Details
TORY, Geoffroy (1480-1533). Champ Fleury. Paris: for the author and Gilles Gourmont, 28 April 1529.
2° (231 x 164mm). 88 leaves. Roman and Greek letter. 116 woodcuts, 13 alphabets (Hebrew, Greek, lettres fantastiques, etc.), and 10 ciphers, Tory's device (pot cassé, Bernard no.4) on title within woodcut border, larger versions of the device (Bernard nos. 5 and 6) on I1v and O8v, small woodcut of the French royal arms on title verso, one large initial L decorated with writing tools, small foliate initials. Red crushed morocco, triple gilt fillet around sides, spine gilt in compartments, gilt turn-ins, gilt edges, by M. Godillot. Provenance: early 19th-century Hungarian library stamp on a1v.
FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, of "the most famous single work in the early history of French typography" (Mortimer). As Tory states in his introduction, the idea of the Champ Fleury first came to him in 1523, inspired partly by an Attic letter which he had recently made for his friend, Jean Grolier. Tory's earlier travels in France and Italy, visiting the Coliseum, and seeing many ancient monuments, provided further inspiration for his ideas on letter-forms. The work is divided into three parts: the first is concerned with the French language, the second with the origin of roman letters, and the third with the construction of letters. The woodcuts in the second section demonstrate proportions of letters based on the human form, and Bernard suggests they may be attributed to Jean Perréal, whom Tory credits with designs elsewhere. In the third section Tory provides a detailed account of and practical advice on the design and execution of letter-cutting. Published six years after its conception, Tory had already procured a privilege for the Champ Fleury in 1526; the privilege was printed in a Tory Books of Hours in 1527, and appears here as well.
In addition to the many woodcuts illustrating letters are two allegorical scenes by Tory which he signed with the Lorraine cross, one of Le Hercules françois (dated 1526), and one in two parts of Le triumphe d'Apollo. Mortimer, Harvard French, 524; Adams T-837; Bernard Tory 12-27, 81-84, 189-196; Berlin Kat. 5084; Cicognara 362.
2° (231 x 164mm). 88 leaves. Roman and Greek letter. 116 woodcuts, 13 alphabets (Hebrew, Greek, lettres fantastiques, etc.), and 10 ciphers, Tory's device (pot cassé, Bernard no.4) on title within woodcut border, larger versions of the device (Bernard nos. 5 and 6) on I1v and O8v, small woodcut of the French royal arms on title verso, one large initial L decorated with writing tools, small foliate initials. Red crushed morocco, triple gilt fillet around sides, spine gilt in compartments, gilt turn-ins, gilt edges, by M. Godillot. Provenance: early 19th-century Hungarian library stamp on a1v.
FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, of "the most famous single work in the early history of French typography" (Mortimer). As Tory states in his introduction, the idea of the Champ Fleury first came to him in 1523, inspired partly by an Attic letter which he had recently made for his friend, Jean Grolier. Tory's earlier travels in France and Italy, visiting the Coliseum, and seeing many ancient monuments, provided further inspiration for his ideas on letter-forms. The work is divided into three parts: the first is concerned with the French language, the second with the origin of roman letters, and the third with the construction of letters. The woodcuts in the second section demonstrate proportions of letters based on the human form, and Bernard suggests they may be attributed to Jean Perréal, whom Tory credits with designs elsewhere. In the third section Tory provides a detailed account of and practical advice on the design and execution of letter-cutting. Published six years after its conception, Tory had already procured a privilege for the Champ Fleury in 1526; the privilege was printed in a Tory Books of Hours in 1527, and appears here as well.
In addition to the many woodcuts illustrating letters are two allegorical scenes by Tory which he signed with the Lorraine cross, one of Le Hercules françois (dated 1526), and one in two parts of Le triumphe d'Apollo. Mortimer, Harvard French, 524; Adams T-837; Bernard Tory 12-27, 81-84, 189-196; Berlin Kat. 5084; Cicognara 362.