Jean Grolier
A SIXTEENTH CENTURY BINDERY
JAMES K.MOFFITT
PAULINE FORE MOFFITT
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
GENERAL LIBRARY, BERKELEY
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One hundred and forty copies printed
on hand-made paper, and ten on Japan.
HELIODORI ^ETHIOPIC^ HISTORIC, BASLE, 1552.
Size of original, 8 x 12^ inches.
COLLECTION OF ROBERT HOE.
JEAN
GROLIER
DE SERVIER
VISCOUNT D'AGUISY
SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE
AND OF HIS FAMOUS
LIBRARY
BY WILLIAM LORING ANDREWS
NEW-YORK MDCCCXCII
THE DEVINNE PRESS
"La passion des livres ne saurait 6tre considered comme un
des resultats de notre civilisation moderne : en France comme
en Angleterre, en Italic comme en Allemagne, enfm dans les
differents pays de 1'Europe, il est trouve presque a toutes les
epoques des hommes eminents qui ont consacre leur veilles et
une parti de leur fortune a se former une bibliotheque. Rois,
princes, seigneurs, religieux ou abbes, prelats ou simples pre-
tres, savants, magistrats, financiers mSme, tous ont ri valise
sous ce rapport et meritent d'etre cites." Le Roux de Lincy.
PREFACE
T~^OR much oj the material in the following pages
J- the writer heartily acknowledges his indebted-
ness to that admirable and thorough treatise by M. Le
Roux de Lincy, Secretary of the Society of Biblio-
philes-Franc, ais, Recherches sur Jean Grolier, sur sa
Vie et sa Bibliotheque, Paris, 1866, to which the
reader is referred for further investigation of the sub-
jecl should his interest or curiosity be hereby sufficiently
aroused.
Regardless, however, of any other result, the author
is content to put forth this little pamphlet simply in
token of his admiration for the many estimable "char-
afteristicks" of the worthy prototype of a class with
which, if not identified, he hopes to be considered
within bounds in claiming to be in strong affiliation.
If the picture is therefore overdrawn, the reader will
kindly bear this in mind, and make due allowance for
the facl that a "fellow-feeling makes us wondrous
kind:'
LIST OF PLATES.
HELIODORI JETHIOPICJE HISTORIC (Grolier binding).
Frontispiece.
BESSARIONIS CARDINALIS NICENI (Grolier binding), page 1 1
PAGE FROM JUSTINIAN, PETER SCHOEFFER, 1477, . " 16
LIVRE DES STATUTS DE L'ORDRE SAINCT MICHEL, . " 19
CONTEMPORARY ALDINE MEDAL, " 24
FACSIMILE PAGE FROM THE TERENCE OF 1517, . . " 27
C. CRISPI SALLUSTII (Grolier binding), .... "29
PAGE OFANTHROPOLOGIA, WITH GROLIER'S AUTOGRAPH, " 33
COAT OF ARMS AND EMBLEM, "'38
QUINTO CURTIO (i 6th Century Roman binding), . '* 41
PAULI Jovn EPISCOPI (Grolier binding), ... "47
IL LIBRO DEL CORTEGIANO (Grolier binding), . " 51
ARMS OF GROLIER AFTER HIS MARRIAGE, ... "54
BURIAL-PLACE OF GROLIER, "55
The plates of bindings, of the Aldine medal, and of the facsimile page
with Grolier's signature are by Mr. Edward Bierstadt's artotype process j
the remaining illustrations are the work of the DeVinne Press.
BESSARIONIS CARDINALIS NICENI, ALDUS, 1521.
From Techener Sale. Size of original, 8^ x 13 inches.
COLLECTION OF ROBERT HOE.
JEAN GROLIER
HOMAS HARTWELL HORNE, in his
Introduction to the Study of Bib-
liography, makes this remarkable
statement : " The most eminent
bookbinders of France are Grolier, Deseuille,
Padaloup, De Rome, Bozerian of Paris, and
Noel of Besa^on"; and he adds in a foot-
note this interesting and valuable piece of infor-
mation: "Many books of Grolier's binding are
to be found in Mr. Cracherode's collection in
the British Museum. Though many centuries
have flown away since they were executed they
still exhibit to advantage his admirable style."
Certainly many of the interesting facts brought
to light by Le Roux de Lincy concerning the
life and library of this noted bibliophile were
not accessible to Home; still it is singular that
he was apparently ignorant of the existence of a
Jean Grolier
number of earlier authorities upon the subject,
notices and descriptions of Grolier and his books
having appeared long before Home wrote his
treatise, in works of De Thou, 1 Croix du Maine, 1
Paul Lacroix, 3 and others. It is equally difficult
either to explain or to excuse the commission
of so glaring an error on the part of a professed
student of bibliography.
It is a fact not difficult to demonstrate that,
irrespective of any other title to remembrance,
the one who follows to a conspicuous extent
the pursuit of book-collecting is assured of a de-
gree of enduring renown beyond that which falls
to the lot of most human beings outside the
confined circle of the acknowledged great ones
of earth. In the niche of imperishable fame
posterity places but few of the painters, poets,
statesmen, or scholars of any age, while the mul-
titude are allowed to sink into the outer dark-
ness of complete forgetfulness ; but it is a safe
assertion that the name of no book-collector once
inscribed upon the annals of bibliography has
ever passed away entirely from the minds of
men. This naturally results from the character
of the bibliophile's pursuit. The books he loved
and cherished become the lares and penates of
Jean Grolier
the next fortunate possessor, and the precious
volumes, carefully guarded and passed on by
one to another, are of necessity indissolubly con-
nected with the names of the first and each
succeeding owner. The superior vitality of a
bibliophilistic reputation is shown in marked
contrast in the subject of our sketch. Here was
a man who through the greater part of his life
filled, and worthily, positions of the highest trust
and importance in the State Treasurer of the
French Army in Italy, Ambassador to Rome, and
then Treasurer of France ; and yet his name would
have been forgotten long ago but for the beautiful
books which through all these years have borne
their silent witness to his knowledge, taste, and
culture. In the introduction to his book, Le
Roux de Lincy admits that his interest was aroused
and his research incited by the keen appreciation
shown by book-lovers for the bindings of Grolier
and their rapid enhancement in value.
Certain it is that, within this prescribed circle
at least, the one who gathers together a collection
of choice and valuable books may unwittingly
and unintentionally build for himself a monu-
ment more enduring than brass or marble. True,
outside of this circle he may expect, in the course
Jean Grolier
of time, to encounter the ill-fortune of being
woefully misrepresented, and, as we have seen,
even within the confines of the book-man's pre-
serves this has been the fate of Jean Grolier.
There was good reason indeed to fear an indefi-
nite increase of the number of misguided ad-
mirers of his skill as a bookbinder, and a well-
grounded dread of our friend Home's error
becoming a popular fallacy; but happily Le
Roux de Lincy has come gallantly to the rescue
of his distinguished countryman, and averted
this threatened danger.
An endeavor to trace the rise of a taste for lit-
erature and the commencement of a passion for
the collection of books amongst the French peo-
ple carries us back to the eighth century and the
reign of Charlemagne. That great monarch was
himself a munificent patron and ardent friend of
learning. Aided by Alcuin, a native of York
and disciple of the " venerable Bede," 4 he es-
tablished in his family an institution called a
Schola Palatina, which accompanied the Court
wherever it journeyed and was attended by the
royal family and the high officers of State.
Other similar schools were established from time
to time in various parts of the dominion, and
Jean Grolier
particular attention was given, under the direction
of Alcuin, 5 to the restoration and correction of
the ancient Greek and Latin manuscripts which
had become mutilated by the ravages of time
and corrupted by ignorant translators. These
were newly transcribed at the different schools
and monasteries, and copying manuscript became
one of the fashionable occupations of the day,
in which "even the royal princesses took an
active part and lively interest."
It is not, however, until the thirteenth cen-
tury that the history of bibliophilism in France
becomes at all voluminous. Since that date it
embraces, with few exceptions, all the grand and
conspicuous personages of the kingdom its
sovereigns, princes, state officials, and men of
wealth. Large collections of books were also
gathered together in the abbeys and monas-
teries, where the friars (the conservators of
medieval literature) continued, without cessa-
tion, from age to age their quiet, monotonous
toil of copying works sacred and profane, until
suddenly they found themselves confronted with
the startling results of Gutenberg's wonderful
discovery, and their careful and laborious pro-
cess of book-making was superseded.
Jean Grolier
We can fancy with what feelings of surprise
and, doubtless, of sorrow and resentment these
cloistered monks slowly and unwillingly read
the handwriting on the wall. To the artistic
souls among them must have come a premoni-
tion of the inevitable result of this new me-
chanical invention. It signified the gradual
extinction of their beautiful art. This was not
the immediate effect, but the final abandon-
ment of their occupation was none the less sure
to follow the introduction of the printing-press.
