Chapter IV: Part 4

The introduction of the art of printing into the Low Countries, and the rival claim of Coster and Gutenberg, have proved a highly fruitful source of literary quarrels and disputations. It is not worth our while to enter, even briefly, into the merits of the arguments either for or against; and it will suffice for our present purpose to regard Johann Veldener, 1473-7, as the first printer. He was probably a pupil of Ulric Zell, and, like many others of the early Netherland printers, he does not appear to have remained long at one place. For example, he was at Louvain from 1473-7, at Utrecht 1478-81, and at Culemberg, 1482-4. His only Mark appears to be that given herewith, in which his name in an abbreviated form occurs between the two shields, on the right one of which appears the arms of Louvain. His most notable publications were two quarto editions of the “Speculum” in the Dutch language, one of which contained 116 and the other 128 illustrations, “printed from the woodcuts that had been previously used in the four notable editions; to make these broad woodcuts, which had been designed for pages in folio, Veldener cut away the architectural framework surrounding each illustration and then sawed each block in two pieces.” He received from the University the honorary title of Master of Printing, an honour which was also conferred on his more distinguished contemporary, Johann of Westphalia, 1474-96, for whom in fact is claimed the priority of the introduction of printing into Louvain. The first of the large number of books produced by the latter is by Petrus de Crescentiis, “Incipit liber ruraliũ cõmodorũ,” 1474, its colophon being printed in red. The accompanying exceedingly curious “souscription,” with portrait of the printer, is given from Lambinet’s “Recherches.” Thierry Martens, or Mertens, or Martin d’Alost (Theodoricus Martinus), may be regarded either as an early printer of Louvain, Antwerp, or Alost, for it is stated that he had presses working simultaneously at the three places; but Alost has the first claims, and it is said that he was printing here in 1473, although as a matter of fact he was only twenty years of age at this period. He was a distinguished scholar, and the friend of Barland and Erasmus, the latter making the following reference to the accompanying Mark, “l’ancre sacrée,” in the epitaph he wrote as a memorial of his friend:

“Hic Theodoricus jaceo, prognatus Alosto:
Ars erat impressis scripta referre typis.
Fratribus, uxori, soboli, notisque superstes,
Octavam vegetus præterii decadem.
Anchora sacra manet, gratæ notissima pubi:
Christe! precor nunc sis anchora sacra mihi.”

Et ego Johannes prenotatus alma in
universitate Lova- niesi residens dig-
num duxi opus hoc insigne immensis
ferme tam labori- bus quam impensis
ad finem usque perductum meo so-
lito signo consig- nando huius in ca-
pite libri palam fieri.]

THEODO. MARTIN. EXCVDEBAT.]

Fait et jmprime
a bruges par colard
mansion lan et jour
dessusdis]

Colard Mansion, 1474-84, the first printer who worked at Bruges, for an exhaustive account of whose connection with William Caxton the reader is referred to Mr. Blades’s monograph, used several Marks, printed in red and black, and similar to the example here given.

In many respects the “Clercs ou Frères de la vie Commune” (Fratres vitæ communis), who were printing at Brussels from 1476 to 1487, form one of the most interesting features in the early history of printing in the Low Countries. The types which they used resemble very much those of Arnold Ther Hoernen, Cologne; and the only book, “diligentia impresse in famosa civitate Bruxellen,” to which they put their name, is entitled “Legendæ Sanctorum Henrici Imperatoris et Kunegundis Imperatricis,” etc., 1484, and this is their only illustrated book. “Their productions illustrate the stage of transition between the ancient scribe and printer by showing how naturally one succeeded to the other.” A full bibliographical account of the Brothers will be found in M. Madden’s “Lettres d’un Bibliophile.” The Mark here given is reproduced from the above-named work: it consists of an Eagle crowned and displayed, supporting a shield with the arms of Brabant quarterly, with river in bend, and star. The first Deventer printer was Richard Paffroed (the surname has about thirty variations) in 1477, who was either a pupil of Ulric Zell or Ther Hoernen, and who continued there until the first year of the sixteenth century, and was apparently succeeded by his youngest son Albertus, who was printing there up to about 1530, and whose Mark we give.

D vlieghende Eler zeer hoeghelike
Metter wapene me ghi hier tuent
Van linte hewpe keyserlike
Daer ghi uv met sijt ghenvent]

A P
ALBERTVS PAFFRAEJ]

So far as Gouda is concerned, Gheraert or Gerard Leeu and early printing are synonymous. He was a native of this place, and established himself here as a printer in 1477 and continued up to 1484, when he removed his presses to Antwerp, where he was printing until the year of his death, 1493. His “Dialogus Creaturarum,” the first edition of which appeared in 1480, had run into over a dozen editions, in Latin or Dutch, by the first year of the sixteenth century. Whilst at Gouda Leeu used several marks, of which the smaller, given on p. 39, was printed in red and black; at Antwerp he used a much more ambitious example, consisting of the arms of the Castle of Antwerp: a battlement and a turreted gate, with two smaller ones on either side; the two large flags bear the arms of the German Empire and of the Archduke Maximilian of Austria. Nicolas Leeu, who was printing at Antwerp in 1487-8, was possibly the brother of the more famous typographer, and his Mark consists of the lion (a pun on his surname, which is equivalent to lion) in a Gothic window holding two shields, with the arms of Antwerp on the left and the monogram of Gheraert Leeu on the right. Like Leeu and so many of the other early Dutch printers, the first Delft typographer, Jacob Jacobzoon Van der Meer, 1477-87, employed the arms of the town in which he printed on his Mark, the right shield in the present instance carrying three water-lily leaves. In 1477 he issued an edition of the Dutch Bible, and three years later the first edition of the Psalter, “Die Duytsche Souter,” which had been omitted from the Bible. The only other Delft printer to whom we need refer is Christian Snellaert, 1495-7, the only book to which he has placed both his name and his Mark being “Theobaldus Physiologus de naturis duodecim animalium,” 1495. His most remarkable production, however, is a “Missale secundum Ordinarium Trajactense,” issued about 1497; this Mark, given on p. 35, was also used by Henri Eckert van Hombergh, who was printing at Antwerp from 1500 to 1519: the shield carries the arms of Antwerp; in the arms of Snellaert this shield is blank, and this constitutes the only difference between the two Marks.

