Culture
Words by Michel Wlassikoff
The type specimens of Guillaume Le Bé (1524–1598)
Guillaume Le Bé I, apprenticed to Robert Estienne and later working with Claude Garamont, established his own foundry in 1552, acquiring many of Garamont's punches and dies, and became renowned for his Oriental typefaces, particularly Hebraic types used globally until the 18th century.
Guillaume Le Bé I, apprenticed to Robert Estienne and later working with Claude Garamont, established his own foundry in 1552, acquiring many of Garamont's punches and dies, and became renowned for his Oriental typefaces, particularly Hebraic types used globally until the 18th century.
Apprenticed to Robert Estienne in 1539-1540, Guillaume Le Bé I learned engraving and type foundry. He left Paris for Venice and Rome, from 1545 to 1550. Back in Paris, he worked with Claude Garamont, then set up his own foundry in 1552. He acquired a large number of Claude Garamont's punches and dies after the latter's death in 1561. An inventory of his foundry was drawn up in 1598, listing all the great names in 16th-century type engraving in Paris, from Augereau to Granjon, Garamond to Haultin. This important testimony is accompanied by an "Album", including type specimens and handwritten annotations in his own hand, and a "Memorandum" concerning the history of typography, based on sources supplied to his son Guillaume II and transcribed by the latter around 1643. Bé I established himself as one of the main perpetuators of Estienne's and Garamond's work. In particular, he supplied the large Plantin printing works in Antwerp. Although he also designed excellent Roman typefaces, he is best known for his Oriental types, including a range of Hebraic typefaces that were used worldwide until the 18th century.