The printers kindly left them for a time
blank capitals and wide, clean margins upon
which they still could lavish their taste and
skill, but it was not long before even this re-
stricted opportunity passed away. In the haste
occasioned by the multiplied demands which
the invention itself created, time could not be
spared for the beautifying but slow and tedious
processes of the illuminator. As the glow of
the sunset slowly disappears from one hillside
after another until the entire landscape is lost
in a monotone of shadow, so, through the two
or three decades following the invention of the
art of printing, the splendor of the burnished,
historiated capitals and the richly tinted, grace-
16
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ILLUMINATED PAGE FROM JUSTINIANI CONSTITUTIONES,
PETER SCHOEFFER, MAYENCE, 1477.
From Syston Park Sale. Size of original, 11x15^ inches.
COLLECTION OF W. L. ANDREWS.
Jean Grolier
fully designed borders gradually fades and dies
away until all that remains is a prosaic, unre-
lieved surface of white and black.
Missal of the Gothic Age,
Missal with the blazoned page,
Whence, O missal, hither come,
From what dim scriptorium ?
Not as ours the books of old
Things that steam can stamp and fold;
Not as ours the books of yore
Rows of type and nothing more.*
Before the close of the sixteenth century the
hands of the scribe and miniaturist had lost
much of their cunning, and the practice of their
art became speedily, through disuse and neg-
lect, naught but a reminiscence.
It was a goodly company who thus found
themselves thrown out of employment. The
school of scribes, miniaturists, and illuminators
at Paris, dating from the end of the thirteenth
century, perhaps earlier, which enjoyed a mer-
ited reputation throughout France, is said at the
close of the fourteenth century to have exceeded
60,000 in number.
* Austin Dobson.
3 17
Jean Grolier
Among the most celebrated book-collectors
or owners of fine books anterior to the time
of Grolier, one of the most conspicuous was
fitienne Chevalier, born in 1410 and dying
in 1474. He, like Grolier, held the office of
Treasurer, and was a devoted servant of his
master, Charles VII, a close and trusted friend
of the beautiful Agnes Sorel, and (which inter-
ests us most) the patron of Jean Foucquet, 6 the
most skilful miniaturist of the fifteenth century.
The number of women in all the higher
classes of society, noted as lovers and posses-
sors of beautiful books, is remarkable. Queen
Blanche of Castile, mother of St. Louis; Anne de
Bretagne, whose magnificent Book of Hours,
containing fifty-one large paintings in the high-
est style of French art of the earlier part of
the sixteenth century, now forms one of the
chief ornaments of the Bibliotheque Nationale ;
Catherine de M^dicis; Mary Queen of Scots;
Anne de Beaujeu, daughter of Louis XI ; Mar-
garet d'Angouleme, Duchesse d'Alenpon, Reine
de Navarre, author of the Heptameron and the
Marguerites de la Marguerite de Princesses,
called by the poets of her day the " fine pearl
of the Valois"; and that other Margaret, also
LIVRE DES STATUTS DE SAINCT MICHEL, PARIS, 1467.
Printed on vellum. Binding of Henry II and Diane de Poictiers.
From Syston Park Sale. Size of original, 6% x 8 J^ inches.
COLLECTION OF W. L. ANDREWS.
Jean Grolier
Queen of Navarre, first wife of Henry IV,
whose lovely bindings are strewn with the
flower which bears her name. Nor is the list
complete without the addition of the names of
not a few of that bevy of fair dames and demoi-
selles who, although not queens by birth, exer-
cised a regal power by force of their wit and
beauty above all, the famous Diane de Poic-
tiers, widow of the great Seneschal of Nor-
mandy, and mistress of Henry II.
(" ILa Dame") Dom \t nom gracteujp
J'e0t fa belong D'esttrire,
311 tst script Dans te cieup
(Ec De mtC $e peult lire**
Thus it is seen that Grolier, as a lover and
collector of books, is by no means a unique
figure in the history of sixteenth-century France;
he was but following in the footsteps of the
brilliant line of bibliophiles that had preceded
or were contemporaneous with him. But this
must be conceded, that he was one of the fore-
most in his appreciation of the importance to
learning of the study of the writings of ancient
classical authors, and that he contributed more
* Clement Marot.
Jean Grolier
to their restoration by his liberal patronage of
the scholars, authors, and printers of the day than
any other of his contemporaries. In one respect
his sumptuous fashion of clothing his books
in rich and solid bindings of the highest artistic
quality he stands unrivaled. He has left us,
writes one of the foremost of modern French
binders,* a collection so rich that we may claim
for him the r61e of a creator in a specialty which,
until his time, had not risen above the rank of
an ordinary handicraft, but which he elevated to
the height of a genuine and beautiful art. These
masterpieces have served as models to the book-
binders of all ages since they were executed, and
are examples of the art of ornamental design as
applied to the covers of books which have never
been equaled.
This scholar, statesman, financier, antiquarian,
and bibliophile lived under the rule of seven
sovereigns of France: Louis XI, Charles VIII,
Louis XII, Francis I, Henry II, Francis II, and
Charles IX, being born at Lyons in the year of
*"En examinant avec soin les details de cette ornamentation (Grolier-
esque) on y reconnaitra 1'influence que Tempire d'Orient et les Arabes ont
laisse'e a Venise a cette e"poque, et nous pouvons conside>er cette ville comme
le berceau, non seulement de la Reliure en general, mais specialement de
notre Reliure fran^aise." Lion Gruel, Relieur.
Jean Grolier
grace 1479, anc ^ dying full of years and honors
at Paris, October 22, 1565. His family came
originally from Verona, establishing themselves
in France about the commencement of the thir-
teenth century. In 1510, at the age of thirty-one,
he succeeded his father fitienne in the office of
Trsorier-Gne'ral of the Duchy of Milan. This
province, conquered by Louis XII, had revolted
during the latter part of that monarch's reign,
but had been reunited to France by Francis I
immediately upon his accession to the throne.
In addition to this office Grolier held that of
Elu, or Chief Magistrate, of the city of his birth.
In 1524 he was sent by Francis I as ambassador
to Pope Clement VII. He could not, however,
have remained at the Court of Rome or as Trea-
surer at Milan later than 1530, as about that date
the French troops left Italy and amicable rela-
tions between the Holy Chair and France ceased
In 1537 Grolier had returned to Paris, and
in 1545 was made Tresorier-G6nral for the
country beyond the Seine and Yonne and in the
He de France, which included the city of Paris
and was the most important of all the treasurer-
ships as well as the most arduous in its admin-
istration. This position he held until his death.
Jean Grolier
There were at this time in the entire king-
dom of France but four treasurers. Their duties
were as multitudinous as varied, and comprised
not only the collection of all the taxes levied by
the King, but also his disbursements as head of
the State, including the payment of the army and
of the domestics of the royal household down
to those of the lowest rank. The care of the
palaces, chateaus, and domains belonging to the
crown also formed part of the duties of the posi-
tion of Treasurer. They in turn were subject to
the direction of the General Master of France,
who controlled their actions and rendered ac-
count directly to the King.
Grolier, while still a comparatively young man,
undoubtedly possessed a knowledge of the clas-
sics and of several other branches of literature,
acquired, probably, for the most part, during his
residence in Italy; but before he first left Paris
we find him in correspondence with all the
Parisian and many foreign men of letters,
amongst them Bude, the foremost Greek scholar
of the period (an edition of his work on Ancient
Measures and Moneys Grolier subsequently
caused to be printed with great care at the Al-
dine Press) ; also with Beatus Rhenanus, 7 a noted
Jean Grolier
German scholar. Two letters written to Rhe-
nanus and Francis d'Asola jointly still remain
in existence. Grolier was likewise the friend of
Erasmus, who describes him as a man who "in
a well-formed body possessed all the good quali-
ties and all the virtues imaginable." He extols
his civility, his modesty, his integrity, and his
munificence; styles him the ornament of France,
the protector of savants, whose name is placed at
the head of all the works printed in his time and
above all the learned men of his age, not only
by his position but by his erudition ; and he adds,
"You owe nothing to books, but books will
give you in the future an eternal glory.'* This
prophecy has had one fulfilment he could not
have dreamed of 'the foundation of a club of
bookmen, called by Grolier's name, more than
three centuries after his death, in a country undis-
covered at the time of his birth and known to
Erasmus when he penned this rather fulsome
panegyric only as a far distant land peopled with
untutored savages.
In the discharge of his duties as Treasurer of
the French army in Italy, Grolier's residence was
occasionally in Naples, but principally in Milan,
whence he made frequent visits to Venice, cul-
23
Jean Grolier
tivating the acquaintance of the scholars and
studying the literature of these different cities.
Probably as early as 1512 he had become a
collector of books and frequented the libraries
of Italy as well as the offices of its celebrated
printers, notably that of the elder Aldus and
his successors, of whom he became, very early
in their history, an ardent admirer and generous
friend and patron.
