Winn's Book Reveals Great`Author-Donor' of France
By John LeMay
Though he called himself a "humble bookseller," scholars know Renaissance publisher Anthoine Vérard as "the father of the French illustrated book" and "one of the first important figures in French publishing."
"Vérard was renowned for the quality of his books," said Mary Beth Winn, professor of French studies at the University and author of a new book on Vérard, "He presented deluxe parchment copies of his books to royalty and sold a great many paper copies to wealthy and middle class customers, to clerics and to students."
Winn's book, Anthoine Vérard, Parisian Publisher, 1485-1512: Prologues, Poems, and Presentations, is the product of fifteen years of research that culminated in a year-long fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1996-97. It has been published in a fine hardcover edition by Librairie Droz, a Swiss publisher, as part of the distinguished series Traveux d'Humanisme et Renaissance.
Vérard, a contemporary of the English publisher William Caxton, produced more than 280 editions. Winn described Vérard as "a good businessman" who responded to the demands of the marketplace and was successful at winning patrons. He published editions of vernacular works, including literary landmarks like Boccaccio's Decameron and enduring romances such as Lancelot and Tristan. He also published collections of contemporary poetry under elegant titles, such as Le Jardin de Plaisance.
At least half of Vérard's output consisted of "works of piety," devotional and religious texts such as Bibles and the lives of saints. Many of Vérard's devotional texts were "Books of Hours," a genre that Winn describes in her book as "the best seller of the new printing industry." These books prescribed the appropriate prayers to be said at each hour of the day. Winn commented that "if anyone of that period were going to buy a book, the first would be a devotional text." Though Books of Hours were a standardized Latin text, Vérard included introductory prayers in French verse. His Books of Hours were also noteworthy for their border illustrations.
It is this devotion to illustration that has won Vérard his greatest fame. Winn's introduction states that Vérard combined the Medieval art of the illuminated manuscript with the contemporary technology of printing. Winn said that although Vérard strove for accuracy in his texts, he was "more artist than scholar." Whether or not he actually designed woodcuts is unclear, but it is clear that he paid close attention to design and commissioned excellent artists to produce the woodcuts that graced his paper editions and the paintings that adorned his deluxe editions.
A distinctive aspect of Vérard's career was the way he presented himself publicly. Winn describes Vérard's self-proclaimed role as that of "author-donor." Many of his books contain illustrations that picture him presenting a volume humbly to a royal patron. He wrote prologues in which he characterized himself as "auctor,"-roughly, "author," or at least, "creator" of the book-although his role in our terms is closer to that of publisher.
There is no truly equivalent role in publishing today, since Vérard was involved in every stage of his books' production, sale and distribution.
In addition to owning three bookshops, Winn writes, Vérard "selected works to be printed, and had them translated when necessary. He negotiated with authors, and occasionally without their approval unscrupulously combined texts for a single volume; he edited...provided illustrations...employed a host of printers, proof-readers, editors, copyists, writers and artists, as well as merchants and clerks. He commissioned publications and financed them, personalized deluxe copies and delivered them."
In this "protean" role, Winn's book declares, "Vérard dominated French publishing from 1485 to 1512."
Winn, a faculty member since 1974, said "The study of Vérard provides insights into the early history of book publishing as well as into the continuing concerns of text transmission, readership, and literacy." Winn is currently preparing a bibliography of Vérard's editions for Librairie Droz, and is pursuing research - funded by NEH and FRAP - on French Books of Hours ca. 1480-1530