delf in hollant]

G B]

If it could be proved that “Het boeck van Tondalus visioen” was, as has been stated, printed at Antwerp in 1472, by Mathias Van der Goes, the claim of Antwerp to be regarded as the first place in the Low Countries in which printing was introduced would be irrefutable. Unfortunately there is very little doubt but that the date is an error, although Goes is still rightly regarded as having introduced printing into Antwerp, where he was issuing books from 1482 to about 1494 in Dutch and Latin. He had two large Marks, one of which was a ship, apparently emblematical of Progress or commercial enterprise, and the other, a savage brandishing a club and bearing arms of Brabant,--the latter, from “Sermones Quatuor Novissimorum,” 1487, is here given. Rolant Van den Dorp, 1494-1500, whose chief claim to fame is that he printed the “Cronyke van Brabant,” folio, Antwerp, 1497, had as his most ambitious Mark a charming picture of Roland blowing his horn; on one of the shields (suspended from the branch of a tree) is the arms of Antwerp, which he sometimes used separately as his device. Contemporaneously with Van den Dorp, 1493-1500, we have Godefroy Back, a binder who, on November 19, 1492, married the widow of Van der Goes, and continued the printing-office of his predecessor. His house was called the Vogehuis, and had for its sign the Birdcage, which he adopted as his Mark; this he modified several times, notably in 1496, when the monogram of Van der Goes was replaced by his own. In the accompanying example (apparently broken during the printing) the letter M is surmounted by the Burgundy device--a wand upholding a St. Andrew’s cross. We give also a small example of the two other Marks used by this printer. Arnoldus Cæsaris, l’Empereur, or De Keysere, according as his name happened to be spelt in Latin, French, or Flemish, is another of the early Antwerp printers whose mark is sufficiently distinct to merit insertion here. His first book is dated 1480, “Hermanni de Petra Sermones super orationem dominicam.” Michael Hellenius, 1514-36, is a printer of this city who has a special interest to Englishmen from the fact that “in 1531 he printed at Antwerp an anti-Protestant work for Henry Pepwell, who could find no printer in London with sufficient courage to undertake it.” Hellenius’ Mark is emblematical of Time, in which the figure is standing on clouds, with a sickle in one hand and a serpent coiled in a circle on the left. The Mark of Jan Steels, Antwerp (p. 19), 1533-75, is regarded by some bibliographers as the emblem of an altar, but “from the entire absence of any ritual accessories, and the introduction of incongruous figures (which no mediæval artist would have thought of representing), it would appear to be merely a stone table.” Jacobus Bellaert, 1483-86, was the first Haarlem printer, one of his earliest works being “Dat liden ende die passie ons Heeren Jesu Christi,” which is dated December 10, 1483. Bellaert’s name does not appear in it, but his Mark at the end permits of an easy identification, it being the same as that which appears in his Dutch edition of “Glanvilla de Proprietatibus Rerum,” 1485: the arms above the Griffin are those of the city of Haarlem. One of the most famous printing localities of the Low Countries was Leyden (Lugdunum Batavorum), where the art was practised so early as 1483, Heynricus Henrici, 1483-4, being one of the earliest, his Mark carrying two shields, one of which bears the cross keys of Leyden. The Pelican is an exceedingly rare element in Dutch and Flemish Printers’ Marks, one of the very few exceptions being that of J. Destresius, Ypres, 1553, the motto on the border reading “Sine sanguinis effusione non fit remissio.”

TEMPVS.]

hollan leiden]

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

CHARITAS
Ἡ ἀγάπη πάντα δέγει.]

Anziet thende.
Van den keere.
HVDK]

LITERÆ IMMORTALITATE[M] PARIV[N]T]

SVB VMBRA ALARVM TVARVM PROTEGE NOS]

CAVETE
I. C. I]

The two most distinguished names in the annals of Dutch and Flemish printing are unquestionably Plantin and the Elzevirs. A full description of the various Marks used by Christophe Plantin alone would fill a small volume, as the number is not only very great, but the varieties somewhat conflicting in their resemblance to one another; all of them, however, are distinctly traceable to three common types. Some are engraved by Godefroid Ballain, Pierre Huys, and other distinguished craftsmen. His first Mark appeared in the second book which he printed, the “Flores de L. Anneo Seneca,” 1555. His second Mark was first used in the following year, and bears the monogram of Arnaud Nicolaï. Of each of these examples we give reproductions, as also of the fine example designed for Plantin’s successors either by Rubens or by Erasme Quellin, and engraved by Jean Christophe Jegher, 1639, Plantin having died in 1589. The most famous of all Plantin’s Marks is of course that with the compass and the motto “Labor et Constantia,” which he first used in 1557. Plantin explains in the preface to his Polyglot Bible the signification of this Mark, and states that the compass is a symbolical representation of his device: the point of the compass turning round signifies work, and the stationary point constancy. One of the most curious combinations of Printers’ Marks may be here alluded to: in 1573, Plantin, Steels and Nutius projected an edition of the “Decretals,” and the Mark on this is made up of the three used by these printers, and was designed by Pierre Van der Borcht.

EXERCE IMPERIA ET RAMOS COMPESCE FLVENTES]

CHRISTVS VERA VITIS]

LABORE ET CONSTANTIA
I. C. I.]

