 
PART I. BIOGRAPHY. LESS than twenty years after the introduction of printing at Paris, there was born at Bourges a child of the people, destined to impart to French typography a vigorous artistic impulsion, or, to speak more accurately, to work therein a genuine revolution. Geofroy Tory Once master of the first rudiments of grammar, Tory perfected himself by following the curriculum of the university, where, as we learn from himself, he had for his teacher a Fleming named Guillaume de Tory then went, to finish his literary education, to Italy, whither he betook himself early in the sixteenth century. He sojourned principally in Rome, where he attended most frequently the famous college called La Sapienza, The first work of his of which we have any knowledge is an edition of Pomponius Mela, which he prepared for the bookseller Jean Petit; it was printed by Gilles de Gourmont because it required the use of some Greek type. This erudite production and the patronage of Philibert Babou were perhaps responsible for Tory's appointment to the office of regent, otherwise The dedication of this book, addressed by Tory to Germain de Gannay, canon of the metropolitan church of Bourges, and recently appointed Bishop of Cahors by King Louis XII, In the same year Tory published for the same booksellers a small volume of miscellanies, under this title: 'Valerii Probi grammatici de interpretandis Romanorum literis opusculum, cum aliis quibusdam scitu dignissimis.' It was probably printed by Gilles de Gourmont, for we find in it his unaccented Greek type. Finally, in the same year, Tory issued an edition of Quintilian's 'Institutiones,' carefully collated by him with several manuscripts. This work was undertaken at the request of Jean Rousselet, Seigneur de La Part-Dieu, near Lyon, and an ancestor of ChÂteau-Regnaud, MarÉchal de France. This Rousselet, who died in 1520, belonged to one of the wealthy Lombard families which had settled at Lyon long before; they made, as we see, a noble use of their wealth. His real name was Ruccelli. He had married a young gentlewoman of Bourges, Jeanne Lallemant, daughter of Jean Lallemant, Seigneur de Marmagne, a school friend of Tory, whom I have already had occasion to mention. Doubtless it was this connection which brought Tory into relations with Rousselet. The text is preceded by the following dedicatory letter:
This book, which forms a large octavo volume, unpaged, printed in italic type, and in which we find some most attractive Greek type, with accents, was finished on the VII of the Calends of July (that is to say, June 25), 1510. The printer's name does not anywhere appear, and the place of printing (Lyon) is mentioned only in Tory's letter. I know of nothing of Tory's dated in 1511 The first work edited by Tory in 1512 was an architectural treatise entitled: 'Leonis BaptistÆ Alberti Florentini.—Libri de re Ædificatoria decem,' etc.; a quarto volume of 14 preliminary leaves and 174 leaves of text. This book was printed by Berthold Rembolt (whose mark it bears on the first page), at the joint expense of that printer and the bookseller Louis Hornken, whose mark is at the end of the book. The dedication, which is addressed to Philibert Babou, and dated at the College Coqueret on the XV of the Calends of September (August 18), 1512, informs us that Tory received the manuscript of the book from his friend Robert Dure, The second work put forth by Tory in 1512 was the 'Itinerarium Antonini.' It was the second book that he prepared for Henri Estienne, in whose establishment it has been said At this epoch occurs a momentous event in Geofroy Tory's life. On August 26, 1512, he became the father of a daughter, who was christened Agnes. I do not know the date of his marriage, but it was at least as early as 1511. A document of much later date, to which we shall have occasion to refer hereafter, informs us that his child's mother was named Perrette le Hullin. There is reason to believe that she, like her husband, was of Bourges, as the name of Hullin was common there at that time. Soon after the birth of Agnes, perhaps just at the opening of the term of 1512, Tory entered the College of Bourgogne as regent, or professor of philosophy. His lectures, which were continued for several years, were attended by a large number of hearers, if we may believe a poetical epitaph composed in laudation of him and published by La Caille. This is what happened: Tory, whose activity was very great, did not confine himself to his professorship, Tory does not give the precise date of this artistic journey; but it is established by a passage in his book, where he informs us that he saw the 'Epitaphs of Ancient Rome' printed in that city. On his return to Paris, about 1518, Tory, who was not a wealthy man, was obliged to think about turning his talents to account, in order to earn his living. His principal resource seems to have been the painting of manuscripts, otherwise called miniature; but, whether because he did not find sufficient work of that sort, or because he considered another branch of art more useful, he soon gave his entire attention to engraving on wood, in which he speedily acquired considerable celebrity. About the same time, Tory also joined the fraternity of booksellers, following a custom then quite general among engravers,—a custom which their predecessors, the miniaturists, had handed down to them, and which was continued down to the eighteenth century. But Tory's active mind could not be content with a single occupation. He was a patriot first of all, as his device proves. And so, far from allowing himself to be engrossed by his memories of the literary and artistic Now, while studying that same French tongue, so decried by the scholars of his time, Tory discovered therein beauties which required only a little cultivation to make of it the finest language in the world. From that moment our Berrichon, hitherto a partisan of the classics, shook off entirely the yoke of Greek and Latin, and thought only of the means of making French take precedence everywhere. 