Antoine Vérard
Encyclopedia
Antoine Vérard was a late 15th and early 16th century French publisher, bookmaker
and bookseller.
of a 1485 edition of the Catholicon abbreviatum, the first French-Latin dictionary, which dates to 1485, indicates that Antoine Vérard was based at the heart of the bookselling and printing quarter of Paris, in a shop under the sign of St John the Evangelist, on the Pont Notre-Dame
(a bridge built by Charles VI of France
, which collapsed in 1499).
Vérard was the turning point between illuminated manuscripts and the modern printed edition. He combined the two techniques by printing works illustrated with woodcuts, cheaper, of which he then produced versions on vellum
with hand-made illuminations for wealthy clients. He also produced printed works that almost resembled precious precious hand-produced manuscripts. Many printers worked for him, on vellum and paper. Ornaments and woodcut-plates were rented out and reused by different publishers. Vérard's printer's mark is recognisable for its two eagles on a starred base, supporting a red heart bearing the three letters AVR.
Vérard worked for a leisured bourgeois and noble public, notably king Charles VIII of France
and even Henry VII of England
. He did not hesitate to offer luscious examples of his work to the king of France, such as a Légende dorée, by Jacobus de Voragine
, published in 1493 and offered to Charles VIII and his wife Anne de Bretagne. He did not hesitate to pirate his fellow printers works he saw good work that could sell. He thus took into his business one of the era's great publishing successes, the Calendriers des bergers, originally published by Guy Marchant.
His catalogue was highly varied and included more than 100 different works. He published many books of hours and didactic works, such as Le Jeu des échecs moralisés by the Dominican Jacobus de Cessolis
(incunable of 1504), but also poems (François Villon
), dramatic works and chivalric romances. He published an edition of the Roman de la rose
around 1505, along with one of the Cent nouvelles nouvelles.
With a modern spirit of enterprise, around 1503 Vérard set out to conquer the English bookselling market with an English translation of the Calendrier des bergers (The Kalendar of Shyppars) and of L'Art de bien vivre et de bien mourir (1493), (the Art of Good Lywyng) and of the Chasteau de Labour (Castle of Labour), a 1499 poem by Pierre Gringore
. He also published many books of hours for use with the Sarum Rite
for the English market.
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
and bookseller.
Life
The colophonColophon (publishing)
In publishing, a colophon is either:* A brief description of publication or production notes relevant to the edition, in modern books usually located at the reverse of the title page, but can also sometimes be located at the end of the book, or...
of a 1485 edition of the Catholicon abbreviatum, the first French-Latin dictionary, which dates to 1485, indicates that Antoine Vérard was based at the heart of the bookselling and printing quarter of Paris, in a shop under the sign of St John the Evangelist, on the Pont Notre-Dame
Pont Notre-Dame
The Pont Notre-Dame is a bridge that crosses the Seine in Paris, France linking the quai de Gesvres on the Rive Droite with the quai de la Corse on the Île de la Cité...
(a bridge built by Charles VI of France
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
, which collapsed in 1499).
This present vocabulary was completed the .iiii. day of February 1485 for anthoine verard bookseller at the image of St John the Evangelist on the pont nostre dame or at the palace before the chapel where they sing the mass of "messeigneurs les presidens".
Vérard was the turning point between illuminated manuscripts and the modern printed edition. He combined the two techniques by printing works illustrated with woodcuts, cheaper, of which he then produced versions on vellum
Vellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
with hand-made illuminations for wealthy clients. He also produced printed works that almost resembled precious precious hand-produced manuscripts. Many printers worked for him, on vellum and paper. Ornaments and woodcut-plates were rented out and reused by different publishers. Vérard's printer's mark is recognisable for its two eagles on a starred base, supporting a red heart bearing the three letters AVR.
Vérard worked for a leisured bourgeois and noble public, notably king Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
and even Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
. He did not hesitate to offer luscious examples of his work to the king of France, such as a Légende dorée, by Jacobus de Voragine
Jacobus de Voragine
Blessed Jacobus de Varagine or Voragine was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of Legenda Aurea, the Golden Legend, a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the medieval church that was one of the most popular...
, published in 1493 and offered to Charles VIII and his wife Anne de Bretagne. He did not hesitate to pirate his fellow printers works he saw good work that could sell. He thus took into his business one of the era's great publishing successes, the Calendriers des bergers, originally published by Guy Marchant.
His catalogue was highly varied and included more than 100 different works. He published many books of hours and didactic works, such as Le Jeu des échecs moralisés by the Dominican Jacobus de Cessolis
Jacobus de Cessolis
Jacobus de Cessolis was an Italian author of the most famous morality book on chess in the Middle Ages....
(incunable of 1504), but also poems (François Villon
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
), dramatic works and chivalric romances. He published an edition of the Roman de la rose
Roman de la Rose
The Roman de la rose, , is a medieval French poem styled as an allegorical dream vision. It is a notable instance of courtly literature. The work's stated purpose is to both entertain and to teach others about the Art of Love. At various times in the poem, the "Rose" of the title is seen as the...
around 1505, along with one of the Cent nouvelles nouvelles.
With a modern spirit of enterprise, around 1503 Vérard set out to conquer the English bookselling market with an English translation of the Calendrier des bergers (The Kalendar of Shyppars) and of L'Art de bien vivre et de bien mourir (1493), (the Art of Good Lywyng) and of the Chasteau de Labour (Castle of Labour), a 1499 poem by Pierre Gringore
Pierre Gringore
Pierre Gringoire was a popular French poet and playwright. He was born in Normandy, at Thury-Harcourt, but the exact date and place of his death are unknown. His first work was Le Chasteau de Labour , an allegorical poem....
. He also published many books of hours for use with the Sarum Rite
Sarum Rite
The Sarum Rite was a variant of the Roman Rite widely used for the ordering of Christian public worship, including the Mass and the Divine Office...
for the English market.
Selected works published by Vérard
- 1486 : Les Cent Nouvelles nouvellesCent Nouvelles nouvellesThe Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles is a collection of stories supposed to be narrated by various persons at the court of Philippe le Bon, and collected together by Antoine de la Sale in the mid-15th century....
, Bibliothèque Nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de FranceThe is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
, (Rés. Y².174, fol. Q 1v); - 1488 : Le Livre des trois vertusThe Book of the City of Ladiesthumb|400px|right|Picture from The Book of the City of LadiesThe Book of the City of Ladies , or Le Livre de la Cité des Dames, is perhaps Christine de Pizan's most famous literary work, and it is her second work of lengthy prose. Pizan uses the vernacular French language to compose the book, but...
, Christine de Pisan, Antoine Vérard in 1488; - 1488 : Chevalier délibéré Olivier de la Marche;
- 1488 : AristoteAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, Ethiques, Politiques and Yconomique, texts translated into French by Nicole Oresme; - 1491 : Mystère de la vengeance The first printed edition was published by Antoine Vérard (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Réserve Yf 72. in 1491; it consisted of 22000 verses, divided into three days. It was called an "édition revue et augmentée" of the Mystère de Mercadé;
- 1496 : La Légende doréeGolden LegendThe Golden Legend is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that became a late medieval bestseller. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived, compared to twenty or so of its nearest rivals...
; Jacobus de Voragine - 1498 : De la généalogie des dieux [98] BN J 845;
- 1498 : Les regnars traversants les périlleuses voyes des folles fiances du monde, tableau en prose et en vers des abus et des fourberies dont les hommes se rendent coupables. Exhortacion où par les premières lettres des lignes, trouverez le nom de lacteur de ce présent livre et le lieu de sa nativité. Iehan Boucher Natif de Poictiers [117] , Paris, Antoine Vérard, Masson in 4° 626, Catalogue BM;
- 1485 : Catholicon abbreviatum, the first French-Latin dictionary;
Ce present vocabulaire fut acheve le .iiii. jour de fevrier Mil quatrecens quatrevingtz et cinq pour anthoine verard libraire demourant a l'ymaige saint jehan l'evangeliste. sur le pont nostre dame. ou au palais devant la chapelle ou l'en chante la messe de messeigneurs les presidens.
- 1492 : Lamentations de Matheolus (republication of a very popular misogynist work, notably cited in Le Livre des trois vertusThe Book of the City of Ladiesthumb|400px|right|Picture from The Book of the City of LadiesThe Book of the City of Ladies , or Le Livre de la Cité des Dames, is perhaps Christine de Pizan's most famous literary work, and it is her second work of lengthy prose. Pizan uses the vernacular French language to compose the book, but...
by Christine de Pisan; - 1498 : (?) Bible historiale complétée ( text by Pierre Comestor and Guiart );
- 1500 : Les regnars... Exhortacion où par les premières lettres des lignes, trouverez le nom de lacteur de ce present livre et le lieu de sa nativité, par « Iehan Boucher Natif de Poictiers », BN Rés Yh 7, BM;
- 1502 Le Jardin de plaisance et fleur rhetorique;
External links
- Antoine Vérard's stamp (Image)
