VII. Typographical tricks

Nicolas Grudius. Constitutiones clarissimi atque excellentissimi Ordinis Velleris Aurei. – [S.l., s.n., vers 1559/1561]. In-4. Printed on parchment.

The knightly order of the Golden Fleece, established in Bruges in 1430 by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, was a political instrument and formed an aristocratic elite which never counted more than 60 members during its history.

   This Latin edition of the order’s Statutes, all copies of which were printed on parchment, was published in 1559, without mention of place or printer. These details were clearly not necessary because the limited printrun was not intended for the market but only to members. The epistolary archives held at the Plantin-Moretus Museum suggest that two Antwerp printers, Plantin and Willem Silvius, claimed to have received the order to print these statutes. But an examination of copies does not confirm this: the decorative initials, typography and compositorial practices do not allow attribution of this printing to either of these two firms. Its mysterious origins will probably be found further south in France.

Cultura Fonds: NC 1058