Aldo Pio Manutio, the "scholar printer," the
man who "toiled and spent his life to fill the
world with beautiful books and hold open to
all men the gates of learning, all for love and
nothing for reward," died in 1515, leaving four
children, all too young to direct the affairs of
the printing-house which he had been laboring
diligently for over twenty years to establish.
Fortunately the management fell into the able
hands of his father-in-law, Andre Torresano
d'Asola, and his two sons. It is at this date
that the closest and most intimate connection
of Grolier with the house of Aldus existed.
He had held the elder Aldus in the very high-
est esteem and affection, and in a letter to
Franois d'Asola in 1519, advising him of the
sending of the Book of Bude, 8 which he wished
CONTEMPORARY ALDINE MEDAL.
From a facsimile metallic reproduction in the Grolier Club Collection of
Typographical Medals, presented by S. P. Avery. Exact size of original.
For description see page 66.
Jean Grolier
to have printed at his own expense at their
press, he writes: "This man's death has caused
me a very bitter sorrow, as much because learn-
ing has lost in him a very able restorer as that
I have been deprived of a most affectionate
friend."
In the last paragraph of this letter, written in
Latin with much elegance of style and felicity
of dictiori, Grolier enters into minute details con-
cerning the manner in which he wished this Book
of Budaeus d'Asse to be executed. " Now, then,
dear Fra^ois, you will give your utmost care so
that a most correct work will pass from your
press to the hands of the learned. I entreat you
many times and supplicate you to add beauty
to elegance, that the paper should be without
blemish, the characters of a perfect equality, and,
what is not to be despised, that the margins
should be large. In conclusion, I wish that the
book should be executed with the same charac-
ters as were used formerly to print the 'Poli-
tiani,' and in the same style ; and if so much
elegance involves a great expense, I will not fail
to account to you for it. I wish further that
nothing should be changed or added to the
original." The Omnia Opera Angeli Politiani, 9
Jean Grolier
1498, which is here designated as the model
for the Book of Bud, is one of the most beau-
tiful books issued from the press of Aldus
Manutius, and is now one of the rarest.
The Book of Bude on Ancient Measures and
Moneys appeared in 1522. A copy on vel-
lum, with the initials illuminated in gold and
colors (Grolier's own copy), was in the Mac-
Carthy Reagh collection, purchased by him at
the Soubise sale, and is described as follows in
the catalogue of his (MacCarthy's) library sold
in Paris, 1815: "No. 5106: Guill Budsei Pa-
risiensis libri v de asse et partibus ejus. Vene-
tiis, apud Aldum 1522 in 4 m. r. IMPRIMfi
SUR VfiLIN. SUPERBE EXEMPLAIRE,
avec les lettres initiales peintes en or et en
coleurs, et le seul que 1'on connoisse sur vlin.
C'est celui qui fut envoye a Grolier, a qui ce
livre est d^die'. On lit a la fin du texte ces mots
Merits: Jo Grolierii Lugdunens et amicorum"
This volume, rebound by Lewis in the Grolier
style in green morocco, is now one of the trea-
sures of the library of Lord Spencer. It cost the
Earl, at the MacCarthy sale in 1815, 1500 francs.
Grolier's passionate admiration for the books
issued from the Aldine press, and his warm and
26
CHRISTIANUS.
CALL OR VM REG FS SE GRETA
RIO ET PRIMARIO IN
SVBRIAB QV-AESrORI
JFRAKCISCV5 ASV
LANVS 5.
V I C V N QV E " VolattMS itte Se Jig*
tusfnit:qui iudtdu de Utttms comiciSjirt
t)ts,quiarcnnfiruntur,i<imbis fom<tnd<t
for tulit'.ut whil eum } <yii contra fin*
nhre dixerit:nc ilk wihi emni
I fie fYorfa uideturjenjn 'Gtruiffi . Cxalio fdlmam fa
tuit.ficiliM idfirteffc quhn dccuit.^n^m enhn de
eOiCmuttuilld, extent fcripfojiudiatri nihit foflit: non
ftrtli ktmcn Ciceronis iudiciim,<ini nunc rMwm eum ef
/eUttnikttis <tuthorern t nuncmaleloatfum diat:ficien^
dim cft-Sedob ipfam fowtn bane aufam, quod omniA
eiuffcfipfo tnterdderunt: ne temcreineum quern non
legmtjronuntidffi quicqtMm uicic<imnr:cMn fr^Jer-^
tim & Hor.dtius ettdm gruiiktte eum diatt uinare:
condonemtu fetne hoc Ciceroni* iudidum: & reftc C<eci
lio dddtom palvMm cxi{hmemtK*Quid quod rl<uttum>
r^/rrcf fitper4re,ttc/exfodemtitn loco an/equi Tcrew-
toum ajfritfatto ne id p<ttfv aflentiri pc/fimt?eg) Hero
fantum <tbefl ut m bdcfim Jen^nfta:ut long) internal-*
lo poft TeYentiwnvlwtum arlitrer coUoandMn* Nfj;
tierouthoc fenti<tm, ferments filum cleffntid nwueor:
Terentittm fiallimc 'omncs excrllere nemo eft qui
hoc ftremillt vl**tti<mcffe:uoloquodho
t firtejpititiutnfitj<etiti afcribcre-durior eft C/rf//
FACSIMILE PAGE
FROM THE TERENTIUS OF 1517.
Jean Grolier
sincere friendship for the printers, found practical
expression in his continual readiness to render
pecuniary aid in the many embarrassments in
which their affairs were from time to time in-
volved. Their gratitude for this assistance is
shown by the number of dedications addressed
to him, and is expressed in most glowing terms
in their correspondence. "You are regarded,"
they write, "as a divinity upon earth throughout
Lombardy." For many years they never pub-
lished a book without printing several copies for
him either on vellum or on a special paper.
Of the several Aldine editions of Latin au-
thors, a number were particularly dedicated to
Grolier, some by the learned men who revised
them, others by the Alduses themselves. The
three editions of the works of Terence, 1517,
1521, and 1524, are all inscribed to him. A
Greek grammar left uncompleted by the elder
Aldus was finished by Marco Musurus, one of
the most distinguished members of the Aldi
Neacademia,* and dedicated to Grolier in these
words: "After having polished it the best pos-
sible, I dedicate it to you and ask that you will
have the goodness to give it a place in your
* A famous literary society founded by Aldus.
A, ^ (C \
Jean Grolier
elegant library." In addition to these classics,
books relating to music were also dedicated to
him. The talented musician, equally with the
artist, poet, and philosopher, enjoyed his open-
handed hospitality. His generosity, as well as
the means for its gratification, must have been
unbounded if the story told by Egnatio,* one
of those who evidently basked frequently in its
sunshine, is not a romance. " I dined," he says,
" along with Aldus, his son Manutius, and other
learned men, at Grolier's table; after dinner, and
just as the dessert had been placed upon the
table, our host presented each of his guests with
a pair of gloves filled with ducats."
According to the testimony of Bonaventure
d'Argonne, 10 the library of Grolier comprised in
the neighborhood of 3000 volumes. Of these
349 are identified and located by Le Roux de
Lincy. The remainder have disappeared, or
bear no indication of their former ownership, or
proof of having pertained to this renowned col-
lection. The high prices realized for these
bindings within the last few years have had their
natural result, and have led to the manufacture
of fraudulent imitations either by entire repro-
* G. B. Egnatio, professor of rhetoric at Venice.
C. CRISPI SALLUSTII, ALDUS, 1509.
From Libri, H. Foss, and La Roche Lacarelle Sales. Size of original,
4 x 6^ inches.
COLLECTION OF ROBERT HOE.
Jean Grolier
ductions or by placing Grolier's name and fa-
miliar legend upon a binding of the period a
much simpler and easier mode of deception, but
even more difficult of detection and dangerous
to the collector. In fact, the risk is now so
great that the indisputable pedigree of a bind-
ing claimed to be his is absolutely essential.
The books known to exist, which once be-
longed to Grolier, embrace the works of Greek
and Roman classic authors in prose and poetry,
of modern Latin authors and commentators, and
of Italian authors; writings on philosophy and
medicine; books of history, archaeology, and bi-
ography, sacred writings, ancient and modern.