Nearly every volume admittedly printed by the Elzevir family possessed a Mark, of which this family, from Louis, in 1583, to Daniel, 1680, used four distinct examples. The founder of the dynasty, Louis (1583-1617), adopted as his sign or mark an Eagle on a cippus with a bundle of arrows, accompanied with the motto, “Concordia res parvæ crescunt”--the emblem of the device of the Batavian Republic--and as the year 1595 occurs on the primitive type of this Mark, it might be concluded to date from that period. But Willems points out that no book published by Louis in the years 1595 and 1596 carries this Mark, which (he says) figures for the first time on the Meursius, “Ad Theocriti idyllia Spicelegium,” 1597. In 1612 Louis Elzevir reduced this Mark, and suppressed the date above mentioned. For some time Isaac continued the use of the sign of his grandfather, and even after 1620, when he adopted a new Mark--that of the Sage or Hermit--he did not completely repudiate it. Bonaventure and Abraham scarcely ever used it except for their catalogues.

NON SOLUS]

The second Mark, which Isaac (1617-25) adopted in 1620, it occurring for the first time in the “Acta Synodi Nationalis,” is known as the Solitaire and sometimes as the Hermit or Sage. It represents an elm around the trunk of which a vine, carrying bunches of grapes, is twined; the Solitaire and the motto “Non solus.” The explanation of this Mark is obvious, and may be summed up in the one word “Concord;” the solitary individual is symbolical of the preference of the wise for solitude--“Je suis seul en ce lieu être solitaire.” This Mark was the principal one of the Leyden office, and was in constant use from 1620 to 1712, long after the Elzevirs had ceased to print.

The third Elzevir Mark consists of a Palm with the motto “Assurgo pressa.” It was the Mark of Erpenius, professor of oriental languages at the University of Leyden, who had established a printing-press which he superintended himself in his own house. At his death the Elzevirs acquired his material, with the Mark, which occurs on the Elmacinus, “Historia Saracenica,” and on the Syriac Psalter of 1625, on the “Meursii arboretum sacrum,” 1642, and on about seven other volumes.

THE SPURIOUS SPHERE.

THE GENUINE SPHERE.]

The fourth important Elzevir Mark is the Minerva with her attributes, the breastplate, the olive tree, and the owl, and the motto “Ne extra solus,” which is from a passage in the “Frogs” of Aristophanes. It was one of the principal Marks of the Amsterdam office, and was used for the first time by Louis Elzevir in 1642. After Daniel’s death this Mark became the property of Henry Wetstein, who used it on some of his books. It was also used by Thiboust at Paris and Theodoric van Ackersdyck at Utrecht.

In addition to the foregoing, a number of other Marks were employed by this firm of printers, the most important of the minor examples being the Sphere, which occurs for the first time on “Sphæra Johannis de Sacro-Bosco,” 1626, printed by Bonaventure and Abraham; and from this time to the end of the period of the operations of the Elzevirs, the Sphere and the Minerva appear to have equally shared the honour of appearing on their title-pages. Among the other Marks which we must be content to enumerate are the following: a hand with the device of “Æqvabilitate,” an angel with a book, and a book of music opened, each of which was used occasionally by the first Elzevir; and one in which two hands are holding a cornucopia, of Isaac; the arms of the Leyden University formed also occasionally the Mark of the Elzevirs established in that city.

The Mark of Guislain Janssens, a bookseller and printer of Antwerp, at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century, is both distinct and pretty, and is worth notice if only from the fact that artistic examples are by no means common with the printers of this city.

VIGILATE QVIA NESCITIS DIEM NEQVE HORAM EXPERGISCERE
G I]

[Decoration]

PRINTERS’ MARKS IN ITALY AND SPAIN.[1]

A F]

The _incunabula_ of Italy offer very little interest so far as regards the Marks of their printers, and the adoption of these devices did not become at all general until the early years of the sixteenth century. Conrad Sweynheim and Arnold Pannartz, who were the first to introduce printing from Germany into Italy, first at the monastery of Subiaco, near Rome, in 1465, and to that city in 1467, appear to have had no Mark; and the same may be said of several of their successors. We give the earliest Roman example with which we are acquainted, namely, that of Sixtus Riessinger, and George Herolt, a German, who printed in partnership at Rome in 1481 and 1483. One of the books produced by this partnership was the “Tractatus sollemnis et utilis,” etc., which contains “full-page figures of the Sybils, fine initials, and an interlaced border to the first page of text, all executed in wood engraving.” The next Roman typographers who used a Mark were, like Herolt, “Almanos” or Germans, for as such Johann Besicken (1484-1506) and Martens of Amsterdam describe themselves in the colophon of “Mirabilia Romæ,” a 24mo. of 63 leaves, 1500. This work contains ten woodcuts, of which that on “the reverse of leaf 36 has at the bottom the words ‘Mar’ and ‘De Amstdam’ in black letters on white scrolls, and ‘ER’ immediately beneath the latter, in white letters on a black ground, showing that Martin of Amsterdam, one of the printers, was also the engraver. On the woodcut on the reverse of leaf 25 also, there is a shield with the initials of both printers, ‘I’ and ‘M’ interlaced, in both large and small letters.” Andreas Fritag de Argentina (or Strassburg), 1492-96, is another early Roman printer who used a Mark. The four foregoing Marks are given on the authority of J. J. Audiffredi, “Catalogus ... Romanorum Editionum saeculi XVI.,” 1783. Among the early sixteenth century printers of Rome, one of the most distinguished was Zacharias Kalliergos of Crete, 1509-23, who had started printing at Venice in 1499, and of whom Beloe has given an interesting account in the fifth volume of his “Anecdotes of Literature.” A miniature of his device is given at the end of this chapter.

