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Jean François LE PETIT (1546 c.-after 1615)  Auf Merkliste setzen

La grande chronique ancienne et moderne, de Hollande, Zelande, VVest-Frise, Utrecht, Frise, Overijssel & Groningen, jusques à la fin de l’An 1600. Receüillee tant des histoires desdites Provinces, que de divers autres Auteurs, par Iean François Le Petit, Greffier de Bethune en Arthois. Tome Premier. A Dordrecht, De l’impression de Iacob Canin, pour l’Auteur, 1601. Tome Second. A Dordrecht, De l’Impression de Guillaume Guillemot, 1601 Small folio (350x250). I vol: [22], 650 (recte 654), 240 (but 242, + 4 pp. repeated), [18] pp. Signature: *8, 3, A5, B-Z8, Aa-Rr8, Ss10, aaa1, Aaa-Ppp8, A8, B1. Engraved title, engraved portrait of the author, 40 engraved portraits (1-32 numbered, 33-40 unnumbered or misnumbered); woodcut initials. Index bound at the end of the volume (sometimes is found bound at the beginning). Several pages misnumbered, several mistakes in the catchwords, some due to lines printed twice or not printed. Pp. 3-4 and 13-14 of the second part present twice. So many misprints actually (see appendix of a full list and a comparison with digitized copies), to fully justify the choice to entrust the second volume to a different printer. From a comparison with the digitized copies it appears that some typos have been corrected in the latter, suggesting that the present copy was among the first printed, before the corrections; this would also correspond to our hypothesis regarding portrait no. 4 (see below). II vol.: [16], 799 (recte 800), [16] pp. Signature: *8, A-Z8, Aa-Zz8, Aaa-Bbb8, Ccc10, Ddd8. Engraved title, 17 unnumbered engravings (16 portraits and an allegorical depiction of the States General). Added 21 (mainly double-page, some folding) engraved plates, on verso of each, in an ancient hand, is given at which page they must be inserted. Some pages misnumbered. Last line of the right column on p. 154 missing, printed on a separate strip of paper and added in place; two variant of the corrections are known, the present one has the word vouloyent correctly spelled: “A la fin de la 2e col. de la page 154 de ce vol. une ligne d’impression a été omise. Cette ligne, contenant les mots: “leur vouloyent promettre asseurance cõtre”y a été ajoutée plus tard, au moyen d’une bande de papier collée sur le feuillet. Dans quelques exemplaires cette bande porte “youloyent” au lieu de “vouloyent”, et d’autres n’ont pas cette correction, probablement parce que la bande c’est détachée” (Bibliotheca Belgica). All but one (last portrait of the 1st vol.) are signed by Christoffel van Sichem. The additional plates depict battles and sieges scenes and are mainly unsigned, with the following exceptions: one has the monogram P. b (Pieter Bast) F, one is signed BDoland sculp. Hen L. Haesteius execud and one is signed P. Bast F. Richly illustrated work, with the portrait of the relevant historical characters, not only Dutch, but also of importance for Dutch history: among others the well known portrait of Elisabeth I, of the count of Leicester and of Alexandre Farnese duc of Parma. All the illustrations are beautifully hand-coloured and, delicately enhanced in gold, adding an extra charm to an already interesting work. The further additions, that will be discussed later, make this copy exceptional. ... Very attractive later gilt-tooled green calf, gilt decorations and title-pieces on spine, a truly fine copy.

ENRICHED COPY; HAND-COLOURED Le Petit’s Grande Chronique First edition; later alleged French editions of this work were never published: “Most bibliographers report, according to an erroneous assertion by Paquot, that the “Grand Chronique” by J.F. Le Petit would have been reprinted twice in France; but Brunet says, rightly, that he does not know these reprints, which, in fact, do not exist.” (Bibl. Belgica, translated). Le Petit was a historian, born in Béthune where, although of noble family, exercised the modest functions of clerk; having abjured Catholicism, he took refuge in Aix-la-Chapelle. The Grande chronique is a history, from the remotest antiquity to the author’s day, of the provinces (Groningen, Frisia, Overijssel, Guelders, Utrecht, Holland, and Zeeland) that in 1579 will form a mutual alliance against