'I see,' he says, 'some who choose to write in Greek and in Latin, and yet cannot speak French well.... To me it seems, with submission, that it would better beseem a Frenchman to write in French than in another tongue, as well for the profit of his said French tongue, as to adorn his nation and enrich his native language, which is as fair and fine [belle et bonne] as another when it is well set down in writing.... When I see a Frenchman write in Greek or in Latin, I seem to see a mason clad in philosopher's or king's garb, who would fain recite a mask on the stage of La Baroche Tory had found his vocation at last. He resolved to establish the superiority of his mother tongue in a special book, illustrated by engravings by his own hand, and intended particularly for printers and booksellers, who were in a position to distribute it so rapidly with the aid of their connections. But while he was engaged in his studies, a terrible catastrophe fell upon him without warning, and caused him to forget his new projects for some time. His daughter Agnes, of whom he had conceived the most brilliant hopes, was taken from him on August 25, 1522, at the age of nine years eleven months and thirty days, that is to say, ten years less one day. Entirely absorbed by his grief, Tory wrote a short Latin poem upon the sad event. This poem, dedicated, like most of his other books, to Philibert Babou, was not published until February 15, 1523 (1524, new style). In this little work, consisting of two quarto sheets, are contained some most interesting details of Tory's life. We learn here, for example, that he had grounded his daughter Agnes, young as she was, in Latin and the fine arts. 'Desiring to instruct me in the Ausonian tongue, and also to render me accomplished in the polite arts, he, like a most affectionate father, teaching me night and day, himself laid the foundations, sweet and ample, for my life.' Farther on, he makes his daughter speak thus, from the depths of the urn in which she is supposed to repose:—
We learn from this that Tory was not only a scholar, which we already knew, but an artist of great merit. Who knows? it may be that we had in him the making of a Benvenuto Cellini. What more was necessary that he
Alas! this depiction of the vices of society is not peculiar to the sixteenth century. The world is very old, and it changes little. If Tory were living in our day, it may be that he would use even darker colours; for, after all, he was appreciated in his own time, and perhaps he would die of hunger to-day. As we see, he was not fond of cooling his heels in the antechambers of the great, and lived peacefully in his own house; but honour came there to seek him. Unluckily it was a little late, as will appear hereafter. At the end of the poem is the design reproduced on the next page, wherein we see for the first time the famous 'Pot CassÉ' [broken jar] which Tory adopted thenceforth as the mark of his bookshop; together with the device 'non plus,' which he used thereafter instead of the word 'civis.' Tory subsequently offered, in his 'Champ fleury,' a very confused explanation of his Pot CassÉ, doing his utmost to connect it with the ordinary events of life; but everything tends to prove that it owes its origin to the death of Agnes. This shattered antique vessel represents Tory's daughter, whose career was shattered by destiny at the age of ten. The book secured by padlocks suggests Agnes's literary studies; the little winged figure among the clouds is her soul flying up to heaven. The device 'non plus' suggests the desperate grief of Tory, who seems to say: 'I no longer [non plus] care for anything'; or, more laconically: 'There is nothing more for me'; after the example of Valentine of Milan when he found himself in a similar situation. Luckily, time, which deadens all sorrows, even those which seem likely to endure for ever, assuaged Tory's grief. Before his funeral poem saw the light, he had returned to his beloved studies, and they had restored tranquillity to his mind. This is proved by the following passage from his 'Champ fleury,' in which he tells us how, on January 6, 1523 (or 1524, according to our method of computing time), that is to say, eighteen months after he lost his daughter, the idea of that curious book came to his mind. We are glad to recognize once more therein the patriotic Berrichon who had taken for his device the word 'civis.' 'In the morning of the day of the feast of Kings,' Such was the origin of 'Champ fleury.' Here follows the composition of that work, as the author himself gives it to us, in the form of a table of contents, at the beginning: 'This whole work is divided into three books. 'In the first book is contained the exhortation to establish and ordain the French language by fixed rule, and to speak elegantly, in good and soundest French. 'In the second is treated the invention of antique letters, and the proportionate coincidence thereof with the natural body and face of the perfect man. With several happy inventions and reflections upon the said antique letters. 'In the third and last book all the said antique letters, in their alphabetical order, are drawn and proportioned in height and width according to their proper formation and required articulation, both Latin and French, as well in the ancient as in the modern fashion. 'In two sheets at the end are added thirteen different sorts of letters, to-wit: Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French,—and these latter in four sorts, which are: "cadeaulx," "forme," "bastarde," and "torneure." Then follow the Persian, Arabic, African, Turkish, and Tartar letters, which have, all five, one and the same type of alphabet. After these are the Chaldaic, the "goffes," which are otherwise called "impÉriales et bullatiques," the "phantastiques" letters, the utopian letters, which one may call "voluntaires," and, lastly, the floriated letters. I will say nothing here of the first book, the excellence of which has recently been pointed out by M. GÉnin, The second book of 'Champ fleury' is, I apprehend, only a paradox; but that paradox is maintained by arguments so ingenious, that one lacks courage to condemn it. Tory holds that the shapes of all the roman capital letters are derived from the different parts of the human body, which he looks upon as the type of the beautiful; and he makes a most admirable use of wood engraving to explain his idea. Moreover, if Tory was mistaken, we must acknowledge that he did not fall into the error inconsiderately. Indeed, I believe that he had for confederate his friend Perreal, to whom we may attribute the greater number of the designs on wood in the second book, judging from those in the third, which are directly attributed to him by Tory, as we shall see hereafter. However that may be, Tory seems to have studied his subject for a long time, not only on ancient monuments, but on modern ones as well, and in the works of contemporary authors who had turned their attention to the shapes of letters. His judgement of these latter is as follows:— 'FrÈre Lucas Paciol, of Bourg Saint Sepulchre, of