Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Printing Houses

The sixteenth century witnessed an extreme surge in book production, introducing some of the most celebrated works and printing houses of our time. The printing of books allowed greater access to the works and commentaries of scholars of the Middle Ages, whilst vernacular literature – language spoken by those of a specific country – was also revitalised, with works modernised by translations into modern prose, though Latin remained the principal language.

During this time, hundreds of printers were trading across Europe, yet what made a printing firm particularly successful was a keen eye for current social and cultural trends, consistent levels of high-quality book production, and an astute sense for business and trade.

Johannes Froben, one of Basel’s most famous scholar-printers, produced this third edition of Utopia in 1518. Froben popularised the roman type, produced small, cheap books and employed highly talented artists such as Hans Holbein the Younger to illustrate his works. Froben was also a close friend of the great Renaissance scholar Erasmus, who recommended he produce this edition.

The woodcut illustration map of Utopia displayed here was produced by Ambrosius Holbein, brother to Hans Holbein. It sits next to the 22-letter Utopian alphabet, with letters based on the shapes of the circle, square, and triangle.

Italian printer Francesco Marcolini issued this edition in 1544, and it was the first to contain the new commentary by Lucchese writer, poet and scholar Alessandro Vellutello. Its visual commentaries take the form of eighty-seven woodcuts, which many consider the most distinctive Renaissance renditions of the work. They marked a major shift in the history of the iconography and reception of Dante’s poem, as Vellutello carefully paired his commentaries with the illustrated woodcuts to help readers interpret the story.

The woodcut illustrations here depict ‘Limbo Cerchio Primo’ (the first circle of Limbo) and ‘Carnali Cerchio Secondo’ (the Carnal, or second circle of Hell).

This 1527 English translation of Liber de arte distillandi de simplicibus, first produced in 1500, was written by German surgeon, alchemist and botanist Hieronymus Brunschwig. This was the earliest printed book to discuss and illustrate the techniques of distillation from herbal and animal substances, and, as one of the last fifteenth century herbal books, serves as a notable link between the Middle Ages and early modern notions of medicine.

Laurence Andrew translated and printed this edition in 1527. He was originally from Calais, yet from around 1520, he worked in Antwerp, translating books out of Dutch into English. He then came to London in 1527 where he set up press at ‘the sign of the Golden Cross’ by Fleet Bridge, translating and printing many scientific and encyclopaedic works.

Aldus Manutius the Younger authored this treatise on Latin spelling and grammar in 1561. He was grandson of the highly esteemed printer and bookseller Aldus Manutius and the last of the Manuzio family to be active in the Aldine Press. Its title page shows the Aldine printer’s emblem of a dolphin wrapped around an anchor, inspired by the Latin motto ‘festina lente’, or ‘hasten slowly’.

This edition was produced in Siena, Italy in 1613 by printer and publisher Matteo Florimi. Florimi was born in Calabria circa 1540, and relocated to Siena around 1581 where he established a reputable workshop in Banchi, known especially for the production of allegorical prints, floral prints and maps.

The woodcuts displayed here are visual representations of ‘Filosofia’ and ‘Flagello di Dio’. ‘Filosofia’ (Philosophy) is depicted as a woman standing tall, with books in her right hand and a royal sceptre in her left. ‘Flagello di Dio’ (Scourge of God) holds a whip in his right hand and a thunderbolt in his left. The sky above is stormy, and there are locusts at his feet.

Hermann Mylius produced the work in 1613. He was successor to the German Birckmann Press, a successful printing business initially founded by brothers Franz and Arnold Birckmann in Cologne in the early sixteenth century. The firm continued to operate for around 300 years, with branches in Cologne, Paris, Antwerp and London, and it played a significant role in supplying the English market with biblical works.

This is a first Delphin edition of the works of philosopher and rhetorician, Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis. The Delphin classics were a series of annotated editions of Latin classical texts prepared for the use of Louis de France (1661-1711), the son of Louis XIV of France, otherwise known as the Grand Dauphin.

French printer-bookseller and printer to the King, Frédéric Léonard, who operated in Paris in the building known today as The Royal Music Printing House, produced the work in 1688. For his printer’s device, Frédéric Léonard used the image of the winged Lion, also known as the Lion of Saint Mark, which represents Mark the Evangelist. The Lion holds a Bible inscribed with the Latin phrase ‘Pax Tibi Marce Evangelista Meus’, which means ‘Peace unto you, Mark, my Evangelist’. Overhead is the phrase ‘Virtute Invidiam Vince’, meaning ‘virtue overcomes envy’.

The rising quantity of titles and print runs at this time made it extremely difficult for authorities to monitor the production of all books, however, and censoring such items only promoted the rise of printers operating in liberal countries such as Switzerland or the Netherlands. Restricting the publication of certain works only made them more desirable and thus more likely to sell, so in response to this, many printing houses began to produce illicit and seditious works and reaped the financial benefits of such a trade.

One way in which printers and booksellers evaded authorities when producing such works was to hide their identity or location by using a false imprint. This means that the information within the book, such as its original place of production, the name of the printer or publisher, and the date published, would often be deliberately falsified or inaccurate. Printers also borrowed or invented a printer’s device to feature on the title page, thus making the actual printer untraceable.

Whilst the most obvious reason for using false imprints was for the printers’ own protection, it was not the only reason. Printers also used false imprints to pose as other, well-established firms, much like we see in today’s market with imitations of luxury brands or the production of works covered by copyrights. Regardless of the reasons behind their use, they pose a constant hindrance to bibliographers, book collectors, and book historians when trying to identify a book’s authentic place of production.

Until recently, we believed that the books on display here were produced by the printers whose names appear on the title page and in other specified places, but after careful investigation, we have discovered that these items and others in the collection in fact contain false imprints on their title pages.

This volume includes the works of French poet Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas. The second part contains La Sepmaine, ou, Creation du monde (‘The week, or creation of the world’), a poem which recounts each of the seven days of the world’s creation, describing in detail the aspects created on each day and celebrating the overall beauty of such creations. The work was initially successful in France and in England, and translated into many languages throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

According to the imprint statement on the title page, printer Pierre Retif produced this work in in Rouen, France, 1591. However, in Booksellers and Printers in Provincial France 1470–1600, this name appears in the ‘Index of Booksellers and Printers Falsely Indicated as being active in Provincial France during the Sixteenth Century’, where it is identified as being a fictitious printer’s name. The name is known only to have been used for editions of the works of Du Bartas over two years, whilst, it is claimed, the printer’s mark bears the hallmarks of Lyonese or Genevan printing. Furthermore, as the other known editions from that time were printed in La Rochelle or Geneva, it is believed to be unlikely that Rouen was the origin of printing for this imprint.

This volume contains the posthumous works of Monsieur de Molière (real name Jean Baptiste Poquelin), leading French playwright, actor and poet of the seventeenth century. Regarded as one of the greatest masters of comedy of all time, Molière wrote entertainments for the court, which put him in high favour with the King, who later granted him use of the theatre in the Palais-Royal.

This book claims to have been produced by the printer ‘Jacques le Jeune’; however, this is widely known to be a fictitious printer’s name used by several printing houses in Amsterdam, though most probably beginning with the Dutch printing family, Elzevier. Elzevier employed a number of false imprints when producing works of a more dangerous sort, including ‘Jean Sambix’, ‘Jacques le Jeune’, and ‘Pierre Marteau’.

The image of the armillary sphere as the printer’s device also came to be synonymous with such works, and its appearance on the title pages of early modern books often (though not always) infers an illicit publication history or subject matter.