Spain giving origin to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. The first volume, from Noah’s time until 1566, is largely based on a previous work by the humanist monk Cornelius Gerardi Aurelius (Cornelis Geritsz., 1460 c. - 1531), Die cronycke van Hollandt, Zeelandt ende Vrieslant, better known as Divisiekroniek, published by Jan Seversz. in 1517; a chronicle of Dutch history from creation to 1517 it became a very influential work. For later years, and especially the second volume, dealing with the period 1556-1560, Le Petit’s work represent an important and reliable historical source, as the events described were often witnessed by the author or based on first-hand reports. “... is very curious for the numerous facts it relates, and which the author took from the original sources.” (Hoefer, translated). We consider of interest to reproduce here part of the exhaustive analysis of the work presented in Bibliotheca Belgica (translated): “... the historical value of the 2nd volume, which covers the period 1556-1600, is incontestable; it contains, alongside extracts from several previous works, many details and particularities that cannot be found elsewhere. W. Te Water (“Hoog adelyk, en adelryk Zeelant”, Middelburg, 1761, 2nd part., p. 59) says on this subject that no historian describes the bloody wars of the years 1572-1574 better than Le Petit, and J.- W. Te Water (“Historie van het verbond en de smeekschriften der nederlandsche edelen”, 2nd ed., Middelburg, 1779, I, p. 70) reports that Le Petit had in his possession a quantity of documents concerning the unrest in the Netherlands, which he used for the 2nd volume of his Chronicle. Moreover, Le Petit, during the years spent in the service of Prince William I of Orange, and in the military service of the United Privinces, had been present in many battles and witnessed a large number of political events. The “Grand Chronique” is judged much less favorably by Paquot (“Mémoires”, II, p. 370). He says in particular: “The author often alters the facts in order to please the States General, and to secure a retreat with them.” G. de Wind (“Bibliotheek der nederlandsche geschidschrijvers”, Middelb. 1835, volume I, pp. 285-286) defends the “Chronique”, declaring that he never noticed that the first of Paquot's accusation was founded, and observes that the second part of this accusation had no reason at all, since at that time Le Petit had already been living in the Netherlands for more than twenty years. Taking into account the quite usual partiality of Paquot, and the ordinary indulgence of G. de Wind, we believe that there is exaggeration in the assertions of both of these writers that, in fact, consider the events of the 16th century from a completely different point of view. About the opinions of Le Petit, we must not forget that he was a convert to Protestantism, and that his chronicle was printed, if not entirely, at least in part, at the expense of the States General. ... Count Achmet d'Héricourt ... says, speaking of the “Grande Chronique”: “It is in this book that we find a very extensive fragment of a pamphlet which appeared in Arras on the troubles of 1578-1579 [1577-1578]. This story was published, and recently a new, more complete edition of the troubles of Arras was given by P. Payen”. This assertion is incorrect. Although it is true that Le Petit (vol. II, pp. 354-57) gave an account of the troubles which took place in Arras during the years 1557 and 1578, we have been unable to discover any connection between the writing of the account by J.-Fr. Le Petit and that of Pontus Payen's "Discours veritable...”. Also interesting for the history of protestantism in some regions of present-day France, where the work is for this reason sought after. The portrait of Theodorus Tertius While all the portraits in this work are copper engravings, the portrait n. 4, depicting Theodorus III, is often the only wood engraving and unsigned (see Bibliotheca Belgica). In this copy it is a copper engraving, signed “C V Sichem” like all the others, as in the (digitized) copy of the Austrian National Library and in one copy in the National Library in The Hague (coincidentally, the one with the added engravings, see further), all of them hand-coloured. The digitized copies and another copy in the KB, with the woodcut version of the portrait, are not coloured. The only reasonable explanations we can imagine is that, after some copies were printed, the copper plate of this portrait was lost or irremediably damaged and replaced by a woodcut, cheapest and quicker to obtain. The “better” copies, with the complete set of copper engravings were preferred when colouring was required. This is of course, just an hypothesis, impossible to be proved. 