Only two French authors are represented. Prob-
ably the original collection included many if
not all of the French chronicles, histories, and
books of poetry printed in the gothic type of
the sixteenth century and adorned with quaint
and fascinating if rude examples of the art of
wood-engraving, then in its infancy the in-
cunabula sought for with so much avidity by
the modern French collector, but which may
have been looked upon by Grolier as the rather
ephemeral literature of the day; for his taste in-
clined, as the natural result of his studies, long
Jean Grolier
residence in Italy, and association with its schol-
ars, to the early Greek and Latin authors. The
testimony of a contemporary is that the major
part of his collection was of this classical char-
acter. Still it is strange that none of the popu-
lar chansons of the time, such as Le Chevalier
aux Dames, Les Regretz de Picardie, or even
a copy of that many times reprinted favorite
of the middle age, Maistre Guillaume Lorris's
Roman de la Rose, appear in the list. The
books of this description it may have embraced
perhaps formed part of the number that fell to
the share of that "scamp of a Parisian notary
named Noe," who appears to have been quite
incapable of appreciating the merits of the bind-
ings, which he ruthlessly destroyed, rebinding
the books in a more modern style better suited
to his taste.
Of the Greek and Latin classic authors Gro-
lier not only possessed all the more important,
but of many a number of copies : nine of Ci-
cero, four of Ovid, ten of Pliny, three of Sallust,
three of Titus Livius, four of Valerius Maximus,
five of Juvenal et Perseus, two or three each
of Lucian, Horace, Catullus, Statius, Terence,
Anacreon, Aristotle, and Xenophon, and six of
Jean Grolier
Martial. Two of the latter upon vellum in the
Paris Royal Library are mentioned by Dibdin
as "beautiful books, the initial letters in gold."
(Most of Grolier's books were thus ornamented.)
In one copy are the arms of Grolier, and an
illumination on the first page of the text. Dib-
din also found in the same library a Plautus of
1522, an Ausonius of 1517, a Valerius Maximus
of 1534, a Priscianus of 1527, and a Sannazari
Arcadia of 1514, all on large paper, formerly
the property of Grolier.
Of Greek authors translated into Latin Gro-
lier's library contained five copies of Lucian
(one a manuscript), and three copies of the
Polyphili Hypnerotomachia printed in 1499,
one of the most perfect specimens of book-
making from the Aldine press. Its beautiful
typography is embellished with wood-engrav-
ings which are the acknowledged masterpieces
in design and execution of the fifteenth cen-
tury. The Duke of Devonshire's library con-
tains one of the above-named copies printed on
vellum "a membranaceous gem," as Dibdin
in his stilted, antiquated style would describe
it, of the very first water.
Virgil appears to have been Grolier's favorite
31
Jean Grolier
author: ten copies of his works were at one
time in his possession, including a very beauti-
ful manuscript and the earliest printed edition,
dated 1486. Of the charming Aldine Virgil,
printed in small octavo in 1527, he had five
copies, three of which he afterward presented to
his friends.
One of the most precious volumes from his
library which have been preserved is the manu-
script of the ^Eneid now in the Bibliotheque
Nationale at Paris. Not only is the binding
remarkably elegant, but the manuscript itself is
of beautiful execution upon finest vellum, and
is ornamented throughout with most delicate
paintings. Executed toward the end of the fif-
teenth century, it was in the possession of
Prince Jean de Gonzague, who was despoiled
of his estates by Francis I. The presumption
is that his books fell into the hands of the
French soldiery, from whom this priceless trea-
sure was fortunately rescued and secured by
Grolier. It is in an Italian binding, and bears
his name and device.
Thirteen manuscripts in all are among the
books remaining of his library, and eight books
with his annotations. A folio Virgil is quite
DELL'ANTHROPOLOCIA
marin4ri Iwnw tempo Idleftrdti dd nntrdrid Forto-
IM. Nc Id ignoring* di ao che fctgtd,f uo A ptuii
nutter pMirdtche fe doppo mortCjfintimtntv non r-
fixxhe mate pno" dcrtdere d chi non finfe? Se dncord
ne& de ckrifhdni : uerdmente e dd creder ehe dtb-
btdno tvrnar di ado. Et s*egli etterojdie iddio gufb
gudice \)M\d ordindfo urfdltrd uita., & Id pend tl
fretnto fewndo i mtriti di cidfbtnojdricorddzd delld
morlea dec efferunofhmolopiMpwngnte, che quelti
ddl Mupald recitatt di fir tali operdtioni di qiid, ckt
di Id non hMidmo d perder quelld infinite, & c-
rd t p er wtfht Udnd & atduat glorid'.quelld arts. tt-
titd'ftr qutfht ddotn^rd(jt:quei fempiternt fidceri,per
ytefh filldci tt che non durdno. di chefiui uolejjlpiu
rdgontrt , bifigrwid entrdre vnnuoHA matfrid:&
fir ft non v# potrti utnire. d atpo che id noffe <{m non
ci foprdgnn$r(fc. Verdnuntc per uoi diffiil Poets, e
flntvhogg difyutato dffii;fcnzdpd[firt m pinlm*
go *dgorwnenfc:lo <ptdle an waggore dgo in ditto
tempo ft pctn fire . Et tvfi detto indi con quefitper^
'ptdfionepdMrono:^? Foptnione di tndeftro Girold-
we d madonnt Ipbigenid pin uerd ; d^glidltri pd-
reflepiu <$h ueritif queUd di meffer Ldndno dp~
freffrrfi.
1 o . Q rollertf L^
et
LAST PAGE OF
L'ANTHROPOLOGIA DI GALEAZZO CAPELA, ALDUS, 1533.
With autograph of Grolier.
COLLECTION OF S. P. AVERY.
Jean Grolier
covered with his notes written at different
epochs, proof that he was a student as well as
a bibliophile. The two terms, as we know, are
by no means synonymous.
Grolier's bindings naturally group themselves
into two general divisions: those which were
executed specially for him, and books bound
for others which he considered worthy a place in
his collection. Amongst the latter are bindings
of Francis I, Henry II, and Diane de Poictiers.
On these he placed his name and motto. The
volumes he secured in ancient Italian bindings,
many decorated with paintings, he was too true
a bibliophile either to disfigure or destroy. The
only mark of ownership they bear is the modest
inscription "Jo Grolierii Lugdunen" on the fly-
leaf or last page a standing rebuke to the
spirit of egotistical vandalism of some more
modern collectors. Few, however, have vio-
lated this canon of good taste to the extent of
the Syston Park collector, whose coarse design
of an admiralty anchor defaces so many of
the beautiful bindings which unfortunately fell
into his possession. We are at a loss which to
criticize more unsparingly Sir John Thorold
or his binder, of unenviable notoriety, R. Storrs
5 33
Jean Grolier
of Grantham, who appears to have bound books,
not by any rules of taste or with any knowledge
of his craft, but simply by main force.
In the library of the author of this sketch is
an Aldine Greek Anthology, one of four known
copies on vellum, bound by Roger Payne in red
morocco, delicately blind-tooled on the outside,
and lined with leather covered with gold tool-
ing; and on it is impressed the Syston Park
anchor in gold surrounded by a coil of rope
heavy and stout enough to warp an ocean steam-
ship into her dock. A very large proportion of
the Syston Park books have in this manner re-
ceived irreparable injury. Through page after
page of the sale catalogue runs the phrase,
"Anchor in gold on sides," conjuring up in
the mind of the absent book-buyer the small,
delicate, well-proportioned Aldine anchor we all
know so well. The accusation generally brought
against English cataloguers is that the books are
over-described, but in this instance the fault lies
entirely in the other direction they are under-
done. Attention is directed persistently to the
anchor; the massive hawser is quietly ignored.
The reader will pardon this digression. It
affords an opportunity too good to be neg-
34
Jean Grolier
lected for presenting a sharp antithesis between
the practices of two representative collectors,
one of the sixteenth century and one of the
eighteenth, and to advocate a principle which
should be regarded as a fundamental axiom in
book-collecting; namely, the preservation of a
book as nearly as may be in its original condi-
tion. Old bindings, like "old books, are best."
Spare them whenever possible, and give them
the benefit of the best bibliopegic advice and
treatment if there be the least hope of convales-
cence. Experience inculcates great reserve and
hesitancy in the destruction of old bindings.
Even when unadorned they may be adorned the
most with a quaintness and originality of their
own, the loss of which is never compensated by
the substitution of the most elaborate dress that
a modern binder can supply.
On one of my book-shelves there stands a
forma minima Horace of 1627, which in 1708
was "Alex r Campbell Advocat his book," and'
twenty-five years later was in possession of the
poet's namesake, Horace Walpole. It is in an
eighteenth-century English binding of black
morocco, some delicate sprays of gold tooling
are on the sides, and it has a "patina" that it
35
Jean Grolier
has taken over a hundred years to acquire.
What wonder or what care if its corners are a
little, fortunately only a little, frayed and worn?
Stripped of its honest old leathern jacket, and
decked in one of Cuzin's brilliant court-dresses,
how completely would it be despoiled of the
magic power it now possesses to make live again
its former dilettante owner, the "recluse of
Strawberry," and his world the Ladies Walde-
grave and Mrs. Clive, the " beautiful Gunnings "
and witty, talented Mrs. Darner, all the " fair wo-
men richly gay" who with their attendant wits
and beaux rambled over the " enamelled mea-
dows set with filigree hedges" and breakfasted
to the music of French horns and clarionettes
in the fantastic Gothic villa at Twickenham.
