Parisian incunabula

Anatole Claudin (1833-1906) was a historian, bibliophile and paleographer, specializing in the early days of printing in French cities. His masterwork, Histoire de l'imprimerie en France au XVe et au XVIe siècle (History of printing in France in the 15th and 16th centuries), was published in four volumes between 1900 and 1914 — the first three by the Imprimerie Nationale, the last one posthumously by Paul Lacombe — but remained unfinished. An essential reference work, it describes the history of printing in Paris and Lyon in the 15th and 16th centuries, i.e. at the time of its beginnings. The author presents the various workshops that were set up. The historical interest of this document is enhanced by the many illustrations and facsimiles of works, sometimes in color, that accompany it, giving it an almost encyclopedic richness. Volume 1 is devoted to the history of printing in Paris, from the end of the 15th to the beginning of the 16th century, essentially the period of incunabula. It describes the main workshops set up in the capital, based on concrete examples taken from the presses of these printers. For most workshops, Claudin has reconstructed the alphabets of the typefaces they used. He also provides evidence of the page layouts and illustrations of the major works produced by these original presses.

© Michel Wlassikoff in Revue Signes, All rights reserved.