21 added engravings In the second volume of this copy 21 double-page/folding engravings, not belonging to the work, are added, all depicting scenes of battles and sieges, achievements of Prince Maurice of Nassau between 1590 and 1600. The addition is interesting as well as intriguing as, considering the presence of another copy similarly enriched (see further) cannot be dismissed as the occasional whims of a fastidious collector. The engravings can be easily enough traced back to a work by Orlers, describing the military achievement of Prince Maurice (Den Nassauschen Lauren-Crans), published in Leiden in 1610; the same Orlers published in 1612 the French translation of the work. The main difference concerning the engravings can be observed in the captions, in Dutch in the Dutch edition and absent in the French edition, where the explanation of the plates was inserted in the text instead. The origin of the plates however is not that simple to pinpoint as they were in all appearance produced at an earlier date; Eijffinger (p. 166, footnote 17) mentions a Resolution of the States General in 1601 about a payment of 100 rijksdaalder fulfilled on the 5th of March to [the printers/publishers] Pieter van Dijcke, Hendrik van Haesten and Nicolas de Clerck for the purchase of a “... gedrukte kaart ven de ‘genealogie van het doerluchtige huys van Nassau’ en ‘de exploicten van orloge van Maurits’. ...” (printed map of the 'genealogy of the illustrious house of Nassau' and 'the exploits of war by Maurice’) but, unable to locate a single copy of such map he has no choice but to dismiss the matter. Another author however, Irene Schrier, is able to shed more light on the matter. Enter Nicolas De Clerck. The “caerte’ tot eer en meerdere glorie van het geslacht Nassau en Maurits” The book and print publisher Nicolaes Jansz de Clerck was active in Delft from the late 16th century until his death in 1623 and he played a leading role in the production and distribution of books and prints in the first quarter of the 17th century. He was was also one of the publishers of a monumental print composed of various parts and depicting the family tree of the House of Nassau and a series of Prince Maurice's military victories, achieved between 1590 and 1600. The ambitious project was carried on in the years 1600-1601 in collaboration with the book printer and publisher Henrick van Haestens and the merchant Pieter van der Dycke, both active in Leiden. According to Schriers’ reconstruction (p. 284 and appendix 6) the final work would have been composed most probably by a large central panel depicting the Nassau family tree surrounded by 16 4to engravings, 5 larger engravings (4 of which named “large ovals” by Schrier, on the basis of the characteristic oval surrounding the scene), a large engraving depicting the battle of Nieuwpoort and another large one (or possibly an explanatory text?) which remain unidentified. Schrier calculates that the final size of the map, that was meant as a wall decoration in public buildings, to have been 1950x2074 mm. Two copies only of the family tree survives (in The Hague and Wiesbaden, respectively) while no copies of the complete map are known; the sheer dimension of the work made it nexto to impossible to be preserved whole others than hunghing on a wall, making them prone to be damaged or discarded. As Schrier points out: “Faded, stained and torn or simply considered outdated, the specimens have been removed from the wall and thrown away. The map was too large to be kept as a whole in an album or wallet. The parts of the unassembled copies became scattered over time. However, most of the prints and texts that accompanied the original wall map can be identified. They can be found as loose leaves or as illustrations in books and albums. ...:” (p. 266-267, translated). On