This may be thought too extreme a case for
supposition, but as flagrant crimes have been
committed by book-collectors with more zeal
than taste or judgment. Verily the last state of
many a rebound book is worse than the first.
The materials employed in the bindings ex-
ecuted for Grolier were levant morocco, which
he is said to have been the first to bring into
use, and fawn- or brown-colored calf, heavily
crushed; the inside linings were generally of
36
Jean Grolier
fine vellum or stout, well-prepared paper. The
back generally carried little or no ornament, and
the decoration was confined to the two exterior
sides of the cover. There is great variety in
the designs, which are often intricate and elabo-
rate, but always in pure and delicate taste. The
following is the concise and exact technical de-
scription of the Grolier style given by our own
well-known binder, William Matthews: "An
interlaced frame-work of geometrical figures,
circles, squares, and diamonds, with scroll-work
running through it, the ornaments of which are
of Moresque character, generally azured in whole
or in part, sometimes in outline only; parts of
the design are often studded with gold dots."
The compartments were generally arranged so
as to leave in the center of each cover an open
lozenge or shield, in one of which was placed the
title of the book, in the other the motto,
PORTIO MEA, DOMINE, SIT IN
TERRA VIVENTIVM.
Occasionally we find the words
TANQVAM VENTVS EST VITA MEA
37
Jean Grolier
substituted. At the foot, between the gold lines
framing the design, we read,
IO. GROLIERII ET AMICORVM,
in Roman characters which Grolier is said to
have had specially designed and cut.
Bernard Quaritch catalogues a Biblia Sacra
Veteris et Novi Testamenti, folio, Paris, 1558,
with Grolier's inscription at the foot, and still
another motto,
QUISQUE SUOS PATIMUR MANES,
occupying the center panel.
A number of his books contain an impression
of his arms, now so familiar to the members of
the Grolier Club, composed of an escutcheon in
the conventional or armorial form of the head
of a club. On a blue ground are three so-called
besants in gold, surmounted by three stars in sil-
ver. A gold circle surrounding the red field
upon which the armorial rests bears the follow-
ing inscription :
M JEHAN GROLIER CONSEILLER
DU ROY TRESORIER -TE RECEVEUR
GNE EN LA D D MIL
COAT OF ARMS AND EMBLEM OF GROLIER
Jean Grolier
In a few of his books this armorial is accom-
panied by an emblem relating to some unknown
event in- his life. It represents a hand issuing
from a cloud and endeavoring to pluck away
an iron in the form of a nail which is fixed upon
the highest of several hillocks. Upon a garter
which envelops the wrist are the words "^Eque
Difficulter." This emblem, together with the
arms, is painted on the first page of a copy of
P. Ovidi Naso, Aldus, 1502, now in possession
of a New- York collector.
Two of his friends, the Italian Thomas Maioli
(of whom, beyond the proof that his bindings
afford of his love of books, there is little infor-
mation) and Marc Lanwin (more noted as a man
of letters and friend of Erasmus than as a bib-
liophile), adopted similar designs for their bind-
ings and copied his now famous inscription.
Following this group of collectors some years
later came the Genoese physician Demetrio Can-
evari; specimens from his library are even rarer
than any of the foregoing. The character of
the decoration is similar, with the addition of a
medallion centerpiece, which was a peculiarity
of his bindings.
Of the individuals who executed these bind-
39
Jean Grolier
ings little is known. A French poet, Lesne*,
states that Jean and Pierre Gascon worked for
Henry II, Diane de Poictiers, and Grolier. It
is a reasonable conjecture that some of the de-
signs were supplied by the celebrated printer
and engraver Geofrey Tory," so much resem-
blance is there between them and the entourages
of pages designed by the printer of Bourges ; in
his book Champ Fleury Tory records the fact
that he made antique letters for Grolier.
Some may have been Grolier's own concep-
tion. A medallion designed by him on the
verso of page 1 1 2 of his copy of the Erasmi
Adagiorum shows a certain amount of profi-
ciency in the use of the pencil, and it might
have been one of his pastimes " to trace the deli-
cate meanderings that unroll themselves in lines
of gold on the rich coverings of his bindings."
The most noted French craftsmen of the time
were the RofFets, Pierre and Estienne, booksellers
and binders to Francis I, according to the label
which appears in a few early sixteenth-century
books : " Imprime a Paris pour Estienne Roffet
diet le Faulcheur, libraire & relieur du Roy,
demourant sus le pont Sainct Michel a Penseigne
de la Rose."
40
QUINTO CURTIO, VENICE, 1559.
Contemporary Roman binding.
Rom Backford Library, Hamilton Sale. Size of original, 6x9 inches.
COLLECTION OF W. L. ANDREWS.
Jean Grolier
Almost without exception, however, the bind-
ings made for Grolier are of Italian workman-
ship executed in Italy or by Italian artisans
who were brought by him in considerable num-
bers to Paris. With their scholars they formed
an atelier of which he was the principal, if not
for a long time the only, patron. Here, under
his own direction and supervision, a large pro-
portion of the most artistic bindings contained
in his library were produced during the last thirty
years of his life. That his book-collecting fever
continued unabated almost to the end is proved
by the existence of a book bearing his name
upon the cover printed in 1562, three years
before his death.
The backs of the bindings which are intact
(many having been rebacked) are, as we have
seen, almost entirely without ornamentation,
while the decoration is freely lavished upon
the covers. In all probability the books in
Grolier's library were laid upon their sides in
the same manner as they are now exhibited
in the Bibliotheque Nationale, thus exposing the
entire embellishment of one cover, which also
brought the title to view. A library so arranged,
and at the same time composed largely of folio
Jean Grolier
volumes, would require much space for its ac-
commodation. Consequently we find that the
library of Charles V at the Louvre, composed of
only nine hundred volumes, occupied no less than
three floors of one of the towers of the palace.
After Grolier's death his library was divided
among several heirs, the largest portion becom-
ing the property, partly by inheritance and partly
by purchase, of Mery de Vic, guardian of the
seals under Louis XIII. They were retained
in his family for nearly a century, when they
were dispersed by public auction. An author
of this period, Vigneul de Marville, who had the
privilege of beholding these books when they
must have retained much of their original fresh-
ness and beauty, and who secured a number of
them at the sale, by which he says "most of
the connoisseurs of Paris profited," describes
them in this enthusiastic and flowery fashion:
"Seeing these books it would appear that the
muses who had contributed to the composition
of the inside had also applied themselves to the
adaptation of the outside, so much of art and
spirit appears in their ornamentation. They are
all gilded with a delicacy unknown to the gilders
of to-day. The compartments are painted in
42
Jean Grolier
various colors perfectly well designed, and all
of different forms."
As the note from which this extract was taken
is brief and interesting as an early reference to
Grolier's library, I copy it in its entirety below.*
*M. Grollier Tresorier de France, & notre Ambassadeur a la
Cour de Rome sous Francois I. Vir mundttice & elegantice in omni
vita assuetus, part elegantid ac munditid ornatos ac libros dis-
positos domi tarn curiose asservabat, ut eju& Biblioiheca cum Bib-
liotheca Asinii Pottionis {quce prima Romce instituta est) componi
meruerit. Cest 1'eloge qui lui donne M. de Thou dans son
Histoire.
La Biblioteque de M. Grollier s'est conservee dans 1'Hotel de
Vic jusqu'a ces annees dernieres qu'elle a ete vendue a 1'encan.
Elle meritoit bien, etant une des premieres & des plus accom-
plies qu'aucun particulier se soit avise de faire a Paris, de
trouver comme celle de M. de Thou, un acheteur qui en conser-
vt le lustre. La plupart des curieux de Paris ont profite de ses
debris. J'en ai eu a ma part quelques volumes a qui rien ne
manque, ni pour la bonte des Editions de ce tems-la, ni pour la
beaute du papier & la proprete de la relieure. II semble a les
voir, queles Muses qui ont contribue a la composition du dedans,
se soient aussi apliquees a les aproprier au dehors, tant il paroit
d'art et d'esprit dans leur ornemens : Us sont tous dorez avec
une delicatesse inconnue aux Doreurs d'aujourd' hui: Les com-
partimens sont peints de diverses couleurs, parfaitement bien
dessinez, & tous des differentes figures : Dans les cartouches
se voit d'un cote en lettres d'or le titre du Livre, & au dessous,
ces mots qui marquent le caractere si honnete de M. Grollier,
lo Grollierii & Amicorum; & de 1'autre cote cette Devise, te-
moignage sincere de sa piete : Portio mea, Domine, sit in terra
viventium.f
f Melanges d'Histoire et de Litterature par M. Vigneul de Marville,
Paris, 1725.
