cross may be seen at the foot.

Here follows a list of the other engravings of this priceless volume, of which only a single copy is known to exist. It is to be observed that the pages on which they appear are not numbered, as the cuts occupy the whole space.

1. The Trinity.
2. The Annunciation.
3. The Visitation.
4. Jesus arrested by the Jews.
5. Nativity of Jesus.
6. Jesus before Pilate.
7. The Annunciation to the Shepherds.
8. The Crowning with Thorns.
9. The Adoration of the Magi.
10. The Bearing of the Cross.
11. The Circumcision.
12. Jesus on the Cross.
13. The Flight into Egypt.
14. The Descent from the Cross.
15. The Coronation of the Virgin.
16. The Placing in the Tomb.
17. David and Bathsheba.
18. David and Joab.
19 to 23. The Story of David.
24. Dance of the Dead.
25. Three Men on Horseback
in a Forest.
26. Adam and Eve expelled from
Paradise.
27. Adam and Eve condemned to
labour.
28. The Creation of Man.
29. Six Men praying before a Bier.
30. Birth and Death.
31. Purgatory.
32. Extreme Unction.
33. Job.
34. A Woman, seated, surrounded by
the Virgin, the Evil One, and a
Man bearing the World.
35. The Trinity (same as no. 1).
36. Jesus in Limbo.
37. The Resurrection.
38. Jesus appearing to His Mother.
39. Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalen.
40. Jesus at Emmaus.
41. The Incredulity of St. Thomas.
42. The Ascent of the Virgin.[362]

1529

I. ENCOMIUM TRIUM MARIARUM, etc., JOANNIS
BERTAUDI.

Quarto, Paris, Josse Bade, 1529.

The Bibliothèque Mazarine has two copies of this priceless volume, one on paper, the other on vellum, which differ slightly in respect to the title-page. The one on vellum reads: 'Encomium Joannis Bertaudi Petragorici Turrisalbæ in ducatu Engolismensi alumni, de cultu trium Mariarum adversus Lutheranos, cum missa solemniore et officio canonico earundem, auspiciis augustissimæ principis Joannæ, Aurelianensis, Gyveriensium dominæ ac comitis de Barcq.' This is followed by a large plate signed with the Lorraine cross, and representing the three Maries, etc. There is no publisher's name; nothing but Josse Bade's mark at the end of the book.

The title-page of the copy on paper reads: 'Encomium trium Mariarum cum earumdem cultus defensione adversus Lutheranos, solemnique missa et officio canonico, in quibus omnibus desideres nihil, emissum opera et industria Joannis Bertaudi Petragorici, utriusque juris licentiati, Turrisque Albæ in ducatu Engolismensi alumni, auspiciis augustissimæ principis Joannæ Aurelianensis, Gyveriensium dominæ ac comitis de Barcq.' Then follows Josse Bade's mark: 'Prelum Ascensianum,' taking the place of the engraving of the three Maries. And below, 'Venundatur Jodoco Badio et Galeoto a Pratis.'

This difference is explained by the fact that the copies on vellum were not intended for sale, so that no bookseller's name was placed on them, and, furthermore, they were embellished with the cut of the three Maries.

This volume contains three short productions by Jean Bertaud, all directed to the same end--the defence of the worship of the three Maries.

They are entitled:

(1) Encomium trium Mariarum. (2) Officium trium filiarum beatæ Annæ. (3) De cognatione sacerrimi Joannis Baptistæ.

There are some twenty engravings, but none of them are signed except that of the three Maries. And, as Josse Bade was an old printer, who had no known relations with Tory, we may assume that these engravings are not by our artist. At most, we may attribute to him the shield of Orléans, at page 4 of the first work.

II. HOURS OF THE VIRGIN (sixteenmo), in Latin,
published by Tory, for himself.[363]

III. LA TABLE DE L'ANCIEN PHILOSOPHE CEBES.

Two small volumes, octavo, with a border for each page. The double cross appears on some, not all, of these borders.[364]

IV. ÆDILOQUIUM ... Item: EPITAPHIA SEPTEM DE
AMORUM ALIQUOT PASSIONIBUS, etc.

Octavo, Simon de Colines, 1530.

This little book is enriched by eight engravings: a frontispiece borrowed from the octavo Hours of 1527, and seven small subjects corresponding to the seven epitaphs. The latter are certainly Tory's, although not signed. They are:--

1. Two hearts pierced by an arrow.
2. Two hearts in a circle.
3. Two hearts bound together by cords.
4. Two hearts in a boat.
5. A pig sniffing at two hearts.
6. Two hearts, a distaff, etc.
7. Two hearts being kicked by a horse.

See, for other details, what I have said of this book on pages 92 and 93.

1530-1531

Queen Eléonore's CORONATION and ENTRÉE, and the EPITAPHS of the Queen-Mother, Louise de Savoie:--three quarto brochures, of which I have spoken on pages 130 to 134; a description of the engravings follows.

* * * * *

I. THE CONSECRATION AND CORONATION OF THE QUEEN;
three sheets, quarto.

On the first page, a border, with the word 'Salus' at the foot; the privilege is on the verso. The text begins on the second leaf, with the letter L reproduced on page 1. On the last page is another border, with the word 'Salus,' and the date of printing, March 16, 1530, old style.

* * * * *

II. ENTRÉE OF THE QUEEN; six sheets, quarto.

On the first page the same border as on the first page of the Hours of 1524-25; the privilege is on the verso. On page A ij recto, another border and an ornamental letter R, after the style of the L in the work last described. A iiij recto, another border. B iij recto, a border, with the motto 'non plus' at the top. B viij verso, another border, with the word 'Salus' at the foot; this is identical with that of the last page of the 'Coronation.' E viij recto, another border. F i verso, a lovely drawing of a 'present made to the queen, of two candlesticks.' On the last page the border of the last page of 'Champ fleury,' and the date of the printing, Tuesday, May 9, 1531.