December 28, 1600 the States General granted the three publishers a twelve-year privilege. The printing process being an expensive one and the would-be customers quite few, the publishers made the best of it, using the engravings for several purposes as isolated items and as book illustrations; accompanying verses and captions, known in Latin and Dutch, were prepared separately, to be added to the plates quickly according to the requirements and were also printed self-standing, ready to be cut and pasted under the illustrations when necessary. The engravings were used, together with several more, to illustrate the works by Orlers: the family tree in his Genealogie des illustres comtes de Nassau and the others in the Lauren-Crans. One of the “large ovals” and, in Schrier’s words, “a key to the interpretation of the whole, was a print by the engraver Jan Saenredam (1565-1607)”, a potrait of Prince Maurice engraved around 1600. Interestingly, this engraving was not used neither in Orlers or in both copies (KB and our) where the other plates were added, but replaced either by a representation of the Dutch fleet arriving at Philippine (Orlers and our copy) or a different portrait of the prince (KB copy) (see further for more details). It is also interesting to observe the narrative character of the prints that must have accompanied the wall map: although they were not published to spread the news and thus, strictly speaking, are not military news prints, most of them are anyhow closely related to such kind of publications as, like news prints, are presented as a reliable record of the events. The different scenes were accompanied by verses by Hugo De Groot, separately printed and added or not to the engravings, with the exceptions of the “large ovals” where the verses were printed directly in the plate, in the oval surrounding the image. In Orlers such prints are not present, replaced by other with the same image but without the oval and the allegorical corners around it; in both copies where de scene of victories were added (KB and ours) the engraving are the “original” ones with the oval. Hugo De Groot (1583-1645) At the time of De Clerck ambitious project Hugo De Groot was a young man of about eighteen, at the beginning of his legal carrier in The Hague; in 1601 he was already in correspondence with the French historian Jacques-Auguste de Thou (1553-1617), to whom in August wrote a letter accompanying the sending of the Nassau family tree, the engraving of the battle of Breda with his verses and the promise to send the complete book as soon as it would be published. De Groot actually wrote accompanying verses for most of the engravings we are dealing with. In his book Epigrammata Hugo De Groot included verses written for different purposes and on different occasions, such as captions for illustrations, writings to friends and acquaintances, writings in alba amicorum, for births and obituaries, printing of books, celebrations of military successes and so on. A special place among such epigrams deserve the so-called “Maurice-epigrams”, written to celebrate the triumphs of Prince Maurice of Nassau in the war against Spain in the years 1588-1607. As we have already seen, in the engravings of our interest the verses were separately engraved, together with the caption of each illustration, to allow the printer to insert them or not according to the requirement. So, for examples, the captions in Dutch are present in most of the engraving inserted in the Dutch edition of Orler’s Nassauschen Lauren Crans (1610) but not in the French edition (1612), where the explanation of the illustrations is added in French in the text. In the engravings added to the copy of Le Petit in the National Library in The Hague, on the other hand, both De Groot’s verses and captions (both in Dutch) are present. An exception is represented by the three of the so-called “large ovals” (the battles of Turnhout, the siege of Zaltbommel and the capture of Breda) where Latin verses are engraved in the oval framing the illustrations, and thus always present. The four ovals depicting the capture of Breda and the siege of Zaltbommel are all signed “H. Grotius” (he signed “Hugeianus Groot” until 1600 and “H. Grotius” afterward), while the one depicting the