43
Jean Grolier
Among the early possessors of books from the
library of Grolier, some of which were acquired
at this the first public opportunity, are found
the names of Henry de Mesmes, De Thou,
Pithou, Balesdens, Bigot, Du Fay, Flechier,
Colbert, Count Hoym, Gaignat, and le Due
de Vallire; in later times MacCarthy Reagh,
Renouard, Didot, Yemeniz, Brunet, Cracherode,
Dibdin, and Techener. At the risk of some
repetition of the above, the following summary
is given of the principal private libraries through
which these bindings have passed, and the num-
ber included in each: Cracherode, 18; Baron
Hohendorf, 16; Libri, 15; Renouard, 14; Tech-
ener, 12; Yemenez, 12; Bigot, 11; Coste, 10;
Flechier, 10; Duke of Marlborough, 9; Balles-
dens, 9; Prince de Soubise, 8; Grenville, 8;
MacCarthy Reagh, 7 ; De Thou, 6 ; Lord Gos-
ford, 6; Solar, 6; Du Fay, 5; Count Hoym,
5; Petau and Mansart, 5; Potier, 5; John
Dent, 5; Lamoignon, 4; Double, 4; Robert
Turner, 3; Due d'Aumale, 6. This enumera-
tion was made by Le Roux de Lincy in 1866.
The Due d'Aumale's collection has undoubtedly
been considerably increased since then. It is, so
far as I am aware, the only one of the foregoing
44
Jean Grolier
which remains intact ; the others have been either
donated or bequeathed to public institutions, or
dispersed by sale at auction.
The largest collection of the present day is,
as would naturally be expected, in the National
Library at Paris. It numbers sixty-four vol-
umes, without the certainty that all that exist
are known. Most of them are in good preser-
vation, and twenty are of the very finest qual-
ity. Many have been obtained through gift
or legacy, but a number were acquired by Van
Praet (Dutchman by birth, Frenchman by edu-
cation), keeper of the printed books from 1794
to 1839, a bibliographer who was one of the
first to understand and appreciate their beauty
and value. To Van Praet belongs, according
to Dibdin, the honor of having rescued the
book treasures of the Abbey St. Germain de
Prez from destruction during the horrors of
the Revolution, and of thus being instrumental
in the preservation of some of the choicest
examples of Grolier bindings.
Further additions were made by Van Praet's
successors, the brothers De Bure, who had charge
of the library for nearly half a century, and
who for many years previous to their appoint-
45
Jean Grolier
ment to this office were booksellers to the
king and to the Royal Library, and were con-
sequently familiar with its affairs. A singular
fact in their history is that, although the most
prominent book-dealers in Paris, and having
vast numbers of rare and valuable books pass
through their hands, including the splendid
MacCarthy Collection, they never, in the course
of a business career extending over two gene-
rations, issued a booksellers' catalogue.
During the entire period covered by the ad-
ministration of Van Praet and the De Bures, it
was possible to make these now invaluable ac-
quisitions at a most moderate cost.
The next in importance of the French col-
lections is that of the Bibliotheque St. Gene-
vieve. It contains fifteen examples, all very
remarkable. They were the bequest, in 1709,
of Charles Maurice Le Tellier, Archbishop of
Rheims.
Some few Grolier bindings enrich the libra-
ries at Lyons, Marseilles, and other cities of
France. The British Museum possesses twen-
ty-eight, eighteen of which are included in the
Cracherode Collection and originally formed
part of the two hundred volumes which Crache-
46
PAULI JOVII NOVOCOMENSIS EPISCOP1, FLORENCE, 1509.
From Didot and Techener Sales. Size of original, 9x 13^ inches.
COLLECTION OF GEORGE B. DE FOREST.
Jean Grolier
rode purchased from the library of De Thou.
The Grenville Collection, also in the British
Museum, contains eight examples, sixteen are
in the library at Vienna, and still others are pre-
served in public libraries and in the hands of
collectors in other parts of Europe. In this
country there are not more than eight or ten
Grolier bindings, all in private libraries; but
among them are some of the highest quality.
The prices brought by books from Grolier's
library when first offered for sale and for
many years thereafter were far from exces-
sive; in fact, they were extremely moderate.
At Petau's sale in 1722, and at Count Hoym's
as late as 1769, the price per volume rarely
exceeded twenty francs, and some were sold
for from three to five francs. In 1789, at the
Soubise sale, values began to increase, stimu-
lated by a demand from English collectors,
Cracherode paying forty-eight francs for the
Aldine Silvius Italicus. Still, until 1830 these
bindings remained depressed in value, notwith-
standing the fact that their artistic quality was
being rapidly appreciated by both English and
French collectors. In 1830 the rise began in
earnest; the price advanced in that year to 150
47
Jean Grolier
and 200 francs per volume, and to 500 and
600 francs by 1845, despite the disturbed con-
dition of European affairs during that period.
In Renouard's sale, 1854, 1600 francs was paid
for a copy of the Aldine Virgil of 1527, the
initials painted in gold and colors, described
as being in perfect condition.
The enhancement in price since the middle
of this century has been rapid. ^300 was the
highest price realized at the Duke of Hamil-
ton's sale in 1883; but at the Techener sale, in
1887, 12,000 francs was paid for the Heliodori
^Ethiopicse Historian American competition
then making its appearance as an important
factor for the first time. Undoubtedly the es-
tablishment of the Grolier Club in New- York
three years previously influenced prices at this
sale, for members of that organization outbid
the French collectors for all the choicest num-
bers.
Grolier's copy of Heliodorus, of which a re-
production is given, belonged formerly to the
library of Balesdens, and has passed through
the well-known Libri and Double collections,
selling for 2650 francs in the Libri sale, and for
3505 francs in the Double sale. The decora-
4 8
Jean Grolier
tion is elaborate and beautiful in the extreme,
and it is undeniably one of the finest examples
in existence, not excepting those in the great
Paris libraries.
In Bernard Quaritch's catalogue of books
in historical or remarkable bindings, issued in
1883 (the one which is placed by Mr. Smalley
among the curiosities of booksellers' litera-
ture), five Grolier bindings are offered at prices
as follows: Lactantii, 1465, ^600; Esopo His-
toriado, 1493, ^"320; Nicolai Primi, 1542,
^300; Biblia Sacra, 1558, ^180; Guerra (re-
backed), ^40. For the high-priced Lactantius
the claim is made that the rarity and impor-
tance of the book itself give it an additional
value much beyond that of its binding. It
would indeed appear from the cataloguer's
note, which for its unconscious humor alone is
entitled to repetition here, that the greater part
of the value must be inside the covers; time,
worms, and an unknown Italian marquis hav-
ing combined to wreck the exterior.
Lactantii Firmiani de Divinis, etc. Editio princeps, and
the first dated book printed in Italy: The ornamentation
on the back of this marvelous volume is like the subsidiary
arabesques on the sides, and it is still visible although some
7 49
Jean Grolier
Italian marquis in the 17th century had his own coronet and
monogram superposed, and notwithstanding that two of the
compartments have been attacked by worms. The glorious
sides, however, have only succumbed to time and lost
somewhat of their freshness ; but no worm or marquis has
invaded the beauty of their rich decoration. Here is a
combination of excellency seldom if ever obtainable a
rare volume of the highest value and importance clad in the
precious robes of Grolier's library. The Grolier books
that have turned up at auctions during the present century
have almost invariably been books of small value apart from
their bindings.
Excessive rarity is also claimed by the dealer
for the Esopo, but not for the Nicolai at a dif-
ference in price of only ^20, which may or
may not be accounted for by the amount of
decoration on the binding.
The foregoing prices mark the highest limits
yet attained for books from this famous col-
lection, but the fact truthfully stated by Mr.
Quaritch must be borne in mind, that these
prices were obtained for books possessing in
most instances little interest to the modern
book-buyer beyond their bindings and "prov-
enance." It would be difficult to set a limit to
the bidding upon a book such as the manu-
script Virgil in the Bibliotheque Nationale.
B. CASTIGLIONE LIBRO DEL CORTEGIANO, VENICE, 1528.
From Sunderland Sale. Size of original, 8 x I2^< inches.
COLLECTION OF ROBERT HOE.
Jean Grolier
It is very evident that these triumphs of the
bookbinder's skill, after remaining so long un-
appreciated by all but the very few, have come
at last to be rightfully recognized as among the
art treasures of the cultivated world which, in
their own department, appeal to our sense of
beauty quite as strongly as any other of the
manifold forms of art expression. This prop-
osition will naturally be gainsaid by those who
deny the universality of art and implicitly be-
lieve that the painter on canvas and the sculp-
tor in stone enjoy an exclusive monopoly of
the divine afflatus.
In the course of his travels Grolier had, in
addition to books, collected a large number
of gold and silver coins and antique medals.