* * * * *

III. EPITAPHS OF LOUISE DE SAVOIE; two sheets and
a half.

First page, the border of the frontispiece of the Hours of 1524-25, with the Pot Cassé of the first page of 'Champ fleury.' Last page, the border of the last page of 'Champ fleury' and the Pot Cassé of the first page; also the date of printing, October 17, 1531. In all three we find the decorated letters of 'Champ fleury.'

These three brochures, bound together in a small volume, are in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal. The borders used in them reappear later as frames for the engravings of a book of Hours, quarto, printed in roman type, in red and black, of which I know neither date nor place of printing nor name of printer, as I have seen nothing except a few leaves of the book, preserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale, with the works of Tory.

1531

I. BOOK OF HOURS, quarto, printed by Tory for
himself.[365]

* * * * *

II. BOOK OF HOURS, octavo, with arabesques of
flowers, insects, animals, etc., as in the quarto Hours of 1527.[366]

* * * * *

III. TERENTIANUS MAURUS, DE LITERIS, etc.
NICOLAO BRISSÆO ... COMMENTATORE.

Quarto, Simon de Colines, 1531.

This book is dedicated to Guillaume Petit, Bishop of Senlis, whose arms, with the Lorraine cross, appear on the verso of leaf 8 of the front matter. The motto is: 'Utinam novissima providerent.'

* * * * *

IV. CLAUDII GALENI PERGAMENI DE ANATOMICIS
ADMINISTRATIONIBUS LIBRI NOVEM, JOANNE GUNTERIO ANDERNACO, MEDICO,
INTERPRETE.--Parisiis, apud Simonem Colinæum, 1531.

Large folio, with an engraved frontispiece having the Lorraine cross at the foot, on the left.

The frontispiece represents several different subjects. At the top is Jesus healing the leper; at the foot, doctors dissecting a dead body and lecturing to a numerous audience; at the sides, full-length portraits of the most celebrated physicians of antiquity; in the centre of the plate is a scroll bearing the Latin title transcribed above. This frontispiece was, doubtless, used with others of the works of Galen.

Simon de Colines also published, in 1536, an edition of the works of Galen, under the supervision of the same editor (folio of 172 pages), and embellished with five beautiful floriated letters engraved by Tory. In it we find also, at the head of the epistle to the reader, an ornamental S surmounted by a coat of arms,--a charming design, but not signed.

1532

LATIN BIBLE of 1532; folio; Robert Estienne.

The title-page is decorated with a frieze signed with the Lorraine cross, bearing the word 'Biblia' in large letters. It is a scroll surrounded by vines, with the brazen serpent at the left, and Jesus on the Cross at the right.

1533

The BON MESNAGER of Pierre des Crescens, printed by Nicolas Cousteau for Galliot Dupré. Folio, 1533. The frontispiece, representing Dupré presenting the book to François I, is signed with the Lorraine cross.

* * * * *

Inasmuch as Tory died in 1533, it will, perhaps, seem that I ought to stop here in this enumeration. But as many engravings executed by his own hand were not printed until later, and, moreover, as those signed with the Lorraine cross alone came from his establishment, which was managed by his wife after his death, I have thought best to pursue my investigations concerning the engravings with the Lorraine cross to the end.

1534

I. SERMONES IUDOCI CLICHTOVEI NEOPORTUEN. DOCTORIS
THEOLOGI ET CARNOTEN. CANONICI.

Folio, Paris, Thielman Kerver's widow, 1534. The privilege is dated 1534. (Bibliothèque S.-Geneviève, and Bibliothèque Mazarine.)

The Latin title which I have transcribed is engraved in great gothic letters, arranged in the shape of a cul-de-lampe, and terminated by a small black heart-shaped ornament (not unlike those used by Simon de Colines), in which is the Lorraine cross. This circumstance leads me to believe that Tory engraved this title-page in gothic letters; a most interesting fact if true, for they are probably the only letters in that style that he ever engraved, after those on folios 42 verso, 74, etc. of 'Champ fleury'; and it is all the more strange because the rest of the book is printed in roman type. It may be that there was another edition in gothic type.

However, this volume contains many other engravings signed with the Lorraine cross, and others which, although unsigned, seem to be Tory's.

Folio 1, following the title, a large T, adorned with fleurs-de-lis, on a background strewn with the same flowers.

Folio 5 verso, a large ornamental P, representing the Eternal Father.

Folio 19, the Virgin in a halo of fire, with the Child Jesus (signed).

Folio 21, Jesus among the Apostles, holding a saw (signed).

Folio 43, Moses receiving the Tables (signed).

Folio 63 verso, the Ark in the form of a church (signed).

Folio 77, the Annunciation, in an oval border (octavo).

Folio 88, Birth of Jesus (small octavo).

Folio 135, the Resurrection (signed).

Folio 148, the Ascension (signed).

Folio 154 verso, the Virgin among the Apostles (small octavo).

Folio 157 verso, the Trinity (signed).

Folio 161, Easter (signed).

Folio 221, Birth of the Virgin. She is in her mother's womb, holding the Child Jesus (octavo).

Folio 325, Jesus tempted by the Devil (octavo).

The octavo engravings appear in several other books printed by the Kervers.

* * * * *

II. PAULI BELMISSERI PONTREMULANI, ARTIUM ET MEDICINÆ
DOCTORIS, EQUITIS, ET POETÆ LAUREATI, OPERA POETICA.

Quarto, of 108 numbered, plus 4 preliminary unnumbered leaves.