battle of Turnhout is unsigned, but in all probability is also by Hugo De Groot (for this chapter cfr. Eijffinger). Only two enriched copies known to date: a comparison One of the copies of Le Petit La grande chronique in the National Library in The Hague (Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB) is, like ours, hand-coloured and has 21 added engravings, with slight differences in respect of our copy. Eijffinger writes that, in his knowledge, the KB copy (KB 1390 B 18) is the only existing with the addition of these engravings: “No reference is made to the prints in the text of Petit and, to my knowledge, no other copy of Petit has these prints; ...” (Eijffinger, p. 173, translated). We too were not able to trace similar copies in public library worldwide, our copy is thus in all probability the second known and the only one in the market. Both copies include the 16 “small” engravings, 3 of the 4 “large oval”, Pieter Bast’s Battle of Nieuwpoort (originally created for the wall-engraving, as described by Schrier) and an additional one (different in the two copies). The differences between the two copies are as follows: - All the engravings in the KB copy are in II state, while ours are all but one in I state, according the description given by Schrier (appendix 6); - Most of the KB engravings have the printed De Groot’s verses and the caption to the illustrations (both in Dutch), while in our copy no text is printed under the illustrations; - The extra plate deserve to be studied at some length: in both copies has not been inserted what is perhaps the most important and, in Schreyer’s words (p. 273) “a key to the interpretation of the whole” of the “large ovals”, a print by the engraver Jan Saenredam depicting prince Merits as captain general of the state fleet, standing in front of a landscape in which the troops land at Philippine. It is unclear for which reason this engraving was not included, but it is interesting to notice how a substitute has been chosen. In the KB copy this portrait is replaced by a different one inspired by the original Saenredam, by Willem Isaacsz van Swanenburgh and published by Broer Jansz. This print was made before 1607-1608. The Latin text in the bottom margin is taken from Saenredam's print (Schrier p. 282, footnote 71; Eijffinger, p. 173, note 54). In our copy however, no additional portrait can be found, but a large engraving depicting the landing by Philippine, with the naval fleet on the foreground and a view of Ghent, Eeeklo, Watervliet and Brugge on the background. By an anonimous engraver, from a print attributed to Dolendo (see a copy of this engraving in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.452507), this engraving was not used in Orlers, where a similar one can be observed instead. It is interesting to note how, although in the two copies different engravings were chosen to replace the portrait by Saenredam, this inspired both: in the KB copy a different portrait, inspired to the previous one, while in our copy a depiction of the same event represented in the background of the Saenredam engraving has been used. Interesting also to observe that, in our copy, such choice can be due to a desire to avoid what it is actually a kind of “repetion”, as a portrait of the prince, by Christoffel van Sichem I and also inspired by the same portrait by Saenredam, is already present in the text of Le Petit or, more possibly, also taking into account the different state of the prints in the two copies, or perhaps because when the engravings were added in our copy possibly the van Swanenburgh portrait had not yet been engraved. List of the added engravings (numbering according to Scarier, appendix 6) - (replacing B1) The fleet landing at Philippine. Voyage to Osteen of the State army, June 19-27, 1600; Anon, after a drawing by Hendrik Cornelius. Vroom - B2 I: Capture of Bread, 1590; by Bartholomew’s Doled (BD), signed, verses by Hugo De Groot on the four ovals - B3 I: Battle of Turnout, 1597; by BD, signed, verses in the oval probably by H. De Groot - B4: Siege of Zaltbommel, 1599; attributed to Floris Balthasarsz van Berckenrode, verses in the oval by H. De Groot - B5 II (the first state was a printing proof): Battle of Nieuwpoort, 1600; by Pieter Bast (PB), signed - C1 