The Art of the Book in Sixteenth-Century France

REVIEWS THE ART OF THE BOOK IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE' This beautiful, two-volume, illustrated catalogue of the Hofer Collection in the Harvard College Library is not only a tribute to the achievement of sixteenth-century French book publishers and illustrators but also a monument to twentieth-century book craftsmanship. Nothing has been spared to provide a catalogue of authoritative bibliographical information, lavishly illustrated. The quality of the paper, of the printing and of the reproductions is of the highest order. All the extravagant care, usually associated with art books, has been lovingly brought to the preparation of this catalogue. That this should be so is not too surprising since the Hofer Collection forms part of the Printing and Graphic Arts Deparnnent of the Harvard College Library. Mr. Philip Hofer, the Curator of this deparnnent and the donor of this remarkable collection, and Miss Ruth Mortimer, the Rare Book Cataloguer in the same department, have quite naturally put the emphasis on the development of the art of printing and illustrating. The books in the collection were chosen, therefore, less for their literary importance than for their wealth of illustrative detail and typographical interest. The sixteenth century saw a prodigious expansion of the book business in France. Technical progress combined with the intellectual exuberance of the age erovided a challenge to the world of the publishers and the book-sellers. The reHgious controversy was to provide the opportunity for heroics and even martyrdom. Names like Estienne, Dolet, Colines, de Tournes are but a few of those who contributed to the glory of Paris, Lyons, and other centres of book publishing. The Hofer Collection includes many examples of their best work as well as that of the great artists and illustrators of the period: Geoffroy T ory, Philibert de L'Orme, Jean Goujon, and others. The catalogue presents over a thousand illustrations, the whole panoply of engravings, wood-cuts, and bindings which distinguish the French books of this era. As a reflection of the variety of interests and intellectual pursuits of the French sixteenth century the catalogue is especially informative. There are listed many fine editions of works on architecture, medicine, and mathematics. The collection includes some richly illustrated Books of Hours as well as some "entrees," those fascinating pictorial accounts of the progresses of the monarch through his realm. Some of the most interesting items in the catalogue are in the disciplines of history and theology. This does not mean to say that this collection has no literary interest. It is "'Harvard College Library, Department of Printing and Graphic Arts. Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts. Part I: French Sixteenth-Century Books, compiled by Ruth Mortimer under the supervision of Philip Hofer and William A. Jackson. Cambridge. Mass.: Harvard University Press [Toronto: SaundersJ, 1964. 2 Vols. Pp. 728. $50.00. rich in emblem books, contains some nne editions of classical authors, includ· ing a first edition of Amyot's translation of Plutarch, important editions of the Amadis de Gaule, a 1528 edition of Pierre Gringore's Les menus propos mere Sote, a second de Toumes edition of Clement Marot, Les ceuvres, a 1547 edition of the Marguerites de la Marguerite des Princesses. There are many fine examples of biblical works. Notable too are several beautiful editions of Petrarch. Any catalogue to be useful must be carefully indexed as well as bibliographically authoritative. This one is both. Besides a complete general alphabetical index, there are four additional specialized indexes: an Index of Artists, which gives not only the entry number in the catalogue but also the author whose work was illustrated and the date of publication, an Index of Printers and Publishers, in which the same procedure is followed, a Subject Index and finally, a Chronological Index, which corresponds to the location of the works in the Harvard College Library. Scholars are always grateful when a library publishes a catalogue of its holdings in a specialized field, especially when the collection is so distinguished , but how much more grateful we must be when that catalogue is transformed into a work of art. (C. E. IV.TI{]l) ...