[Footnote 1: The reader will find on page 25 a series of thirty
reduced reproductions of Marks used for the most part by the
Italian printers. These are given after Orlandi (“Origine e
Progressi della Stampa,” 1722) and Horne (“Introduction to the
Study of Bibliography,” 1814), but several of the names are open
to question from the fact that the former author has given no
account either of the places at which they worked, or of the
books which they printed.]

S R D A]

I B
I M]

DE AMST[ER]DAM
T A M]

Printing was introduced into Venice by Johannes de Spira in 1469, and, as showing the extent to which it was quickly carried, Panzer reckons that up to the end of the fifteenth century, no fewer than 189 printers had established themselves here, and had issued close upon 3,000 works. From 1469 to 1480, over sixty master printers were found within the precincts of the city. The first of the superb series of early printed books produced here is the folio edition of Cicero, “Epistolæ ad Familiares,” 1469, although the honour of being the most magnificent production appears to be equally divided between the Livy and the Virgil, 1470, executed by John of Spira’s brother and successor Vindelinus. So far as we know, neither of the two brothers, nor Nicolas Jenson, 1470-88, many of whose beautiful books rivalled the De Spiras’, used a Mark.

Erhardi Ratdolt foelicia conspice signa.
Testata artificem qua valet ipse manum.]

Erhardus Ratdolt may be regarded as one of the earliest, if not actually the first Venetian printer to adopt a Mark. From 1476 to 1478 he was in partnership with Bernardus Pictor and Petrus Loslein de Langencen, but from the latter year to 1485 he was exercising the art alone. (It is not altogether foreign to our subject to mention that this firm printed the “Calendar” of John de Monteregio, 1476, which has the first ornamental title known.) In 1487, Ratdolt was at Augsburg, and perhaps his claims as a printer are German rather than Venetian, but as his best work was executed during his sojourn in Venice, it will be more convenient to include him in the present chapter. Like so many others of the early printers, he regarded his own performances with no little self-complacency, for in his colophons he describes himself, “Vir solertissimus, imprimendi arte nominatissimus, artis impressoriæ magister apprimè famosus, perpolitus opifex, vir sub orbe notus,” and so forth. To him is attributed the credit of having invented ink of a golden colour; and he was the first to employ the “flourishes,” (“literæ florentes”) or initial letters formed of floral scrolls and ornaments borrowed from the Italian manuscripts, and sometimes printed in red and sometimes in black. Joannes and Gregorius de Gregoriis, 1480-1516, and Gregorius alone, 1516-28, make a very good show in the way of printed books, one of the most notable being the first quarto edition of Boccaccio, 1516, and another the “Deutsch Römisch Brevier,” 1518, which is printed in black and red Gothic letter with numerous full-page woodcuts and borders. Contemporary with these two brothers and also famous as a prolific printer comes Ottaviano Scotto, “Civis Modoetiẽsis,” 1480-1500, and his heirs, 1500-31, of whose Mark we give an exact reproduction. Baptista de Tortis, 1481-1514, also issued a number of interesting books, more particularly folio editions of the classics, copies of which are still frequently met with, and of whose Mark we give a reduced example on p. 25; and the same may be said of Bernardinus Stagninus, 1483-1536. The Mark, also, of Bernardinus de Vitalibus, 1494-1500, is sufficiently distinct to justify a reduced example. Bartholomeus de Zanis, 1486-1500, was not only a prolific printer on his own account, but also for Scotto, to whom reference is made above. The Marks, on a greatly reduced scale of Dionysius Bertochus, 1480; of Laurentius Rubeus de Valentia, 1482; of Nicholas de Francfordia, 1473-1500; and of Peregrino de Pasqualibus, 1483-94, who was for a short time in partnership with Dionysius de Bertochus, are all interesting as more or less distinct variations of one common type (see p. 25). Of Petrus Liechtenstein, 1497-1522, who describes himself as “Coloniensis,” and whose very fine Mark in red and black forms the frontispiece to the present volume, it will be only necessary to refer to one of his books, the “Biblij Czeska,” 1506, which is the first edition for the use of the Hussites. Of this exceedingly rare edition, only about four copies are known. It is remarkable in not having been suppressed by the Church, for one example of its numerous woodcuts (which are coloured) at once betrays its character, viz., the engraving to the sixth chapter of the Apocalypse, in which the Pope appears lying in hell. As illustrative of some of the more elaborate and pictorial Marks which one finds in the books of the Venetian printers during the sixteenth century, we give a couple of very distinct examples, the first being one of the Marks of the Sessa family, whose works date from 1501 to 1588; and the second example distinguishing the books of the brothers Paulum and Antonium Meietos, who were printing books in 1570.

O S
M]

DISSIMILIVM IN FIDA SOTIETAS.]

NON COMEDETIS FRVGES MENDACII]

ALDVS]