the order of FrÈres Mineurs, and a theologian, who has written in popular Italian a book called "Divina proportione," The eulogistic tone in which Tory speaks here and elsewhere We see that Tory does not beat about the bush concerning his theory, 'I know,' he says, 'that there are many goodly minds who would willingly write many excellent things if they thought they could write them well in Greek or Latin; and yet they abstain for fear of making solecisms or some other fault that they dread; or they choose not to write in French, thinking the French tongue not good nor elegant enough. With all respect to them, it is one of the most beauteous and graceful of all human tongues, as I have shown in the first book by the authority of noble and ancient authors, poets and orators, as well Latin as Greek.' To be accurate, I will say that this idea of the 'preËxcellence of the French tongue,' which, a little later, was the subject of another special work on the part of another famous printer, the second Henri Estienne, was neither new nor original with Tory. No less than three hundred years before, it had been set forth in honest French by an author who cannot be taxed with patriotic illusions, for he was an Italian. This is what Brunetto Latini wrote at the beginning of a sort of encyclopÆdia which he prepared in the thirteenth century, under the name of 'TrÉsor':— 'Et se aucuns demandoit por quoi cist livres est escriz en romans selonc le langage des FranÇois, puisque nos somes Ytaliens, je diroie que ce est por deux raisons: lune, car nos somes en France, et lautre, porce que la parleure est plus delitable et plus commune a toutes gens.' As I have said, the third book is the important part of Tory's work. Laying theory aside, he there gives us the exact design of the letters of the alphabet and the method of executing them. He does not overlook, moreover, this essential fact—that the designer of letters and the printer ought before all else to be grammarians in the ancient meaning of the It will be noticed that in this particular the 'ladies of Paris' succeeded in perpetuating their pronunciation in part, for we do not now say 'paier.' They had equal success in many other cases. For example, it seems to be due to them that the final S of the plural is not pronounced except under exceptional circumstances Moreover, if we are to credit Tory, the provincials have also, in certain cases, succeeded in establishing their pronunciation, as we may conclude from the following passage, relative to the letter T: 'The Italians pronounce it so full and resonant that it seems that they add an E thereto, as when, for and instead of saying: "Caput vertigine laborat," they pronounce: "Capute vertigine laborate." I have seen and heard it pronounced so in Rome at the schools called La Sapienza, and in many another noble place in Italy. Which pronunciation is no wise held or used by the Lionnois, who drop the said T, and do not pronounce it any wise at the end of the third person plural of verbs active and neuter, saying "Amaverun" and "Araverun," for "Amaverunt" and "Araverunt." In like manner some Picards drop this T at the end of some words in French, as when they would say: "Comant cela, comant? monsieur, c'est une jument," they pronounce: "Coman chela, coman? monsieur, chest une jumen."' Tory did not content himself with setting forth the state of things existent in his day: he suggested improvements, almost all of which have been sanctioned by usage. For instance, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the pronunciation was very difficult to grasp for lack of accents; he proposed to supply them. 'In our French language,' he says, 'we have no symbol of accent in writing, and it is on account of this lack that our language is not yet established nor submitted to fixed rules, like the Hebrew, Greek and Latin. I would like that it should be, as might well be done.... In French,' he says farther on, 'as I have said, we do not write the accent over O vocative, but pronounce it full, as when we say: 'O pain du ciel angelique, Tu es nostre salut antique. 'In this lack of accent we have an imperfection, which we ought to remedy by purifying and subjecting to fixed rule and art our language, Tory could hardly overlook the matter of punctuation, that most essential, and even in our day so sadly neglected, branch of orthography; but as he had only 'antique' letters to deal with, he presented only three sorts of punctuation marks, without going into details as to their use, which, in truth, if we may judge by his own book, was not as yet fully settled. The comma, for instance, which has so much to do with the clearness of the sentence, is frequently there inserted in a far from rational way. I have said above that Tory had adopted about 1523, for the mark of his bookshop, the Pot CassÉ represented in the engraving placed at the end of his poem on his daughter's death. To make it more appropriate for that purpose, he subjected it to various modifications. At first we find it alone, as in the accompanying cut, on the cover, Afterward, Tory placed the jar on a closed book, and still later he modified the design by the introduction of other additions. Finally, we have Geofroy Tory's device, or mark, definitively constituted in his 'Champ fleury,' thus: 'Behold,' he says, 'my declared device and mark, drawn as I have cogitated and conceived it, imparting moral meaning thereto, to give friendly admonition to the printers and booksellers beyond the mountains Then follows his explanation of this mark, MENTI BONAE DEVS OCCVRRIT SIC VT VEL VT NON PLVS 'In the first place, there is herein an ancient jar, which is broken, through which is passed a toret. This said broken jar signifies our body, which is an earthen jar. The toret signifies Fate, which pierces and passes through weak and strong. Beneath this broken jar there is a book secured by three chains and padlocks, which signifies that after our body is broken by death, its life is closed by the three fatal goddesses. I believe that we should see in the toret an 'enseigne parlante,' alluding at once to Tory's name and to his various professions. The way in which the name of the instrument was pronounced, its shape, resembling that of a T, and, lastly, its use by the engravers, were doubtless the considerations that led Tory to adopt it. But let us not subtilize too far. Tory was not content with giving us his symbol in 'Champ fleury': he engraved on the first page of that book, that is to say, in the place of honour, what would be called to-day the blazonry of his artistic acquirements,—in other words, a collection of all the tools that he used. Unfortunately, he did not feel called upon, as in the case of his mark, to supply an explanation, deeming the matter clear enough; whereas, in our day it has become rather difficult, because of the changes that have taken place in the customs of artists, to state the exact use of some of the tools. The order in which they are arranged, however, may assist us, to a certain extent, in identifying them. An exact reproduction of this engraving, the initial letter of the first page of the text of 'Champ fleury,' is given at the beginning of this section. The first series of tools, suspended in the first arabesque, embraces a pair of compasses, a rule, and a square: these are the fundamental instruments of art and of geometry. In the second arabesque, if I am not mistaken, we find an 'Échoppe' and a burin, engravers' tools; in the third, a writing-case (or 'galimart'), a pencil, and a knife, above a book; these are the tools of the writer and the draughtsman. In the fourth, we find an object which I take to be a small box of colours, hanging from a case of brushes; these appertain to the painter. Tory was, in fact, draughtsman, painter and engraver. I have already said that Tory was probably instructed in the art of drawing by the famous Jean Perreal. He was on terms of the closest friendship with that artist, who drew several of the vignettes in 'Champ fleury,' if we may judge by the one positively attributed to him, which is printed on the verso of folio 46. Geofroy informs us that this plate, insignificant in itself (it represents two circles in which are the letters I and K, modelled on the human body), was engraved from the design of a friend of his, 'from that which a noble lord and good friend of mine, Jehan Perreal, who is otherwise called Jehan de Paris, valet de chambre and excellent painter to King Charles VIII, Louis XII, and FranÇois, first of the name, made known and gave to me, most excellently drawn by his hand.' Now this engraving is in all respects similar to those to be found in the second book of 'Champ fleury.' Both in form and subject, it is altogether different from those in the third book, in which Tory printed it. Probably Perreal died while the work was on the press, and Tory, who had not thought of naming him while he was alive, in connection with his first drawings, did so after his death, by publishing the last souvenir of this sort which he possessed from the hand of his friend, although it did not fit perfectly with the subject; he laid, as it were, a flower on the dead man's grave. We give this drawing also, as the only work which can be with certainty attributed to Jean Perreal, and as a specimen of the engravings which serve as a foundation for the reformation of the roman letters proposed by Tory in the second book of his 'Champ fleury.' From what I have said it will be seen that Tory's book required several years of labour. Nor is one surprised thereat when one considers the great number of engravings which it contains. But even without the engravings, it will readily be understood that a work which necessitated so much observation required a vast expenditure of time. Begun, as we have seen, in 1523 (1524, new style), it was not finally completed until 1529, that is to say, after six years of toil. However, Tory did not propose that those years should be lost for art. Desirous to preach by example rather than by precept, he determined to publish, in the interim, other books wherein he might give utterance to his artistic taste. And he did in fact print books of Hours, admirably executed, which, although in different form, may fitly be compared to the Hours of Simon Vostre, who had acquired so great a reputation in that typographical specialty. Tory received from FranÇois I a 'privilÉge' (license) for this work, to run six years, dated at Avignon, September 23, 1524. The first book of this sort which he published, so far as I have learned, is an edition in quarto of the Hours of the Virgin, according to the Roman use, in Latin. It is a superb volume, printed by Simon de Colines, with borders and illustrations 'À l'antique,' perfect in taste and execution. The book was undoubtedly printed by Colines as a joint venture with Tory, for there are copies in existence in the name of each. Those in the name of Colines bear on the title-page the date 1524, and, at the end, that of the 17th of the Calends of February (January 16), 1525; those in the name of Tory (there are two varieties of these) bear but one date, 1525, and that at the end. I shall speak of this book later, in detail. Two years later Tory published a new edition of the same Hours, in a small octavo volume, also printed by Simon de Colines, in roman type, with borders and illustrations of the same kind but much smaller. These publications did not prevent our artist from giving his attention to literature. While he was overlooking the impression of his Hours and his 'Champ fleury,' he was preparing various works to which we shall have occasion to refer hereafter. Generally speaking, they are translations intended to enrich the French tongue; for Tory did not lose sight of his patriotic purpose. All of these works were printed subsequently, save one, perhaps—a translation of the hieroglyphs of Orus Apollo, 'Champ fleury' appeared at last in 1529. We have seen that this book was conceived on 'the day of the feast of Kings, which was reckoned M. D. XXIII,' that is to say, January 6, 1524, new style. The printing was not completed until 'the XXVIII day of the month of April one thousand five hundred XXIX,'
It is gratifying to see here the name of the first printer in Greek type in Paris. It was Gourmont himself who printed this learned book, wherein we find some very interesting details concerning the Hebrew, Greek and Latin letters, of which he exhibits models which have not changed since that time. At the beginning of 'Champ fleury' is printed the license of September 5, 1526, already published in the two editions of the Hours of 1527, which granted to Tory a ten years' right, not only for the Hours, but also for 'Champ fleury,' which was then being printed, but, as I have already said, had not then received that graceful title. This license makes it clear that as early as 1526 Tory was thinking of joining the brotherhood of printers. He became a printer in fact soon after the publication of his book, and proceeded to print several works of his own composition. I give here a list of these various publications, in the order of their dates.
