Untitled - Monoskop

OWNERSHIP, ENFORCEMENT, EFFICACY
obtain one. Thus, in 1547, Etienne Groulleau undertook to obtain a privilege
at his own expense ('lequel privillege icellui Groulleau sera tenu obtenir a ses
despens de la chancellerie') for L'Epithome de la vraye astrologie et de la reprovee of
David Finarensis, a licenciate in medicine, of Orleans. The privilege was, on
the other hand, to be wholly for Groulleau's benefit. He promised the author
100 unbound copies of the book, as well as paying for the printing entirely, but
the author under the terms of the contract was not to dispose of any of these
complimentary copies until the expiry of Groulleau's privilege. 1 Where the
publisher was the owner of the privilege he might sell it to another publisher.
Michel Fezandat made over to Oudin Petit a
Thus on 22 February 1546
privilege which he and Jacques Kerver had obtained from the chancery on 6
January 1546: the transfer, for which Oudin paid the sum expended by
Fezandat on getting the privilege, was made subject to the approval of the
authority which had conferred the privilege. 2 In November 1559, Nicole
Bacquenois, 'imprimeur jure en 1'universite de Reims', sold his six-year royal
privilege (obtained by him on 28 July 1558) for two legal works by Claude
Lyenard, advocate at Reims, to Sebastien Nivelle of Paris for fifteen limes
tournois. The author was present, acting for Nivelle, and paid the money on his
behalf. 3
Bacquenois had already published a first edition of the works (Reims,
1558, 8 BN F. 39244), but the privilege was valid until 1564.
Another possibility was for the publisher who held the privilege to allow
some other publisher to bring out the book under licence from him. Thus Jean
Varice of Angers caused to be printed the Ordonnances royaulx (1539, 8),
'auquel Galiot du Pre, Jean Andre et Yolande Bonhomme ont permis les
4
faire imprimer selon leurs Privileges'. A further variation was practised by
Jean Andre of Paris. On 9 January 1540 he obtained from the Parlement of
Paris a six-month privilege for the recent royal edict (published in the
Parlement on 5 January 1540) on the reformation of royal offices, and within
four days he published his edition, dated 13 January. But on 30 January he
gave a procuration allowing Nicolas Petit, bookseller and printer of Lyon, to
reprint his edition, according to the privilege obtained by him on 9 January, 'a
la charge de tenir un loyal compte des gains'. 5 Andre did not relinquish the
privilege, but he refrained from reprinting the edict in question himself until
25 February 1541. It seems therefore that Andre hired out his privilege to
Nicolas Petit for use in the Lyon area on some sort of profit-sharing basis.
To what extent, if at all, had such practices been growing up during the
period up to 1526?
1
Parent, Les metiers du livre, p. 297, citing M.C. vm 196, 22.8.47.
2
Ibid. p. 121, n. i, citing M.C. LXXIII 7, 22.2.46.
3 H. Jadart, Les dibuts de I'imprimerie a Reims 7550-7650 (1893), pp. 378, Documents inedits v.
4 E. Pasquier and V. Dauphin, Imprimeurs et libraires de I'Anjou (Angers, 1932), p. 215. For the
privileges in the Ordonnances held by these three Paris publishers, see Ph. Renouard, Imprimeurs et
libraires parisiens du xvi' siecle, i (1964), p. 49.
5 Renouard, Imprimeurs et libraires, i, p. 65, no. 136, and p. 67, no. 143.
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