Heythrop Library

The past few months I have been cataloguing rare books and familiarising myself with copy-specific MARC fields, such as 561 and 562. I have been enjoying discovering intricate details that reveal more about a book’s provenance.

I recently catalogued a book from 1521 about the work of St. Gregory the Great that really caught my interest. When cataloguing it is traditional to start from the title page to gather information including the title, location, publisher, and publication year. I was immediately drawn to the beautiful woodcut engravings and highly elaborate printer’s device featured on this book’s title page.

 (See BQ6002 1521 at https://hey.koha.openfifth.net/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=98399)

Author	Gregory I, Pope, approximately 540-604.
Title	Diui Gregorij Magni ecclesie doctoris precipui Opera : subiectaq coprehendentia Liber moralium in beatum Job cu summarijs nuperrime adiectis, Liber pastoralis cure, Dialogus de vita et miraculis patru italicorum et de eternitate animaru, Expositio super Cantica canticoru, Homilie XXII super Ezechielem pphetam, Liber XL homil de diuersis lectioib Euage, Expositio in septem psalmos penitentiales, Liber epistolaru qui registru intitulatur. Coplectitur item qsq liber suu inuetariu / Gregorij Magni.
Imprint	Parrhisijs : Francois Regnault, 1521.
Descript.	450 unnumbered leaves ; 39 cm (folio)

I first focused on the detail of the printer’s device or printer’s mark. Some initial research told me that François Regnault was a printer/publisher that was active in Paris in the Sixteenth Century. He started as an independent printer in 1500 and bought his own premises in 1522. Our book was published in 1521, right before Regnault’s elephant motif became well established after 1522. However, the symbol was used between 1512 and 1551. Regnault’s sons continued on his business after his death in 1540.

According to Vassar College Library, Regnault was primarly involved with printing liturgical documents for the Church in England, including Bibles, Books of Hours, and papal records. He also printed a great number of historical and classical texts. 

The hand-written inscription at the top of the title-page contained potential ownership history. Translated into English, the message reads “John Ber : In memory of Richard Day who died on August 6 ; may God grant him eternal rest, and his wife who also died on January 1.” I couldn’t find any information about John Ber but after going down the internet rabbit hole, found Richard Day, an English printer and clergyman that lived between 1552 and 1607.

This Richard Day is unlikely to be the one in the inscription as the dates don’t line up. As stated in Wikipedia on 13 April 1606, the Stationers’ Company granted 7 shillings to “Richard dayes wydowe for her relief.” According to the inscription, Richard Day’s wife died before he did, though this was still unclear to me as John Ber didn’t give specific years.

I described the inscription in the book’s catalogue record as a 562 copy identification note instead of a 561 ownership note. I was still unsure of the book’s former owner in regards to the inscription. I instead included an ownership note for St. George’s Church, Worcester as their bookplate was clearly visible on the title page (see photo of title page at the top of the article).

Another interesting feature of the book is that it has a clearly visible watermark. I looked more closely at the symbol by holding up the relevant page and shining a light through the back of it. A watermark was used to identify the paper manufacturer for printed books made with laid paper.

Our watermark was clearly a Jester’s head and shoulder, with six bells. The Jester’s head and shoulders, with fool’s cap and bells was a very popular watermark in Europe during the 16^th and 17^th centuries. It became particularly associated with English print manufacture.

I searched the Gravell Watermark Archive for our Jester symbol but could only find similar results from 17th Century England.

That our Jester watermark came from 16th Century France is evidence of the symbol’s popularity throughout the whole of Europe, not only England. But since I couldn’t find an exact record of the watermark, I did not include a description in the copy-specific notes of the catalogue record.

Below is the final result of my copy-specific cataloguing notes. The stamp reading “AMDG S. Georgii vigor” that I found on the back cover pastedown translates to “to the glory of God, Saint George’s strength” and was likely added by St. George’s, Worcester.

Provenance	HY copy contains bookplate of Saint George’s Worcester Sansome Place. UkLoHY
Note	HY copy contains stamp “AMDG S. Georgii vigor” on back cover pastedown. UkLoHY
	HY copy contains inscription “Johannis Ber : Dono Richardi Daye qui obisit 6to Aug : cuius aid requie eterna det deus ons, et bxoris euis of etiam obisit 1o Januarij” on title page. UkLoHY

It is unusual that I spend this much time researching a book but I am new to rare books cataloguing. I wanted to make sure I was exploring all the provenance possibilities and multiple lines of enquiry.

AL