The Aldine family come at the head of the Venetian printers, not only in the extreme beauty of their typographical work, but also in the matter of Marks. The first (and rarest) production of the founder of the dynasty, Aldus Manutius, 1494-1515, was “Musæi Opusculum de Herone & Leandro,” 1494, a small quarto, and his life’s work as a printer is seen in about 126 editions which are known to have been issued by him. “I have made a vow,” writes Aldus, in his preface to the “Greek Grammar” of Lascaris, “to devote my life to the public service, and God is my witness that such is my most ardent desire. To a life of ease and quiet I have preferred one of restless labour. Man is not born for pleasure, which is unworthy of the truly generous mind, but for honourable labour. Let us leave to the vile herd the existence of the brutes. Cato has compared the life of man to the tool of iron: use it well, it shines, cease to use it and it rusts.” It was not until 1502 that Aldus adopted a Mark, the well-known anchor, and this appears for the first time in “Le Terze Rime di Dante” (1502), which, being a duodecimo, is the first edition of Dante in portable form. This Mark, and one or two others with very slight alterations which naturally occurred in the process of being re-engraved, was used up to the year 1546. In 1515 the original Aldus died, and as his son Paolo or Paulus was only three years of age, Andrea Torresano, a distinguished printer of Asola, into whose possession the “plant” of Jenson had passed in 1481, and whose daughter married the first Aldus, carried on the business of his deceased son-in-law, the imprint running, “In ædibus Aldi et Andreæ Asulani soceri.” In 1540 Paulus Manutius took over the entire charge of the business founded by his father. The Anchor, known as the “Ancora grassa,” which he used from 1540 to 1546, is more carefully engraved but less characteristic than that of his father; whilst that which he used from 1546 to 1554 was usually but not invariably surrounded by the decorative square indicated in the accompanying reproduction; then he again modified his Mark, or more particularly its border. Paulus Manutius died in April 1574. Aldus “the younger,” 1574-98, the son of Paulus and the last representative of the house, also used the anchor, the effect of which is to a great extent destroyed by the elaborate coat-of-arms granted to the family by the Emperor Maximilian. Aldus “the younger,” was a precocious scholar, of the pedant type, and under him the traditions of the family rapidly fell. He married into the eminent Giunta family of printers, and died at the age of 49. The famous Mark of the anchor had been suggested by the reverse of the beautiful silver medal of Vespasian, a specimen of which had been presented to Aldus by his friend Cardinal Bembo, the eminent printer, adding the Augustan motto, “Festina lente.” The Mark of the dolphin anchor was used by many other printers in Italy, France, Holland (Martens, Erasmus’ printer, among the number), whilst the “Britannia” of Camden, 1586, printed by Newbery, bearing this distinctive Mark, which was likewise employed by Pickering in the early part of the century; and, as will be seen from the next chapter, is still employed by more than one printer.

FEDERICVS TORESANVS

A T]

ALDVS]

ALDI FILII]

ALDVS]

The Giunta or Junta family, members of which were printing at Florence and Venice from 1480 to 1598, may be conveniently referred to here. One of the earliest books in which the founder of the family, Filippo, used a Mark, is “Apuleii Metamorphoseos,” Florence, 1512; our example, which is identical with that in Apuleius, is taken from Ὀππιανου Ἁλιευτικων (Oppiani de natura seu venatione piscium), Florence, 1515, which was edited by Musurus. From a typographical and artistic point of view the books of Lucantonio Junta (or Zonta) are infinitely superior to those of Filippo. He was both printer and engraver, and many of the illustrations which appear in the books he printed were executed by him. His Mark appeared as early as 1495 in red at the end of an edition of Livy which he appears to have executed for Philippus Pincius, Venice, and again in red, this time on the title-page, in another edition of the same author, done for Bartholomeus de Zanis de Portesio, Venice, 1511. Each of these productions contained a large number of beautiful woodcuts. Early in the sixteenth century those “vero honesti viri” (as they modestly described themselves), Jacobi and Francisci, were printing at Florence (“et sociorum eius”), the accompanying mark being taken from a commentary on Thomas Aquinas, 1531. It will be noticed that in the three marks of different members of the family the _fleur-de-lys_ appears. Among the Venetian printers of the beginning of the sixteenth century Johannes de Sabio et Fratres may be mentioned, if only on account of their Mark which is given herewith. Its explanation is certainly not obvious; and Bigmore and Wyman’s suggestion that it is a punning device is not a correct one, whilst the statement that the cabbage is of the “Savoy” variety is also erroneous, for this variety has scarcely any stalks; for “Brasica” we should read “Brassica.” In 1534, “M. Iwan Antonio de Nicolini de Sabio” printed “Alas espesas de M. Zuan Batista Pedreçan,” a rare and beautiful edition with woodcuts, and, in small folio, of “Primaleon” in Spanish; and in 1535 Stephano da Sabio issued a translation of “La Conquesta del Peru,” etc., of Francesco de Xeres.

L A]

I F]

Although not the first printer either at Cremona, where he started in 1492, or at Brescia, where he was printing from 1492 to 1502, Bernardino de Missintis deserves mention among the typographers of the fifteenth century. So far as regards the latter place, the Mark of Giammaria Rizzardi, who was established in this city during the latter half of the last century, is one of the most distinct, and was probably designed by Turbini. Bonino de Boninis of Ragusa, was printing at Venice, 1478-1480, at Verona, 1481-3, and afterwards removed to Brescia, where he was printing until about 1491. The earliest known book printed at Modena (or Mutine) is an edition of Virgil, executed by Johannes Vurster de Campidonâ, 1475; but one of the best known printers of this city is Dominico Rocociolo, or Richizola, 1481-1504, who was in partnership with Antonio Miscomini, 1487-89.

IO ANT ET FRES DE SABIO BRASICA]

Printing was introduced into Milan (Mediolanum) in 1469 or in the year following, and from the numerous presses established in this city before the end of the fifteenth century very many beautiful books were issued. Gian Giacomo di Legnano and his brothers, whose highly decorative Mark we reproduce, were working in this city from 1503-33; one of their most interesting books is a Latin translation of the first edition (Vicenza, 1507) of the “Paesi novamente retrovati, et Novo Mondo da Alberico Vesputio Florentino intitulato.” Bologna was also a busy printing centre from 1470 onwards; but it must suffice us to give the monograms of three of the more noteworthy, namely, Hercules Nanni, 1492-4; Giovanni Antonio de Benedetti (or Johannes Antonius Platonides de Benedictis), 1499, and Justinian de Ruberia, 1495-9 (see p. 25).

IHS
IO IACOMO E FRAT D LEGNANO
IHS
IOL IOL]

Non solum nobis
Cagnoni sculp]

The Printers’ Marks of Spain (including Portugal) need not detain us long. They cannot in any case be described as other than archaic, and they are for the most part striking on account of the coarseness of their design. A few examples are given in Fray Francisco Mendez’s “Tipografica Española,” of which the first and only volume appeared at Madrid in 1796; and of which a second edition, corrected and enlarged by Dionisio Hidalgo, was published at the same city in 1861. As the latter writer clearly points out “los del siglo XV., y aun hasta la mitad del XVI. los mas eran estranjeros, como lo demuestran sus nombres y apellidos, y algunos lo declaran espresamente en sus notas y escudos.” These “estranjeros” were almost without exception Germans.

