Jean Picard was a French bookbinder, active in the 1540s. Picard, who favoured geometric designs, is notable for having bound many books for the bibliophile Jean Grolier. While the Grolier bindings have long been sought after, the identities of the binders who made them were forgotten until twentieth-century scholarship threw light on Picard and other binders. The

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

's bindings catalogue attributes a number of bindings to Picard: they are almost all on books bound for Grolier around 1540 in Paris. (binding dated circa 1540 on book published "In aedibus Aldi et Andreae Asulani": Venice, 1523) The

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

has a larger collection. Picard may also have worked at the French royal

bindery Bindery refers to a studio, workshop or factory where sheets of (usually) paper are fastened together to make books, but also where gold and other decorative elements are added to the exterior of books, where boxes or slipcases for books are made ...

, which was very active under the patronage of

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: People Kings and emperors * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (1708–1765), reigned 1745–1765 * Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor ...

Picard and the Aldine Press

Many of the books which Picard bound for Grolier were "Aldines", the celebrated editions of the classics by the

Aldine Press The Aldine Press was the printing office started by Aldus Manutius in 1494 in Venice, from which were issued the celebrated Aldine editions of the classics (Latin and Greek masterpieces, plus a few more modern works). The first book that was d ...

of Venice. The press had been founded in 1494, and after the death of its founder, Aldus Manutius, in 1515, his family continued to run the business. As well as binding Aldines, Picard appears to have had a more direct connection with the Aldine Press, as a man called Jean Picard managed its Parisian agency in the 1540s, selling books on commission. France was an important market for the classics, although the Aldine Press faced competition there from pirated editions. Not all sources agree that the bookseller can be assumed to be the same person as the bookbinder, although the possibility that he was the same person is obvious. Picard's bookshop was identified by the sign of the

dolphin and anchor ''Festina lente'' () or ''speûde bradéōs'' (, ) is a classical adage A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and ...

, the emblem of the Aldine Press. The premises were in the Rue Saint-Jacques, a street in the

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (, ) is an urban university campus in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros, t ...

, which was a centre of the book trade.''The Book Trade in the Italian Renaissance''. Angela Nuovo In 1547 he encountered financial problems and fled his creditors. The Aldine Press then appointed a printer called Le Riche as its new agent. Le Riche was replaced after a couple of years by the bookbinder Gomar Estienne, who had been working at the royal bindery, the so-called ''Atelier de Fontainebleau''. Estienne appears to have acquired some of the bookbinding tools used by Picard.

Picard designs

Picard is associated with a decorative style for which the French term is ''entrelacs géométriques''. This style, which was favoured by Grolier, has interlaced designs which can be described as

strapwork In the history of art and design, strapwork is the use of stylised representations in ornament of ribbon-like forms. These may loosely imitate leather straps, parchment or metal cut into elaborate shapes, with piercings, and often interwoven in ...

or interlaced ribbons. He also worked in other styles.

References

External links

British Library
- Search on "Jean Picard" for images and catalogue entries on over 15 bindings by Picard. {{DEFAULTSORT:Picard, Jean Bookbinders French booksellers 16th-century French people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown