10. The Coronation of the Virgin.
11. The Penance of David. He is saying to the Father Eternal these words, which are written in a scroll: 'I who have sinned.'[392]
12. The Last Judgement.[393]
13. Notre-Dame de Lorette.
As I have said heretofore (supra, p. 149), the first twelve of these are improved copies of other, unsigned engravings, belonging to Thielman Kerver I, which appear in many books published by him or by his widow, Iolande Bonhomme, at least as early as 1522,[394] and which we find again in the Paris missal published by their son Jacques in 1559.
M. Brunet[395] suggests a very plausible theory, to the effect that the engravings signed L. R. were executed by Louis Royer, who was in fact the first to use them, in a book of Hours entitled: 'Horæ beatæ Mariæ ad usum Rom.'; duodecimo, gothic type, with the mark of Jean de Brie, and the following words at the foot: 'Parisiis, impressum in vico Jacobi per Claudium Chevallon, impensis Ludovici Royer, librarii Parisiensis, in eodem vico commorante, ad insigne vulgariter dictum la Lymace.'
The book is not dated; but we see, on the one hand, that it was printed by Claude Chevallon, who died in 1542, and, on the other hand, that Louis Royer, at whose expense it was printed, had succeeded Jean de Brie at the sign of the Snail. Now, the latter died about 1522; so that it was between 1522 and 1542 that this book saw the light, and that the engravings with the letters L. R. first appeared.
We know nothing of this Louis Royer, whom Lottin does not mention. Nor do we know any more of Jean de Brie's widow, who seems to have succeeded Louis Royer. And, as if everything in this matter were fated to remain obscure, we find other octavo Hours according to the use of Rome, in French gothic type, undated, but with a calendar from 1568 to 1578, printed with the same woodcuts, and for sale 'at Paris, on Rue Saint Jacques, at the sign of the Snail'; with no other details. In the book we have described we find also:—
1. The Virgin and the Child Jesus (signed with the letters L. R. and the cross).