Valencia (or Valentia Edetanorum) was the first place in Spain into which the art of printing was introduced; the earliest printers being Alfonso Fernandez de Cordova and Lambert Palomar (or Palmart) a German, whose names however do not appear on any publication (according to Cotton) antecedent to the year 1478. Although not the earliest of the Seville printers the four “alemanes, y compañeros,” Paulo de Colonia, Juan Pegnicer de Nuremberga, Magno y Thomas, their composite Mark is one of the first which appears on books printed in Spain. It is of the cross type, with two circles, one within another, the smaller divided into four compartments, each of which encircles the initials of the four printers, “P” (the lower part of which is continued so as to form an “L”), “I M T.” Among other books which they printed is the “Vidas de los Varones ilustres de Plutarco.” In 1495, Paulo de Colonia appears to have left the partnership, for the Mark appeared with its inner circle divided into three compartments in which the initials “I M” and “T” only appear. This firm continued printing at Seville until the commencement of the sixteenth century. Federico de Basilea (or, as his name appears in the imprints of his books, Fadrique Aleman de Basilea) was busy printing books at Burgos from the end of the fourteenth to the second decade of the fifteenth century; his Mark, a cross resting on a V-shaped ground, is a poor one, the motto being “sine causa nihil.” “En mushos libros de los que imprimió puso su escudo,” observes Mendez; this printer possesses an historic interest from the fact that he issued the first edition the unabridged “Chronicle of the Cid,” 1512--“Cronica del Famoso Cauallero Cid Ruy Diez Campeador,” a book of the greatest rarity. One of the early printers of Barcelona, Pedro Miguel, had a Mark, also of the cross type, the circle surrounding the bottom of which is divided into three compartments, in two of which occur his initials “P M.”

One of the most noteworthy names in the early annals of Spanish printing is that of Juan de Rosembach de Haydellerich, who printed books in Barcelona, 1493-8, and again at the beginning of the sixteenth century; in Perpignan, 1500; in Tarragona, 1490, and in Montserrat. In 1499 he printed at Tarragona the famous “Missal de aquel Arzobispado,” which Mendez declares to be “muy recomendable por varias circumstancias.” At Barcelona he printed in 1526 an edition of the “Oficias de Cicero.” The Marks of this printer vary considerably, but the example here reproduced may be regarded as a representative one. Of the early Lisbon printers, Valentin Fernandez “de la Provincia de Moravia” was probably the first to use a Mark (here reproduced), one of his publications being the “Glosa sobre las Coplas” of Jorge Manrique, 1501.

1. ZACHARIAS KALLIERGOS.
2. J. A. DE LEGNANO.
3. J. DE VINGLE, OF PICARDY.
4. M. HUGUNT.]

A good book is a true friend
a wise author a public benefactor.
1726]

SOME MODERN EXAMPLES.

VERBUM DOMINI MANET IN ÆTERNUM]

During the past few years there has been a very evident revival in the Printer’s Mark as a modern device, but the interest has much more largely obtained among publishers than among printers. We propose, therefore, to include in this chapter a few of the more interesting examples of each class. On the score of antiquity the Stationers’ Company may be first mentioned. Founded in 1403--nearly three-quarters of a century before the introduction of printing--its first charter was not received until May 4th, 1557, during the reign of Mary. The number of “seditious and heretical books, both in prose and verse,” that were daily issued for the propagation of “very great and detestable heresies against the faith and sound Catholic doctrine of Holy Mother the Church,” became so numerous, that the government were only too glad to “recognize” the Company, and to intrust it with the most absolute power. The charter was to “provide a proper remedy,” or, in other words, to check the fast-increasing number of publications so bitter in their opposition to the Court religion. But, stringent and emphatic as was this proclamation, its effect was almost _nil_. On June 6th, 1558, another rigorous act was published from “our manor of St. James,” and will be found in Strype’s “Ecclesiastical Memorials” (ed. 1822, iii. part 2, pp. 130, 131). It had specific reference to the illegality of seditious books imported, and others “covertly printed within this realm,” whereby “not only God is dishonoured, but also encouragement is given to disobey lawful princes and governors.” This proclamation declared that not only those who possessed such books, but also those who, on finding them, do not forthwith report the same, should be dealt with as rebels. It will be seen, therefore, how easy it was, in the absence of any fine definition, for books of whatever character to be proscribed. There was no appeal against the decision of the Stationers’ Hall representatives, who had the power entirely in their own hands. A few months after Mary’s futile attempt at checking the freedom of the press, a diametrically objective change occurred, and with Elizabeth’s accession to the throne in November, 1558, the licensed stationers conveniently veered around and were as industrious in suppressing Catholic books as they had been a few weeks previously in endeavouring to stamp out those of the new religion. The history of the Stationers’ Company however has been so frequently told that it need not be further entered upon here, and it must suffice us to say that, after many vicissitudes, all the privileges and monopolies had become neutralized by the end of the last century, till it had nothing left but the right to publish a common Latin primer and almanacks, and the right to the latter monopoly was annulled after a memorable speech of Erksine. The Company still continues to publish almanacks, and uses the two Marks or Arms here reproduced. The larger example is the older, and is used on the County almanacks; whilst the smaller one is used on circulars and notices.

VERBUM DOMINI MANET IN ETERNUM.]

