In 1541, Olivier Mallard, who had acquired all of Tory's typographic paraphernalia, published a book of Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, octavo, with the borders 'à la moderne' to which I referred on page 25. It is copied doubtless from the edition put forth by Tory about 1530, which I have never been fortunate enough to see. Of the edition of 1541, I have seen one copy on vellum, and another on paper. It consists of 23 octavo sheets (signatures A to Y), and has on the title-page: 'Horæ in laudem beatissim. Virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum.' (Pot Cassé) 'Parisiis, apud Oliverium Mallardum, sub signo Vasis effracti.—1541.'
In the following year Mallard published another edition of the Hours of the Virgin, in quarto, like the one issued by Tory in 1531. I shall speak of it in detail in its place.[158] Here I will simply say that the book was finished in the month of August, 1542.
On the twenty-second of the same month, Mallard renewed the lease of his quarters in the Halle aux Blés de Beauce, which lease had been given nine years earlier to Tory's widow and Martin Féret, at a rental of 122 livres 10 sous, tournois. The rental was increased for Mallard, who had to pay 130 livres, plus 4 écus d'or au soleil 'for the time of the said leasing.'[159] Olivier Mallard did not long enjoy his lease, for he died that same year. His last printing, according to La Caille, who writes the name Maillard,[160] was a translation of the Dialogues of Plato, by Simon de Valembert, published in 1542. I have been unable to find this book in Paris, but I have seen another, probably of later date, at the bookshop of M. Techener; it is entitled: 'Le livre de Ange Bologninus, de la curation des ulceres exterieurs, traduit de latin en francoys.—Paris, au Pot Cassé, en limprimerie de Olivier Mallard, libraire et imprimeur du roy. 1542.' It is an octavo of four signatures. As the license is dated December 1, this little book is probably the last one printed by Mallard, as he was succeeded in the following year, as king's printer for French works, by Denis Janot (one of the most skilful printers in Paris), as is set forth in the letters patent, which will be found in Appendix VII. Appendix VIII contains a complete list of the king's printers who lived in Paris.
Mallard's typographical apparatus seems to have been acquired by Jean Kerver, son of the first Thielman Kerver, living on rue Saint-Jacques,[161] at the sign of the Gril ('sub signo Cratis'), who printed several editions of the Hours in octavo, with the borders 'à la moderne' used by Mallard in 1541. The sign of the Pot Cassé, which Kerver did not need, was adopted by a bookseller of Chartres, named Richard Cotereau, who seems also to have bought some of Tory's woodcuts representing that mark. In fact I have seen one, which I have never seen on any of Tory's books, in a book printed in Paris for Cotereau by Nicolas Chrestien; it is: 'Le Coustumier de la baronnye, chastellenie, terre et seigneurie de Chasteauneuf en Tymerays'; octavo, 1557. The title-page is an engraving of the Pot Cassé, with the design reversed,[162] like that of the title of 'Champ fleury,' but signed with the double cross; and beneath are the words: 'Pour Richard Cotereau, libraire, demeurant à Chartres, en la grande rue, à l'enseigne du Pot Cassé.'
Philippe Cottereau, evidently the son of Richard, and king's printer at Blois, used the same mark. I have seen it on a small book printed by him in 1603: 'Reglement pour l'instruction des proces qui se conduiront au bailliage et siege presidial de Bloys.' Two octavo sheets.
It would seem, however, that the sign of the Pot Cassé, which remained for some time longer on the Halle de Beauce, also remained on the house originally occupied by Tory, on rue Saint-Jacques, for we find a printer named Michel de la Guierche living at that sign. See, among other works, 'M. T. Ciceronis ad M. Brutum Orat.—Paris, apud Mich. de la Guierche, sub signo Vasis effracti, in vico Jacobeo.' Quarto, without date, but with documents of 1542 and 1543.[163] But the Pot Cassé itself does not figure in his books.
Tory's widow seems to have retained his engraving establishment for a considerable further time. Although engrossed by her numerous undertakings, she found time nevertheless to have some of her husband's books reprinted, and among others the 'Sommaire de Chroniques d'Egnasius,' in 1541, 1543, 1544, for the bookseller Charles L'Angelier, and 'Champ fleury,' in 1549, for the bookseller Gualtherot. I say that she had these books reprinted, but I ought rather to say, perhaps, that she allowed them to be reprinted, for there is nothing to suggest her coöperation in the work. Literary property did not then exist.
In the new edition of 'Champ fleury,' which by the way no longer bears that graceful title, the Pot Cassé does not even appear, although the explanation of the mark is allowed to remain. It was doubtless a bookseller's speculation.[164] However that may be, this reprint forms an octavo volume of 160 leaves (the folio has 80), in addition to the preliminary matter, of which there are 16 leaves (8 in the folio); it is entitled: 'L'Art et Science de la vraye proportion des Lettres Attiques, ou Antiques, autrement dictes Romaines, selon le corps et visaige humain, avec l'instruction et maniere de faire chiffres et lettres pour bagues d'or, pour tapisserie, vitres et painctures. Item de treize diverses sortes et façons de lettres; d'avantage la maniere d'ordonner la langue françoise par certaine regle de parler elegamment en bon et plus sain langage françois que par cy-devant, avec figures à ce convenantes, et autres choses dignes de memoire, comme on pourra veoir par la table, le tout inventé par maistre Geoffroy Tory de Bourges.'
I have copied this long title at full length only to give myself an opportunity to call attention to the progress that had been made by French typography since the day when Geofroy Tory published his first edition, and, indeed, as a result of that same publication. We find here the accents, the apostrophe and the cedilla, upon the absence of which the author had commented in 1529. So that we may say that the whole grammatical portion of his book had become useless as a direct result of the first edition of that book. This is a fact to which the editors of the second edition paid no heed, as they allowed Tory's observations to stand as they were written, while introducing into their text the novel signs I have just mentioned. For instance, they repeat that c has two sounds, one hard, as in 'coquin,' etc., the other soft, as in 'françois,' etc. But by adding the cedilla in the last word they destroy the sense of the criticism made by Tory in 1529.[165]
It does not appear by whom the book was printed; we learn only on the last leaf that it was finished August 26, 1549, 'pour Vivant Gualtherot, libraire juré en l'Université de Paris, en la rue Saint-Jacques, à l'enseigne de Saint Martin.'