Jacques de Strada," an early student and col-
lector of ancient coins, and the first bric-k-brac
dealer and keeper of an old curiosity shop on
record, refers to Grolier's cabinet as containing
"an almost innumerable quantity of pieces of
gold, silver, and copper coins and medals, large
and small." To this testimony to the remark-
able richness of the collection may be added that
of John Sambucus, an Hungarian physician and
antiquarian, historian of the Emperors Maxi-
Jean Grolier
milian II and Rudolph II of Austria. He had
for twenty years traversed Europe in search of
manuscripts, medals, and curiosities of every de-
scription. At the end of a book of emblems
which he published at the Plantin Press, in
1564, are reproductions of forty-four medals,
up to that time, he states, undescribed, which
are supposed to have been taken from Grolier's
immense collection. In the dedication of this
book to Grolier, Sambucus speaks of the " wise
and interesting conversations he had held with
him, and which he carefully treasured in his
memory."
This collection of medals and antiquities,
having, after its owner's death, been transported
as far as Marseilles on its way to Italy to be
sold, was purchased at a liberal price by Charles
IX, doubtless at the instigation of his tutor and
Grand Almoner, the erudite Jacques Amyot.
It was added to the collection at Fontaine-
bleau, whence unhappily it appears to have been
pillaged during the wars of the Holy League
in 1576.
Toward the end of his life Grolier had the
misfortune to fall under serious accusations rela-
tive to the discharge of his public functions,
Jean Grolier
which threatened him at one time with the loss
of his property, if not of his life. But on the
lyth of December, 1561, a court presided over
by Christophe de Thou, father of the celebrated
bibliophile Jacques de Thou, annulled the legal
process against him and relieved him from a
burden which had harassed and troubled him
a number of years. Through it all, however, he
appears to have retained the confidence of the
King and to have kept his various positions in
the royal service.
Among the books presented by Grolier to
his friends are five to De Thou, probably in
gratitude for the service rendered to him on
this occasion. One of these volumes, OEuvres
de Hippocrate, is now in the Bibliotheque du
Louvre.
Grolier at the age of 37 married Anne Bri-
c,onnet, daughter of Messire Nicolas Bri9onnet,
Chevalier, Controller-General of the Finances
of Bretagne. There were five children of this
marriage, one son, who died without issue, and
four daughters, one of whom became Abbess
of Longchamps near Paris. The direct line of
his family is now extinct, but the name is still
perpetuated in Touraine and Beauvoisis by
53
Jean Grolier
the descendants of his uncle, Antoine Grolier,
who died at Naples in 1523, and is said to
have had, like his nephew, a passion for books.
The family appears to have been somewhat
remarkable for the longevity of its members,
one Nicolas, born at Lyons in 1593, living to
the age of 93. He composed for himself this
epitaph : Here lies one who lived long because
he knew neither lawsuit nor doctor.
Grolier's death occurred at Paris in the Rue
de Bucy, at the house which he had built, called
the Hotel de Lyon; and his body was interred
before the altar of the Abbey St. Germain de
Prez. The monument on his tomb in the
crypt, which bore his portrait, unfortunately has
been destroyed, and there is now no likeness
of him in existence.
GROLIER'S EPITAPH.
Cp gist $9esire 3lel>an 0rolUer,
en son intent rtjetaUer, seigneur
ijtcomte D'agufep, tljr&orter De 9I&
Ian et ue jfrance, en la charge et
t&r&orerte ffoultre ^eine et i^onne,
general De0 finances mi Ho& <jui
le 22 octobre 1565*
SDieu pour
54
ARMS OF GROLIER AFTER HIS MARRIAGE
aye 5; G ERM ATN ae 'are z. .
THE BURIAL PLACE OF GROLIER.
From a print in the Typographia Galliae. Amsterdam, 1660.
Jean Grolier
At the foot of his effigy was this inscription :
Joanni Grolerio, Insubriae dudum, Galliae nuper Quaestori
Castiss. fideliss. integer, v. c. virtutum omnium litterarum
comprimis, et venerandae antiquitatis Amantiss. Observan-
tiss. Studiosiss. Anna et Jacobella filiae. Anthonius et Petrus
nepotes Parent! Cariss. MMM. PP. Vixit annos LXXXVI.
obiit xi. Kal. Novemb.
Such is an imperfect outline of the life and
character of this famous book-collector, the
man whom his long-time and intimate friend
De Thou describes as of equal elegance of
manners and spotlessness of character. Ad-
mitting that in this epigrammatic tribute there
may be a touch of sixteenth-century hyperbole,
we have still in the unembellished narrative of
his life sufficient proof that he possessed in an
unusual degree qualities of head and heart that
won him the respect and admiration, the re-
gard and affection, of his contemporaries. The
one discordant note is struck by that man of
wars and brawls, the hot-headed Italian gold-
smith, Benvenuto Cellini, with whom, judging
his character from his own frankly written
memoirs, it would appear to have been quite
impassible for any one to maintain amicable
relations.
55
Jean Grolier
Born in an age without doubt crowded with
more great events than any other period of the
world's history, the discovery of America, the
invention of printing, the beginning of the
Reformation, the first use of gunpowder, which
caused a revolution in the mode of warfare,
Jean Grolier lived through more than half the
succeeding century, during which these forces
developed and occasioned great social, political,
commercial, and religious changes. Thus his
entire life was passed in prominent and active
participation in the affairs of an age of struggle,
conflict, movement, and progress. Yet it is
not for his statesmanship, nor as an able finan-
cier, nor as a loyal subject and servant enjoying
throughout a long lifetime the trust and con-
fidence of his many royal masters, but as a man
who made his love of letters the principal oc-
cupation of his life, and as a bibliophile of the
first rank who dignified the pursuit of book-
collecting by making it the hand-maid of learn-
ing, that his name has been rescued from all
but oblivion by those who share with him the
love of beautiful books in fitting and appro-
priate bindings a passion which, far from be-
ing an idle one, is, as has been justly claimed
56
Jean Grolier
by an eighteenth-century poet, Lesne*, a con-
serving force of the highest importance to liter-
ature. The binding, he says, is to typography
what the latter is to the other arts. The one
transmits to posterity the works of savants and
artists, the other preserves for it the productions
of typography. A binding poorly executed is
a veritable larceny from future ages, and the
savants of all times without doubt regret that
these two arts did not have their birth in an-
cient Greece.
The extent to which Grolier, by the power
of his rank, wealth, and social and political in-
fluence, contributed to the literary advancement
of the sixteenth century may not accurately be
determined, but it is beyond question that his
figure is the central and conspicuous one in
that circle of distinguished scholars, poets, and
philosophers, members of the famous Aldine
Neacademia, who aided in such large measure
to develop, and who so brilliantly adorned, a
period of the Renaissance remarkable alike for
its literary and artistic activity.
With what delight and eagerness this man
of affairs must have turned at every opportu-
nity from the perplexing cares of state and the
8 57
Jean Grolier
turmoil of his busy political life to the quiet
environment of the books he so fondly loved
and cherished, and to the congenial companion-
ship of the men of art and letters he constantly
drew around him and made the recipients of
his unwearying kindness and princely generos-
ity ! As he leaves this circle of chosen friends
when the talk, which is " all of Plato and Ovid,
Virgil and Aristotle," is over, let us follow him
in imagination hastening across the still waters
of the Lagoon to the busy Stamperia in its
quiet corner of the Campo di San Agostino.
Over the portal is suspended the placard warn-
ing the visitor to state quickly his business
and be gone ; but for one who over the often
dry, musty, and worm-eaten pages of biblio-
graphical story has thrown the charm of a per-
sonality around which is entwined so much of
the romance of the age of chivalry in which
he lived, we know that the door of the printing-
house of Aldo il Vecchio stood ever ajar, and
that its most honored and welcome guest was
Francois d'Asola's " dear " friend Jean Grolier.
FINIS.
58
NOTES
NOTES.
i De Thou (Jacques Auguste), was born at Paris in 1553,
and died there in 1617. He is best and most widely
known by the library he collected, unequaled at that time
for the number and richness of the books it contained. In
making an ambassadorial visit to Italy, in company with
Paul de Foux, it is said that he never allowed himself to
pass a single printing-establishment or celebrated library
without making it a lengthy visit. Vigneul de Marville
writes thus of the library formed by him and his father Chris-
tophe : " The Messrs. De Thou, who have been the glory and
ornament of belles lettres amongst us for so long a time,
not only had the noble passion of filling their libraries with
beautiful books, for which they had searched throughout
Europe, but were also most careful that these books should
be in perfect condition. Whenever there was printed in
France, or even in foreign countries, any good book they
had two or three copies on fine and large paper made ex-
pressly for themselves; or, purchasing several copies, they
would select from them the most beautiful leaves, and thus
procure the most perfect book possible. Nevertheless, after
61
Jean Grolier
so much care and expense, this rich and beautiful library
has been on the point of being scattered. It is only by pass-
ing into other hands and changing its name that it has been
saved from shipwreck. M. de Menard purchased it, and
to-day it is no longer Bibliotheca Thuana so celebrated
throughout Europe, but by its fate Bibliotheca Menarsiana,
as it is called by Santeuil* in a Latin poem which draws
tears from our eyes. This library belongs at present to the
Cardinal de Rohan, who has neglected nothing necessary
to preserve its ancient splendor."
