Untitled - Monoskop

DISPLAY AND ADVERTISEMENT OF PRIVILEGES
obtaining, soon after Verard, a personal or standing privilege from the king.
This incorporates the words 'Cum gratia et priuilegio regis', and was used in
the books to which the privilege applied. But it was not always on the
title-page that he placed it. And a summary of his privilege is almost always
provided at the end of the book.
Early privileges granted by the Parlement of Paris and by the Prevot of
Paris likewise tend often to be advertised at the end of the book with no
mention of them on the title-page (e.g. PA 1507, i; PA 1508, i; PR 1508, i).
The first printer to reproduce the text of a Parlement privilege in full, Berthold
Rembolt (PA 1509, i), placed it prominently on the verso of the title-page but
did not think it necessary to mention it at all on the title-page itself. Examples
can be found for a considerable time after this of privileges being well shown
off in the book without any 'Cum priuilegio' formula being displayed on the
title-page (e.g. PA 1511, 2; 1514, 7; 1516, 6).
An extraordinary use of the title-page to advertise a privilege was made on
the other hand by the first French author to obtain Letters Patent from the
royal chancery, Eloi d'Amerval (CH 1508, i). In his Deablerie, the full text
of the grant is printed at the end of the table of contents. But a versified
summary of it, half jocular, half portentous, in the same jog-trot couplets as
the Deablerie itself, fourteen lines of it, appears, on the title-page, immediately
below a woodcut depicting the mouth of hell with devils. The idea of the
versified privilege had been anticipated by an Italian man of letters, Bettin da
Trezzo, in his Letilogia, published in 1
1488 at Milan. It is not inconceivable
that d'Amerval had seen this book. But in France at least that way of
displaying the privilege, and on the title-page, was not imitated afterwards. It
might well have seemed suitable only to a humourist, as d'Amerval evidently
was, and to a humourist certain that the joke would be taken in good part by
the prince who had granted the favour.
No printer gave the complete text of the privilege on the title page. There
are, however, a few instances of very detailed summaries of the terms of the
grant being given here. In the first edition (January 1515, n.s.) of L'hystoire du
sainct greeal we see printed immediately below the mark of Michel Le Noir,
who printed it, and published it with Jean Petit and Galliot Du Pre:
Avec le privilege du roy nostre sirejusques a trois ans lequel s'ensuyt. Le roy nostre sire
a donne et ottroye lettres de grace et privilege a Galiot Du Pre marchant libraire
demourant a Paris de faire imprimer le livre du sainct greaal. Et deffend ledict seigneur
a tous marchans libraires et aultre quelconques du royaulme de France qu'ilz ne
impriment ne facent imprimer ledict livre jusques a troys ans apres ensuyvans finis et
acomplis en cas de debat lesdictes inhibitions et deffences tenans nonobstant autres
lettres subreptices et a ce contraires.
Donne a Paris le xxviij jour de Janvier
Mil cinq cens et quatorze.
Par le roy / et syne Bucelly (CH 1515, i)
1 See
above, p. 4.
142