The license is of September 18, 1529, for ten years. The printing was finished October 5, 1529. It is a small octavo volume, in two parts, with roughly executed borders on each page. There are twelve preliminary leaves, containing a long list of errata, and two series of signatures, the first running from A to T, the second from a to v. The book was for sale at the translator's shop, 'rue Sainct Iaques, devant lescu de Basle, In the letter 'to the readers' at the beginning of this book, Tory returns to the charge against the villains [rufients] who were changing the French language on the pretext of perfecting it. There are some tirades quite worthy of a place in 'Champ fleury.' He ends his preamble with a curious passage which gives us an idea of his tastes. 'I believe that if
An octavo volume, containing 16 leaves of preface, 99 of text, and an index containing 13 leaves—128 in all. At the end, we read: 'The printing of this book was finished at Paris the XIII day of April, M. D. XXIX, for maistre Geofroy Tory de Bourges, who sells it at said Paris, at the sign of the Pot Casse.' In Tory's preface, addressed 'to all studious and true lovers of honest letters,' he says: 'I promised you of late in the preface to the "Table of Cebes" that in a short space I would make for you another new book.' It was in fulfilment of that promise that he published the 'Summaire de Chroniques' of Egnasio. The date of printing given above corresponds to April 13, 1530, new style; for Easter fell in that year on April 15. Some bibliographers mention an edition of this book of 1520; but it is an error, for the license is dated 1529. La Caille But all these works did not cause Tory to lose sight of his great patriotic idea. He did not confine himself to simple wishes for the welfare of the French language. In default of the other 'noble hearts' whom he
Paris, Simon de Colines, 1530; Alluding to the first part of his book, Tory expresses himself thus in his 'avis au lecteur': 'There are certain eminent painters in this prolific age, most gentle reader, who, by their drawings, paintings, and varied colouring, depict the tribal gods and human beings, as also other things of different sorts, with such exactness that a voice and a soul seem the only things wanting to them; but here, most gentle reader, I offer you, nearly in the manner of these painters, a house, which not only is elegant and finished in its outlines and parts, but even speaks prettily and describes itself part by part in a eulogy.'
Octavo, of 9 sheets; printing finished July 5, 1531. Were the Thucydides and Diodorus printed by Tory, as well as the large, medium and small Hours? Possibly, but I have found no indication of it. As for attributing the translations to him, that is out of the question, for he says nothing of it in the dedication, addressed to Antoine du Prat, Cardinal de Sens, etc., wherein he mentions the preceding works of the same sort:— 'After the book of the Explanation of the antique letters, called "Champ Fleury," which I put together in the French language, and the "Table de Cebes," with thirty moral dialogues; likewise the "Summaire de Chroniques," which I translated into our said language, to confer a benefit on the studious, ... it seemed to me to be a worthy way of passing my time to employ myself in translating the "Economic Xenophon" also.' Tory does not mention here the 'Ædiloquium,' probably because that book was in Latin, or, rather, because it was not printed at the time of the composition of this dedication, which was in all probability written in the first three months of 1531, then reckoned in the year 1530, The license first mentioned
Octavo, with 8 preliminary leaves, and 67 numbered leaves of text. On the verso of leaf 67 we read: 'The printing of this book was finished Saturday the XV. day of June, M. D. XXXII. by maistre Geofroy Tory de Bourges, bookseller and king's printer, dwelling in Paris, opposite the church of La Magdaleine, at the sign of the Pot Casse.' Another edition was published at Lyon in 1534. We shall refer to it, as well as to the earlier edition, hereafter.