Fear God
Honour the King]

Of the existing firms of publishers and printers, that of Messrs. Longmans is the most memorable; _vice_ the firm of Messrs. Rivingtons, which has now become joined to that of the Longmans. This gives us the opportunity to consider briefly the Marks of the two firms together. In the year 1711, Richard Chiswell, the printer of much of Dryden’s poetry, died, and his business passed into the hands of Charles Rivington, a native of Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Thoughtful and pious himself, Charles Rivington threw himself with ardour into the trade for religious manuals, and not only succeeding in persuading John Wesley to translate “à Kempis” for him, but also in publishing the saintly Bishop Thomas Wilson’s “Short and Plain Introduction to the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper,” the first edition of which bears Charles Rivington’s name on the imprint, and which is still popular. To the novelist Richardson, he suggested “Pamela.” Dying in 1742, he left Samuel Richardson as one of the executors of his six children, but his sons, John and James, continued to conduct the business. A few years later, it was deemed advisable for the brothers to separate, and while John remained at the “Bible and Crown,” St. Paul’s Churchyard, James joined a Mr. Fletcher in the same locality, and started afresh. One especially fortunate venture was the publication of Smollett’s continuation of Hume, which brought its lucky publishers upwards of £10,000, a larger profit than had previously been made on any one book. However, Newmarket had attractions for James, and eventually disaster set in; he died in New York in 1802 or 1803. His brother, meanwhile, had plodded on steadily at home, and admitting his two sons, Francis and Charles, into partnership. About this time there were numerous editions of the classics, the common property of a syndicate of publishers, and it says much for Mr. John Rivington that he was appointed managing partner. About 1760 he obtained the appointment of publisher to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, a lucrative post, held by the firm for upwards of two generations. By the year 1889, the two representatives of this ancient firm were Messrs. Francis Hansard Rivington and Septimus Rivington; in this year the partnership was dissolved, and the goodwill and stock were acquired by Messrs. Longmans. They used at various periods no less than eight Marks, the design of which was in most cases based upon the ancient sign of their shop, “The Bible and Sun.”

ERRABANT MARIA OMNIA CIRCUM
1726]

DOMINVS ILLUMINATIO MEA]

The history of Messrs. Longmans may be said to commence with the birth of Thomas Longman in 1699. The son of a Bristol gentleman, he lost his father in 1708, and, eight years later, was apprenticed, on June 9, 1716, to Mr. John Osborn of Lombard Street, London. His apprenticeship expiring (he had come into the possession of his property two years earlier), we find him, in 1724, purchasing from his master, John Osborn (acting with William Innys as executors), the stock in trade of William Taylor, of the Ship and Black Swan in Paternoster Row. Readers of _Longman’s Magazine_ turn to Mr. Andrew Lang’s genial gossip, “At the Sign of the Ship,” without recalling the origin of the title. Henceforward the Ship carried the Longman fortunes as cargo, and the prosperity of the vessel is not yet ended. Messrs. Longmans have used nearly a dozen Marks, all of which have been suggested, like those of the Rivingtons, by the sign of their shop, which has now grown into a very imposing pile of buildings. Of these Marks we give two of the most artistic and interesting. As taking us back into a comparatively remote period in the history of printing and publishing in England, the Mark of the Clarendon Press, or, in other words, the arms of the University of Oxford, may be here cited.

ALDI DISCIP. ANGL.

ALDI DISCIP. ANGL.]

B M Pickering
Aldi Discipulus Anglus]

HOPE WELL AND HAVE WELL
CW]

The “Chiswick Press” of Messrs. Whittingham and Co., is in several respects a link with the long past, and, having been in existence for more than a century, is one of the oldest offices in London. It has attained a world-wide celebrity for the excellence of its work, the careful reading and correction of proofs, and the appropriate application of its varied collection of ornaments and initial letters. The Chiswick Press was the first to revive the use of antique type in 1843, for the printing of “Lady Willoughby’s Diary,” published by Messrs. Longmans. Since that time its use has become universal. The founder, Charles Whittingham, was born on June 16th, 1767, at Calledon, in Warwick, and was apprenticed at Coventry in 1779, working subsequently at Birmingham, and then in London. He commenced business on his own account in Fetter Lane in 1790; and in 1810 he had removed to Chiswick, and since that period the firm has always been known as “The Chiswick Press.” In 1828 he began to execute work for William Pickering, the publisher, and his press quickly acquired an unrivalled reputation for its collection of ornamental borders, head and tail pieces. The publisher Pickering, and the printer Whittingham, had employed about two dozen marks in their various books: the former justly calling himself a disciple of Aldus, and using a large number of variations on the original Anchor and Dolphin Mark of the great Venetian printer. Of these we give two examples, one with, and one without a cartouche; and also the mark of Basil Montagu Pickering, the son and successor of William Pickering. We also reproduce three of the more striking Marks of the Chiswick Press, the shield on one of which, it will be observed, carries the Aldine Anchor and Dolphin.

Charles Whittingham]

LIBELLUS IN NUCE]

LA BELLE SAUVAGE]

MM&Co]

TFU]

LB]

ARBOR SCIENTIÆ ARBOR VITÆ]

The name of Cassell takes us back to the era of Charles Knight and John Cassell, and the inauguration of the noble results which these two pioneers achieved on behalf of cheap and healthy literature. The name of the former is no longer associated with either printing or publishing; but that of the latter is still one of the most prolific firms of printers and publishers. Its Mark is founded on the name of “La Belle Sauvage” Yard, Ludgate Hill, in which the business has been located for a long series of years.

PRINTERS
R & R
PRINTERS
EDINBURG]

Two Edinburgh printers may be here conveniently referred to. Messrs. R. and R. Clark, whose business was started in Hanover Street, Edinburgh, in 1846, and removed to Brandon Street, in that city, in 1883, are well known for the excellence of their printing. Mr. Austin Dobson thus sings, in Mr. Andrew Lang’s Book on “The Library:”

“‘Of making many books,’ ’twas said,
‘There is no end;’ and who thereon
The ever-running ink doth shed
But proves the words of Solomon:
Wherefore we now, for Colophon,
From London’s City drear and dark,
In the year Eighteen-eighty-one,
Reprint them at the press of Clark.”

