The tale of the bear that traveled through time and space

Once upon a time, in around 1622, a printer was in need of an ornament. He wanted something striking and useful. Something he could use in a few different ways: in a chapter header or as a tailpiece. It also had to be interesting, perhaps interesting enough to entertaining to enhance the text his was printing.

In those days,  the printer – publisher needed every advantage to attract readers in order to make a profit on his printing venture (nothing has changed!).

What inspired him to create a bear? Bears do represent courage, strength and leadership.

Could be that a circus came to visit Coloniae Agrippinae, or Koln as it is now better known, nevertheless a bear was created in the shop of Johannes Gymnici in 1622, and with it two accompanying sides to form a chapter header. He printed in Alexandri Alensis Angli, Doct. Irrefragabilis Ordinis Minorvm, Vniversae theologiae svmma, in qvatvor partes ab ipsomet avthore distribvta (NLA RBf 230 A374)

Bear with short tongued snakes

Bear added to form larger tailpiece

The chapter header can be enlarged between the two dogs to fit in the bear woodblock.

The bear poking his tongue out at the men and dogs on either side of him.

This bear was not content to remain in one town and in that same year he was seen in Amsterdam, this time with Michel Colin.

The Bear is in Amsterdam

Companion Chapter header

The bear was found in Description des Indes occidentales, qu’on appelle sujourdhuy le Novveau monde / par Antoine de Herrera… Translatee d’espagnol en francois
(NLA RBq JAF 102)

In 1628, the bear found its way to the city of Arras and stayed with the De Riviere brothers.

In a chapter header – Note the eyes and ears are slightly different.

This chapter header was printed in Ioannis Cassiani opera omnia / cvm commentariis D. Alardi Gazaei (NLA RBf CLI 3865)

His cousin or perhaps younger brother, although similar, was found in Lyon in 1659 with Barbier and Girin.

Rounded figures, less sharp

Softer looking bear

Found in R.D.P.F. Heiron. Baptistae de Lanvza… Homiliae qvadragesimales: ex Hispanico idiomate in Latinvm… translated (NLA RBf CLi 4053)

By 1687, the bear was getting on, and made its way to London to visit with Thomas Braddyll.

Glossarium Archaiologicum (SLSA)

The last time I saw the bear was in 1700 in Antwerp perhaps returning to rest with George Gallet and the Huguetan Brothers.

You can see the nail marks on next to each snake, where the design was attached to a wood block. Is this a copy of a copy? Found in Dionysii Petavii aurelianensis, e Societate Jesu, opus de theologicis dogmatibus, auctius in Hac nova editione… Theophili Alethini (NLA RBf 230 P477)

Some of the differences are slight, one bear is obviously completely different. Who was the first to make him? Was it Gymnici or was is Colin, or did they both get copies from some printer as yet unknown to me? Whose design is it? Questions, questions, questions. It is amazing that this bear has travelled so far and for so long relatively unchanged.

If you would like to take a closer view, please visit my Flickr album: tailpiece comparison. If anyone has a bear from another printer and another time, please let me know.

happy reading

Introductions at Senate House Library

Today is Monday and I will not be shy.  Roll out of bed, go downstairs for breakfast and sit with Ollie (NZ) and an American woman  (whose name I have forgotten) who knew London like the back of her hand.  Ollie talks a lot. But it makes breakfast fun. I spot Donato, ask about his Japanese exam, take an extra coffee back to my room and await the appointed time.

There is the usual registration, and I see Nicole Gilroy from the Bodleian. She is taking the European Bookbinding course. She does remember me. After Dr Karen Attard’s riveting talk on what we could expect to see during our course, we are sent off to our various rooms.

Dr Elizabeth Savage, is a delightful and enthusiastic educator. But I am not sure this course is quite what I expected, hoped for or needed. It is very cerebral; I am having to think, as opposed to taking down notes and being shown slides of items on a screen (as in 5 years ago).

A mold with type metal

one slide

another slide

We begin with the usual introductions, and it really seems like a course in art history.  We are a pretty diverse group: librarians, collectors, bookseller, curator, art historian, student. We rapidly cover the history of printing techniques, and we enjoy some discussion. Wish I had taken the time to do more of the prelim reading…..

The usual tea-time, but in the afternoon we get our hands on blocks. I am here to study what printers’ blocks and plates can tell us in and of themselves, as opposed to what the printed impression might tell us. There is a lot of discussion about nomenclature and inter disciplinary vocab that affects the cataloguing of these items. Are they realia I wonder? Wish I knew cataloguing…..

We explore the differences in the lines that each method, relief and intaglio produce. I learn a cool new word: flong.

sorry it’s blurry; a flong is a papier mache-like sheet that gets impressed onto the set-up plate. Type metal will be poured into this, duplicating the plate…

We have 2 sessions and then the hands-on. Here we are asked to describe to the others what techniques may have been used to create the blocks.

Anna discovering that there was type “hiding” within  the block. These were numbers, and the block was a generic pattern for a series. As the series changed, you just changed the little numbers. This was the block for an “assignat”, a type of currency.

The dark blocks are made from very hard boxwood; they look nearly petrified. The Queen block is double sided. They are cut and shaped in order to be able to join with others on the form.

Handling these items is amazing. I’ve never seen blocks quite like these. I am sure to my printer friends back in Canberra, these are not so surprising, but as printing is not my particular area of interest, they are fascinating.

This next set were of particular interest to me:

Writing

Its plate? or is it?

Original title page in book

The bound title page is date 1632, but it is more likely that the plate was produced in the 1930s at the request of the collector; where is the original plate? And we can tell this by the material used and the nails that hold the plate on the block. I used to wonder what kind of type was used for the lettering, but it is etched in. And of course, the engraver doesn’t necessarily prepare the writing.

Time was running short and we were left with the perplexing questions:

1. What can the printing surfaces reveal that is not evident on the impression on paper?
2. Can a vocabulary common to bibliographers, art historians and book historical research ever be generated and how would this change the face of cataloguing?

There was a welcome reception in the Chancellor’s Hall and a few of us left for dinner shortly afterwards.

I think we are an interesting group, and being thrown into a pot like this can either be scary or refreshing.

see you tomorrow.