Octavo, 8 leaves; without date of printing or license, but printed by Geofroy Tory himself, after February 22, 1533; for he assumes the title of 'libraire jurÉ' In several of the works we have described, Tory assumes the title of printer; in the last three he describes himself as king's printer, and in one of them as a 'libraire jurÉ' of the University. These last two dignities he owed to the initiative of FranÇois I. That king, who had never before conferred that honour upon any one, deemed it his duty to make the author of 'Champ fleury' king's printer. In truth it was natural enough to confer that title upon him who had displayed so perfect an understanding of the art of typography, combined with such a store of literary knowledge, and whose book caused a veritable revolution in printing, no less from the technical and practical than from the grammatical and philological standpoint; for there is one fact which I have not as yet mentioned and which I am glad to set down here: immediately after the publication of 'Champ fleury' French typography began to include in its fonts of type accents, apostrophes and cedillas, But the most noteworthy result produced by the publication of 'Champ fleury' was the reformation of the old types. That book not only contributed to the abandonment of gothic letters, but brought about the remodelling of the old roman letters. Robert Estienne, among others, re-cast at this time all those that had come down to him from his father, the first Henri (or, to speak more accurately, from his father-in-law Simon de Colines), and replaced them by types of a new shape, which were cut, I think, by Tory (for his pupil, Garamond, seems not to have been capable of doing it at this time), and which continued to be used, almost without change, down to the time of the Revolution. It is in this sense only that it can properly be said that Tory perfected the types of Josse Bade; for I think that he did not cut any type for that celebrated printer, who was established in Paris long before Tory turned his attention to engraving, and who died in 1535, a few years after the publication of 'Champ fleury,' without changing in any way his method of printing. It was Tory too, doubtless, who cut Robert Estienne's italic type; for it bears a strong resemblance to Simon de Colines's, which I have already attributed to him. The sensation caused by Tory's book, in foreign countries as well as in France, is evidenced also by the writings of his contemporaries. In Paris, Antoine du Saix, author of the 'Esperon de discipline,' expresses himself thus in an epistle in verse dedicated to his friends, In London, Leonard Coxe, alluding to the grammar published shortly after by his compatriot Palsgrave, exclaims: 'Learned Geofroy, he has fulfilled the wish so often expressed in thy "Champ fleury," for here we have the French language taught thoroughly, by virtue of rules duly authorized.' Tory probably received the title of king's printer in 1530, but I do not find that he assumed it earlier than 1531, and, failing documentary evidence, I cannot accredit him with it at an earlier date. It was, I fancy, his appointment which led the authors of the 'Art de vÉrifier les dates' to say that 'FranÇois I established the Imprimerie Royale in Paris' on his return from the Abbaye de Veyen, where he had espoused, on July 4, 1530, Eleonora, sister of the Emperor Charles V. 'We have granted to maistre Geofroy Tory, "marchant libraire, imprimeur," license to print the "Coronnement de la Royne," and all other printers are forbidden to print it for one year, A few days later Tory published another little book by the same author: 'Lentree de la Royne en sa ville et cite de Paris, imprimee par commandement du Roy nostre sire.' Quarto, 24 leaves; same arrangement as in 'le Sacre,' etc. It will be noticed that Tory had left his second domicile, on the Petit-Pont, which was too small, doubtless, for his printing establishment, and had settled in the heart of the CitÉ, almost opposite the church of La Madeleine, which then stood very near the corner of rue de la Juiverie and rue de Marmouzets. His new abode was on the site of the old and famous Halle aux BlÉs de Beauce, in a house to which he transported his sign of the Pot CassÉ (which it retained for several years), and which corresponds to the present number 16 rue de la CitÉ, according to the evidence courteously furnished me by M. Adolphe Berty, whose knowledge of old Paris is so thorough. 'In LodoicÆ regis matris mortem epitaphia latina et gallica.—Epitaphes a la louenge de ma dame mere du Roy faictz par plusieurs recommendables autheurs.' Below this are these words: 'On les vend a Paris, devant Leglise de la Magdaleine, a Lenseigne du Pot Casse.' The license, dated at Paris, October 15, 1531, and signed de la Barre, accords What salary did Tory receive as king's printer? It is impossible for me to say positively; however, if we may judge from what happened in 1538, in the case of Conrad NÉobar, If FranÇois I manifested his good will to Geofroy Tory in appointing him king's printer, he manifested it even more signally by causing him to be admitted to the brotherhood of 'libraires jurÉs' of the University, with all the privileges appurtenant to that office. Farther on will be found a list of the works published by Tory as king's printer, both for the king and for private individuals. This book, one of the rare copies of which is in the BibliothÈque Nationale, presents still another interesting peculiarity. The title-page is arranged in a different way from that in vogue at the time. In the first three editions the first two words form four lines of capitals of the same size and length, by virtue of the spacing: LADOLE—SCENCE—CLEMEN—TINE. In the fourth edition they fill two lines only (LADOLESCENCE—CLEMENTINE), but still in type of the same size, contrary to the practice of other printers, who would have diminished by at least one degree the size and length of the lines, without regard to logic. They would probably have printed the title thus: L A D O L E S Tory's method of execution, which he borrowed from the arrangement of ancient inscriptions, was less agreeable to the eye perhaps, but it was more logical. It