The accompanying Mark was designed by Mr. Walter Crane, and first used by Messrs. Clark in 1881. It is used in several sizes. Of the very handsome Mark of Messrs. T. and A. Constable, the Queen’s Printers, at the University Press, we may mention that the legend is a hexameter; it was written by Professor Strong, and contains two puns; the ship is an old Constable device. The Marks of both Messrs. Chatto and Windus (who succeeded to the business, started and carried on with such energy by the late John Camden Hotten) and Messrs. Macmillan and Co. (whose firm dates from the year 1843) are characterized by the extremest possible simplicity.

TFU
VITA SINE LITERIS MORS EST]

FIRMA PERERRAT AQVAS ET CONSTABILITVR EVNDO
T A C]

kelmscott
William Morris]

The finest of the several Marks used by Messrs. George Bell and Sons is given in two colours on the title-page of the present volume, and is a play on the surname, the Aldine device being added to the bell. Another example will be found on page 261.

Kelmscott]

Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co., Limited, originally a branch of the extensive Anglo-Indian firm of H. S. King and Co., first used the accompanying device in the autumn of 1877; the drawing was executed by Mrs. Orrinsmith in accordance with Mr. Kegan Paul’s suggestions. Messrs. Lawrence and Bullen, like Messrs. Clark, called in the aid of Mr. Walter Crane in designing their charming little Mark.

We give two of the several Marks used by one of the most prolific of the younger publishers, Mr. T. Fisher Unwin, the one is simply his initials, and the more elaborate example is a copy of a type not infrequently met with among the marks of the sixteenth century printers. Mr. David Nutt’s device is a quaint and effective play on his surname. Through the courtesy of Mr. William Morris, we are enabled to give examples of both of the Kelmscott Press Marks, each of which was designed by Mr. Morris.

As indicating the position of the printer’s Mark in America, we group together seven of the most interesting examples of the leading printers and publishers in the United States. The eighth example is that of Mr. Martinus Nijhoff, of the Hague; the device, “Alles komt te regt,” signifies “All turns right,” or something to that effect.

D·A & Co.
INTER FOLIA FRUCTUS]

J. S. CUSHING & CO
BOOK PRINTERS
192 Summer St
BOSTON]

H B
ΛΑΜΠΑΔΙΑ ΕΧΟΝΤΕΣ ΔΙΑΔΩΣΟΥΣΙΝ ΑΛΛΗΛΟΙΣ]

H L
LOCKWOOD PRESS
NEW YORK]

PRESS OF BERWICK & SMITH
192 SUMMER ST BOSTON MASS]

καὶ μὴν ἀρθμὸν
ἔξοχον σοφισμάτων
ἐξεῦρον αὐτοῖς
γραμμάτων τε συνθέσεις
μνήμην τ’ ἁπάντων μουσομητορ’ ἐργάτιν.
IMPRIMATUR
THE DE VINNE PRESS]

J B L Co.
DROIT ET AVANT]

M N
ALLES KOMT TE REGT.]

THE HAVEN

OF HEALTH:

Chiefely gathered for the comfort of Stu-
dents, and consequently of all those that haue a
care of their health, amplified vpon fiue words of
_Hippocrates_, written _Epid. 6._ _Labor, Cibus,
Potio, Somnus, Venus_: By _Thomas Coghan_
master of Artes, & Bacheler
of Phisicke.

_Hereunto is added a Preseruation from the Pestilence,
With a short Censure of the late sicknes at Oxford._

_Ecclesiasticus. Cap. 37. 30._

By surfet haue manie perished: but he that dieteth
himselfe prolongeth his life.

nor
W

AT LONDON

Printed by Henrie Midleton,

_for William Norton_.

1584.]

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

The following books will be found helpful to those who wish to prosecute their studies further into the subject of the Printer’s Mark. Special information respecting the devices of the more eminent typographers, such as Plantin, Elzevir, and others, will be found in the monographs and bibliographies which have been compiled concerning these men and their works.

HAVRE, G. VAN. Marques typographiques des imprimeurs et libraires anversois, 2 vols. Avec plus de 1000 reproductions.

Anv., 1884.

HEITZ (P.) and BARACK (K. A.). Die Büchermarken oder Buchdrucker und Verlegerzeichen. Elsässische Büchermarken bis Anfang des 18. Jahrhdts. Nebst Vorbemerkungen u. Nachrichten üb. d. Drucker. Mit 76 Holzschn. Tafeln.

4o. Strassburg, 1892.

HOLTROP, J. W. Monuments Typographiques des Pays Bas au quinzième siècle.

Fol. La Haye, 1868.

HORNE, REV. T. H. Introduction to the Study of Bibliography.

8vo. London, 1814.

HUMPHREYS, H. N. Masterpieces of the Early Printers.

Fol. London, 1870.

INVENTAIRE des marques d’imprimeurs et de libraires de la France.

4o. Paris, 1886-87.

JOHNSON, J. Typographia, 2 vols.

London, 1824.

LEDEBOER, ADRIAN MAR. Alfabetische lijst der Boekdrukkers, Boekverkoopers en Uitgevers in Nord-Nederland. With 4 plates of Printers’ Marks.

4to. Utrecht, 1876.

LEMPERTZ, HEINRICH. Bilder Hefte zur Geschichte des Bücherhandels und der mit demselben verwandten Künste und Gewerbe. 11 Hefte mit 65 Taf., enthalt. Facs. Reprod. von Portraits berühmter Buchhändler, auf den Buchhandel bezügl. Schriftstücke, Initialen, Ex-libris, Abbilden kunstvoller Einbände.

Fol. Köln, 1853-65.