2 Lacroix du Maine (Francois, Sieur de), a noted French
bibliographer, native of Mans, assassinated at Tours in
1592. His entire life was consecrated to bibliographical
labor. After having passed forty years in making his com-
pilations, he came to Paris, followed by three carts piled
with his books and memoirs. His modest residence be-
came the resort of the learned men of Paris, among them
Belleforest, Brisson, and Scaliger, whom he entertained with
the display of the literary treasures he had collected and an
account of his forty years of research. He left a number
of books, all of a bibliographical and antiquarian character.
3 Lacroix (Paul), pseudonym Le Pere Jacob, born at
Paris in 1807, the most famous of the modern French bib-
liophiles and a voluminous writer. His Histoire du Si-
zieme Siecle gained him at the age of eighteen the cross
of the Legion of Honor. Besides his numerous romances
he published a large number of book catalogues filled with
curious literary and bibliographical notes, and was also
editor of several art journals.
*Jean-Baptiste Santeuil. Born Paris, 1630.
62
Jean Grolier
4 Bede (Beda Venerabilis), a celebrated monk and his-
torian, born at Wearmouth in 675, and died, according
to the best authorities, in 735. His shrine in the Abbey
Church of Durham was still in existence in the time of
Erasmus. He was a most remarkable character, self-taught
in his cell by his own unaided studies of ancient his-
tory, especially those of the Fathers of the Church. " He
presents the extraordinary phenomenon of an hyperborean
savant in an epoch when Italy itself was plunged in bar-
barism." The British Museum possesses a copy of the Latin
Evangels with an Anglo-Saxon gloss or commentary inter-
lined, written before 720, which appears to have belonged
to the Venerable Bede himself.
5 Alcuin, Alcwin, or Alchwin (Flaccus Albinus), libra-
rian to King Egbert, restorer of letters under Charlemagne,
called by Ashmole "one of the school-mistresses to France."
He was born at York in 735, and died in 804. The many
literary works of which he was the author, although mostly
theological, embrace essays on mathematics, astronomy,
dialectics, and rhetoric. There exists a curious example of
the mode of teaching adopted by him in the school of the
palace in what he styles a Disputatio between himself and
Pepin. The following is a selection from the Questions and
Answers it contains :
What is writing ?
The Guardian of History.
What is life?
Power for the happy, sorrow for the miserable.
How is man placed ?
Like a lantern exposed to the wind.
63
Jean Grolier
What is day?
A provocation to labor.
What are vegetables?
The friend of doctors and the glory of cooks.
What is friendship?
The similarity of souls.
6 Foucquet (Jean), of the School of Tours. The dates
of his birth and death are both uncertain; he was, however,
known to be living in 1477, and is thought to have died in
1485. He was quite unknown until near the close of the
last century, when forty fragments of the manuscript Book
of Hours executed by him for Maistre fistienne Chevalier
fell into the hands of an amateur, George Brentano Laroche,
of Frankfort-sur-Main. A reproduction of these beautiful
miniatures in chromolithography was published by L. Cur-
mer, Paris, 1866, with the text of the manuscript restored
by the Abbe* de Launay. Among the other nine works
attributed to him is a diptych found in the Church of Notre
Dame of Melun, Chevalier's native city. The painting
in one compartment represents Agnes Sorel, under the
figure of the Virgin, the pendant being a portrait of Chev-
alier. The two pictures are now separated: the first is in
the Antwerp Museum, and the second at Frankfort in the
possession of M. Brentano Laroche.
7 Rhenanus (Beatus), scholar and reformer, born in 1485,
died at Strasbourg in 1547. Inheriting a large fortune from
his father, he was able to follow his literary tastes, and de-
voted his entire time to study and the vast correspondence
which he carried on with all the noted scholars of his epoch.
6 4
Jean Grolier
FULL TITLE OF THE BOOK OF BUDE".
8 Guillielmi Budaei Parisiensis, secretarii regii, libri V dc
Asse et Partib. ejus, post duas parisienses impressiones ab
eodem ipso Budaeo castigati, idq; authore Jo. Grolierio
Lugdunensi, Christianissimi Gallorum. Regis Secretario, et
Gallicarum copiarum Quaestore, cui etiam ob nostram in
eum observantiam a nobis illi dicantur. MDXXII. Vene-
tiis, in aedibus Aldi et And. Asulani soceri. A copy on
large paper was in the library of M. Wodhull.
9 Politiani (Angeli), Omnia Opera, 452 pages, not num-
bered, folio, Venetiis, 1488. "Cette rare edition, Pune des
plus belles qui soient sortie de Pimprimerie Aldine." Re-
nouard.
10 Argonne (Noel d'), called Bonaventure. A Carthusian
friar, born at Paris in 1634,
and died in 1704 at the Monas-
tery of Gaillon. According to
Voltaire he was the only Car-
thusian monk that had ever cul-
tivated literature. "A man of
wit and erudition."
11 Tory (Geofrey), styled
Maitre au Pot Casse*, from the
sign of his book-shop and the
mark which appears on his pub-
lications, was born at Bruges
about 1480, and died atTaris
in 1533. In his curious work
Champ Fleury, " The art and
science of the clear and true
9 65
GEOFREY TORY S MARK.
Jean Grolier
proportion of the Attic letters, otherwise known as Antique
letters, vulgarly Roman letters proportioned after the human
body," he refers to some antique letters he had lately made
for the house of Jean Grolier, "Lover of good letters and
of all learned men, and who is also so much esteemed and
loved by every one."
12 Strada (Jacopo di), antiquary, born about 1515 at
Mantua, and died in 1588. "Half artist, half savant and
above all connoseur, he passed his life in traffacking in an-
tiques, amassing a fortune in the pursuit: He was a favor-
ite and prote'ge' of the Emperors Ferdinand I, Maximilian
II, and Rudolph II, of Austria."
Aldus Pius Manutius. Contemporary medal struck in
Venice about 1500. Reverse, an anchor and dolphin. The
Aldine device of the dolphin and anchor, " so well known
in the annals of typography, was borrowed from the reverse
of a denarius of the Roman Emperor Titus, as Aldus himself
tells us."
" Mr. Panizzi has shown that the types of Alclus were
cut by Francesca da Bologna, the celebrated painter, better
known as 'II Francia.' It is not improbable that this medal
is also from his hands." W. H. Overall, Librarian, in Cata-
logue of London New Library Exhibition, 1872.
66
DEDICATION OF GAFORI.
Engraved by William le Signerre of Rouen.
DEDICATIONS TO GROLIER.
" AD PRECLARUM D JOANNEM GROLIERIUM
NOSTRORIUM M^CENATEM."
Franchino Gafori, or Gaforino, born at Lodi in 145 1 . The
son of a soldier, and destined for the church, he joined to the
study of theology that of chanting, and acquired a knowledge
of musical composition under the tuition of a German monk
named Godeqach. In 1484 he was made psalmist of the choir
of the Cathedral of Milan. Later he founded in the same
city a school of music which became celebrated throughout
Italy. He dedicated to Grolier two of his most important
musical works, Traite sur 1'harmonie des instruments de
musique, and Apologia musici, exalting in the highest terms
the spirit and generosity of his Maecenas, as he styles him.
Sambucus placed a dedication to Grolier at the head of
his reproductions of the forty-four Roman medals.
67
Jean Grolier
Other dedications are as follows:
Aldi Manutii Romani Grammaticae Institutiones Graecae.
Venetiis, 1 5 1 5, in 410. Preface addressed to Grolier by the
editor, Marco Musurus.
L. Ccelii Rhodigini Lectionum Antiquarum Libri sexde-
cim. Venetiis, Aldus, 1516, in folio.
Erasmi Epistolae, Lib. Ill, Ep. 17, anno 1518, in folio.
Terentius, Aldus, 1517, in 8vo.
Idem, " 1521, " "
Ide m , " 1524 , "
Budae (Guillaume), de Asse, etc. Aldus, 1522, in 410.
v A Suetonius, printed at Lyons in 1508, and a book of
Estienne Niger upon Greek Literature, Milan, 1517, the
dedication copy of which, on fine paper and bound in com-
partments, is in the Grenville Collection, British Museum.
L'Andria et L'Eunucho di Terentio, Aldus, in Vinegia,
1544, 8vo, has two dedications, the first to Georges d'Ar-
magnac, Vicomte de Rhodes ; the second to
AL CLARISO E MOLTI MAGNIFICO
S. Gio GROLIER.
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