was a step toward the practice of the present day, in which the size of the letters on a title-page is varied, but is made consistent with the importance of the respective words. As will be seen, Tory was, in everything, an initiator. This book was the last one printed by Tory, to my knowledge. He probably died shortly after, for we find that his wife was a widow on October 14 [1533], when she executed a lease for nine years of that part of the Halle de Beauce occupied by her husband's establishment. This lease, covering the whole house, was made in consideration of 122 livres 10 sous tournois. The lessors were agents of the Chapitre Notre-Dame, and the lessees, 'Martin FÉret, baker, and Perrette Le Hullin, widow of Perrette Le Hullin continued for some time to carry on her husband's various enterprises. Thus, she published in 1535 a remarkable work, doubtless begun by him, by command of FranÇois I, to whom it is dedicated. It certainly should be placed to the credit of Tory, although it does not bear his name, but simply a mention of his sign: 'Au Pot Casse.' It is a translation of Diodorus Siculus, of which I shall speak later. But the burden of so considerable an undertaking—printing-office, bookshop, bindery, Towards the end of 1536, Mallard published the 'Copie de l'arrest du grand conseil donnÉ À l'encontre du miserable empoisonneur de monseigneur le dauphin,' etc. An octavo sheet printed in two signatures. On the verso of the title begins the text of the decree, promulgated at Lyon Saturday, October 7, 1536; then come several pieces by Jean Henon and 'a "dizain" by the printer hereof in sorrow for the death of the Dauphin': ten wretched lines, ending, by way of signature, with the words Thus we see that, even if Mallard was not as yet king's printer, he was at least the official printer. I cannot give the exact date of his appointment as king's printer; but he certainly held that office in 1537, since in that year he published a little octavo volume in which he assumed the title. It is probable that FranÇois I made no difficulty about accepting Tory's successor as his printer; but he availed himself of Tory's death to remodel the institution of king's printers. He restricted Mallard's functions to the printing of French, and in the year 1538 appointed two other king's printers, one, Conrad NÉobar, for Greek, the other, Robert Estienne, for Latin and Hebrew, as an essential complement to the 'CollÉge des trois langues,' now the CollÉge de France, which he had recently founded. We have not the document which conferred upon Robert Estienne the title of king's printer; but we have proof that he held that title in 1539. Maittaire declares, upon what evidence I know not, that Robert was appointed on June 24 of that year. I am of the opinion that his appointment was of earlier date, that is to say, that it goes back, like NÉobar's, to 1538, or, to speak more accurately, to the beginning of 1539. In fact, we find him assuming the title of king's printer ('typographus regius') in several works printed by him during that year. Furthermore, I may mention the fact that, in a most interesting edict concerning the printers of France, dated August 31, 1539, the king We have not the letters patent of Robert Estienne, but we are more fortunate in respect to NÉobar, for we have the document by which he was created king's printer for Greek. The king's fondness for the classics did not lead him to neglect the French language: in 1539 he promulgated a celebrated ordinance, to the effect that 'henceforth all decrees, etc., shall be pronounced, recorded, and delivered to the parties concerned, in the mother tongue.' In 1541, Olivier Mallard, who had acquired all of Tory's typographic paraphernalia, published a book of Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, octavo, with the borders 'À la moderne' to which I referred on page 25. It is copied doubtless from the edition put forth by Tory about 1530, which I have never been fortunate enough to see. Of the edition of 1541, I have seen one copy on vellum, and another on paper. It consists of 23 octavo sheets (signatures A to Y), and has on the title-page: 'HorÆ in laudem beatissim. Virginis MariÆ ad usum Romanum.' (Pot CassÉ) 'Parisiis, apud Oliverium Mallardum, sub signo Vasis effracti.—1541.' In the following year Mallard published another edition of the Hours of the Virgin, in quarto, like the one issued by Tory in 1531. I shall speak of it in detail in its place. On the twenty-second of the same month, Mallard renewed the lease of his quarters in the Halle aux BlÉs de Beauce, which lease had been given nine years earlier to Tory's widow and Martin FÉret, at a rental of 122 livres 10 sous, tournois. The rental was increased for Mallard, who had to pay 130 livres, plus 4 Écus d'or au soleil 'for the time of the said leasing.' Mallard's typographical apparatus seems to have been acquired by Jean Kerver, son of the first Thielman Kerver, living on rue Saint-Jacques, Philippe Cottereau, evidently the son of Richard, and king's printer at Blois, used the same mark. I have seen it on a small book printed by him in 1603: 'Reglement pour l'instruction des proces qui se conduiront au bailliage et siege presidial de Bloys.' Two octavo sheets. It would seem, however, that the sign of the Pot CassÉ, which remained for some time longer on the Halle de Beauce, also remained on the house originally occupied by Tory, on rue Saint-Jacques, for we find a printer Tory's widow seems to have retained his engraving establishment for a considerable further time. Although engrossed by her numerous undertakings, she found time nevertheless to have some of her husband's books reprinted, and among others the 'Sommaire de Chroniques d'Egnasius,' in 1541, 1543, 1544, for the bookseller Charles L'Angelier, and 'Champ fleury,' in 1549, for the bookseller Gualtherot. I say that she had these books reprinted, but I ought rather to say, perhaps, that she allowed them to be reprinted, for there is nothing to suggest her coÖperation in the work. Literary property did not then exist. In the new edition of 'Champ fleury,' which by the way no longer bears that graceful title, the Pot CassÉ does not even appear, although the