met with, in all the cities of Italy, to be seized and burnt, whilst they were celebrating the feast of Tabernacles in September of this year; when, according to the calculation of the Inquisition, 12,000 volumes of the Talmud were committed to the flames by order of Julius's successor, Paul IV. Leusdeni Philolog.
1554. George Willer, whom some improperly call Viller, and others Walter, a bookseller at Augsburg, who kept a large shop, and frequented the Frankfort fairs, first fell upon the plan of causing to be printed every fair a catalogue of all the new books, in which the size, and printers' names were marked. Willer's catalogues were printed till the year 1592, by Nicol Bassæus, a printer at Frankfort. Other booksellers, however, must have soon published catalogues of the like kind, though that of Willer continued a long time to the principal. In all those catalogues, which are in quarto, and not paged, the following order is observed. The Latin books occupy the first place, beginning with the protestant, theological works, perhaps, because Willer was a Lutheran; then come the catholics; and after these books of jurisprudence, medicine, philosophy, poetry, and music. The second place is assigned to German books, which are arranged in the same manner.[1]
1554, May. Greenwich. A small tract published during the reign of queen Mary, purports to have have been printed here: it is entitled, A faythfull Admonycion of a certen trewe pastor and prophete sent unto the Germanes, &c. now translated into Inglyssh, &c. 12º. At the end, on signature K. iii. we read, Imprynted at Grenewych by Conrade Freeman, in the month of May 1554. But the types, spelling, &c. all prove the volume to have been executed in Switzerland or the Low Countries. A copy of it may be seen in the Bodleian library.—Dr. Cotton.
1554, July 25. Queen Mary was married to Philip of Spain.[2] In the grand marriage procession, which took place in the city of London, they passed the conduit in Gracechurch-street, which was finely painted, and on which were represented the nine worthies, of which king Henry VIII. was one. He was painted "in harness," having in one hand a sword, and in the other a book, on which was written Verbum Dei (the word of God,) which he was delivering to his son Edward. This representation occasioned the painter considerable trouble, for the bishop of Winchester sent for him, and calling him villain and traitor, angrily told him, that he had summoned him by order of her majesty, and that he should rather have put the book into the queen's hand, for she had reformed the church and religion, with other things, according to the pure and sincere word of God. After making an apology, the painter was ordered to deface the book and its title, and then dismissed. This order the painter executed so completely, that Fox remarks, "that fearing lest he should leave some part of the book, or Verbum Dei in king Henry's hand, he wiped away a piece of his fingers withall."
1554. Christian Wechel, a celebrated printer at Paris, and the father of a family of printers, is said to have become professionally known about the year 1522. Between that period and 1554, he executed numerous impressions, in the French, Latin, and Greek, and some also in the Hebrew language. He first practised the art under the distinction of the Scutum Basiliense, or arms of Basil, which was perhaps his native city; and afterwards sub Pegaso, which became the hereditary device of the family.
Each book of Wechel's Grammatica Græca of Gaza, anni 1629, is printed separately, with a distinct title. At the end of the fourth book, a specimen is given of the Greek and Latin text in double columns in the same page, after the plan of Conrad Gesner; which method, as Maittaire observes, was not yet common in French impressions. Christian Wechel gave to the public many of the Opuscula of Galen, as well in the original Greek as in different Latin versions. He was remarkable for publishing select parts of Greek authors of every description, which he thought promoted the sale. He was esteemed by Erasmus, some of whose works he first introduced to the public. Gesner inscribed to him the thirteenth book of his Pandects, Tiguri, 1548. He deems him worthy of being numbered among the most renowned typographers of his age. Wechel is also said to have been brought into trouble in 1534, for having sold a treatise of Erasmus, De eso interdicto carnium, which had been censured by the divines of Paris. He exercised however his profession at Paris apparently with success, till the year 1554, as we have said: and then died, leaving his establishment to Andrew his son.
1554. In the Oppenheimer library is a book executed at Adrianople, a fine city of European Turkey, executed by the Jews. The publication of the scriptures either in the original languages, or in more modern versions, was not confined to those states in which Christianity was the acknowledged religion of the land, since we find the Jews who had been driven by persecution to take refuge under infidel governments, establishing printing presses in various places, particularly at Constantinople and Thessalonica. In 1522, Samuel ben David Nachmias, a cele-
- ↑ In Beckermann's History of Inventions, vol. iii. pp. 125–135, is an interesting account relative to book catalogues.
- ↑ In 1555, John Wayland printed The account of the arrival, and landyng, and most noble marryage of the moste illustre prynce Philppe, prynce of Spaine, to the most excellent princes Mary quene of England, solemnisated in the citie of Winchester; and how he was recyeued and installed at Windsore, and of his triumphyng entries in the noble citie of London, &c. The following is a description of the prince from the above work:—"Of visage he is well favoured, with a broad forehead, and grey iyes, streight nosed, and manly countenance. From the forehead to the point of hys chynne, his face groweth small, his pace is princely, and gate so streight and upright, as he loseth no inch of his highte, with a yeallowe berde; arme, legge, and every other limme to the same, as nature cannot worke a more parfite paterne; and as I have learned, of the age of xxviii years, whose majesty I judge to be of a stoute stomake, pregnant witted, and of most jentel nature."