explanation of the mark is allowed to remain. It was doubtless a bookseller's speculation. I have copied this long title at full length only to give myself an opportunity to call attention to the progress that had been made by French typography since the day when Geofroy Tory published his first edition, and, indeed, as a result of that same publication. We find here the accents, the apostrophe and the cedilla, upon the absence of which the author had commented in 1529. So that we may say that the whole grammatical It does not appear by whom the book was printed; we learn only on the last leaf that it was finished August 26, 1549, 'pour Vivant Gualtherot, libraire jurÉ en l'UniversitÉ de Paris, en la rue Saint-Jacques, À l'enseigne de Saint Martin.' In order to adjust Tory's woodcuts to the smaller format, they were somewhat mutilated; indeed some of them were omitted altogether, among the number those representing the Pot CassÉ, which probably remained in the possession of Olivier Mallard or his successors, and which it was not deemed essential to have engraved anew for this reprint, for it was executed as cheaply as possible, and as if for the purpose of utilizing such woodcuts as remained at the disposal of Tory's widow. Thus Tory, at his death, was able to flatter himself that he had contributed materially to the improvement of his mother tongue, which he loved so well. He died, as I have said, in 1533, and not in 1550, as is erroneously stated in a poetical epitaph composed nearly a century after our printer's death, by his compatriot, Nicolas Catherinot, at the request and from the notes of Jean Toubeau, himself a printer of Bourges, and a descendant of Tory, through his mother. Here is the epitaph, as given by La Caille: To Geofroy Tory, Born at Bourges, Educated at Paris, Accomplished Scholar in both Latin and Greek, Most devoted Lover of Letters, Very expert Printer And Learned Author, Inasmuch as he wrote elegant Distichs on the Parts of the House, Composed some humorous Epitaphs in Latin in very ancient Style, Translated Treatises of Xenophon, Lucian, and Plutarch From Greek into French, Taught Philosophy at Paris in the College of Burgundy, Was the first Man to discuss seriously the Art of Printing, Described the Forms of the Letters, or Characters, of the Alphabet, Taught Garamond, Chief of Engravers, Always performed the Duties of a good Man until he died In the Year MDL: At the Instance Of Jean Toubeau, Likewise Printer and Author, Mayor, Alderman of Bourges, Ambassador on very delicate State-matters To the King and Council, Great-great-grandson of the same Tory, Heir of a famous Printing Establishment, Nicolas Catherinot, noble Citizen of Bourges, Counsellor of the King, and Senator, in the Metropolis of Bourges, From his tender Years uninterruptedly to the present Day Most closely associated with the Business of Printing, Wrote this Epitaph, hastily and rapidly, at the End of November, MDCLXXXIV. The only relic that we have of Tory to-day, outside of his books and works of art, is a volume from his library, as his signature in the genitive case indicates. It is a manuscript on vellum, containing the orations of Cicero against Verres, in Latin. This volume was acquired, presumably after Tory's death, by his patron Jean Grolier, who wrote his motto at the end of the text: 'Joannis Grolierii Lugdunensis et amicorum.' From the library of this illustrious bibliophile, the manuscript passed to Colbert's library, then to the king's. It is preserved to-day [1857] in the BibliothÈque Nationale. We give below a facsimile of Tory's signature, which appears on the first flyleaf:— God. Torini Biturici Tory made use of ten marks, besides the Pot CassÉ that appears on his bindings. We reproduce them all, although only two (nos. 5 and 10) are signed. 1 2 No. 1 This mark is to be found in the borders of the Hours (quarto) of 1527. (See page 37, supra.) No. 2 This form of the Pot CassÉ appears in the borders of the Hours (quarto) of 1524-1525, alike in the copies which bear the imprint of Tory and in those printed by Simon de Colines. (See page 37, supra; also Part 2, § 2, no. 1, infra.) 3 4 No. 3 This variation will be found on the first page of those copies of the Hours (quarto) of 1524-1525 which bear the imprint of Tory. (See Part 2, § 2, no. 1 (2d and 3d), infra.) No. 4 This appears on the title-page of 'Champ fleury.' (Silvestre, 'Marques Typographiques,' no. 931.) 5 6 No. 5 This appears on folio 43 verso, of 'Champ fleury.' (Silvestre, no. 803.) No. 6 This mark, which differs from no. 5 only in the absence of the cross of Lorraine, appears on the last page of 'Champ fleury.' I am unable to suggest any reason for the removal of the cross. (Silvestre, no. 171.) No. 7 This mark is found only at the end of the little poem written by Tory on the death of his daughter, which was published February 15, 1524, new style. We have already referred to this poem on page 15; but it is reproduced at length in Part 2, § I, no. 9. 7 8 No. 8 This mark, which differs from the preceding only in the omission of the little figure in the clouds, appears on the last page of the Hours of 1524-1525 (those copies with Tory's imprint) in Latin. (Silvestre, no. 356.) 9 No. 9 This mark appears on the title-page of the Hours (quarto) of 1527. It was used by Jean Mallard, bookseller at Rouen, 1542. 10 No. 10 I have never as yet seen this mark in any book of Tory's; but I have found it in books published by Richard Cotereau, bookseller at Chartres, in 1557, and by Philippe Cotereau, bookseller at Blois, in 1603. (See p. 41, supra.) The presence of the Lorraine cross is, it seems to me, a sufficient proof that it should be attributed to Tory. (Silvestre, no. 929.) We have already observed that Tory was not only a bookseller and printer, but a binder as well. To complete the list of our artist's professional acquirements an example of the toolings that he used to decorate the covers of some of the volumes bound by him, is reproduced [on the cover of the present volume. It is hardly necessary to say that the same tools could, with some slight additions, be used in binding volumes of all sizes, from the octavo up. |
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