I: Siege and capture of Zutphen, May 1591; attributed to BD - C2 I: Siege and capture of Deventer, June 1591; attributed to PB - C3 I(?):Siege and capture of Hulst, September 1591; attributed to PB - C4 I: Siege and capture of Nijmegen, October 1591; by PB, signed - C5 I: Siege and conquest of Steenwijk, July 1592; attributed to BD - C6 I: Siege and capture of Coevorden, September 1592; attributed to PB - C7 I: Siege and capture of Geertruidenberg, July 1593; attributed to BD - C8 I: Siege and relief of Coevorden, May 1594; by BD (II state signed) - C9 II: Siege and capture of Groningen, July 1594; by BD (II state signed) - C10 I(?): Siege and conquest of Rijnberk, Augustus 1597; attributed to BD - C11 I: Siege and conquest of Meurs, September 1597; attributed to PB - C12 I: Siege and conquest of Grol, September 1597; Attributed to PB - C13 I: Siege and conquest of Grol, September 1597; attributed to PB - C14 I: Siege and conquest of Bredevoort, October 1597; attributed to PB - C15 I: Siege and conquest of Lingen, November 1597; by BD (II state signed) - C16 I: Siege and capture of Sint-Andres, May 1600; attributed to PB The engravers - CHRISTOFFEL VAN SICHEM THE ELDER (1546-1624) Le Petit’s La Grande chronique was illustrated by Christoffel van Sichem; engraver, etcher, woodcutter, printer and publisher, he was the son of Cornelis Karelsz and worked in Basel, Amsterdam and Leiden, 1604. He was the father of Christoffel the Younger (1581-1658), also a woodcutter, engraver and publisher. The additional plates are by the following engravers: - BARTHOLOMEUS WILLEMSZ. DOLENDO (about 1560-1626) A Dutch engraver, Dolendo is presumed to have been a pupil of Hendrik Goltzius; “he worked entirely with the graver in an open, clear style.” (Bryan). The battle of Turnhout, one of the “large ovals”, is based on a previous work by Jacob de Gheyn II (1565-1629), of which Dolendo had been a pupil (Keyes, p. 30). - PIETER BAST (1550-1605 c.) A cartographer, engraver and draftsman, Bast was born in Antwerp, the son of Josyntje Plantin, a member of the renown Plantin family. He engraved maps and cityscapes of Dutch cities and historical events. “Bast’s least well documented engravings are his historical prints ... All of Bast’s known historical representations deal with one theme: the military triumphs of Prince Maurice between the years 1591 and 1600 (or 1602 if one includes the Siege of Grave). His prints belong to a larger series. Bartholomeus Dolendo was responsible for the majority but the project was of sufficient scope to involve Hugo de Groot, Jacques de Gheyn II, Jan Saenredam and the publishers ...” (Keyes, p. 29) - FLORIS BALTHASARSZ VAN BERCKENRODE (1562/63-1616) Born in Delft, he was a publisher, engraver, printer, surveyor, cartographer, goldsmith, draftsman. He was a son of the mapmaker Floris Baltensz. and father of Balthasar Florisz, also a cartographer, surveyor and engraver. Bibliography • Bibliotheca Belgica Vol. 14 • BRUNET, III, 991 • Michael BRYAN, edited by Robert Edmund GRAVES Dictionary of painters and engravers, biographical and critical London, George Bell and sons, 1886, Vol I, p. 417 • A.C. EIJFFINGER Prent en Puntdicht (Grotius Maurit’s Epigrammen) In: Oud Holland, 1978, n. 92 (3), pp. 161-206 • GRAESSE, IV, p. 169 • HOEFER Nouvelle Biogaphie générale Paris, 1859, Vol. 30, 836-837 • George KEYES Pieter Bast Canaletto, Alphen a/d Rijn, 1981, pp. 29-30 and 39-42, ns. 25-33 • Frederik MULLER De Nederlandsche geschiedenis in platen: beredeneerde beschrijving van Nederlandsche historieplaten, zinneprenten en historische kaarten, 4 delen F. Muller, Amsterdam 1863-1882, dl. IV (supplement, aanhangsel en algemeen register), p. 97, nr. 1056(a) (for the engraving of the battle of Turnhout) • Jan Janszn ORLERS Den Nassauschen Lauren-Crans: Beschrijvinghe ende af-beeldinge van alle de victorien ... die Godt Almachtich de ... Staten der Vereenichde Nederlanden verleent heeft, deur het wijs ende clouck beleyt des Hooch-ghebooren Fursts Maurits van Nassau J.J. Orlers en H. van Haestens, Leiden 1610 • Jan Janszn ORLERS Description & representation de toutes les victoires tant par eau que par terre, lesquelles Dieu a octroiees aux nobles, hauts & puissants seigneurs, messeignrs. les Estats des Provinces vnies du Païs-Bas, souz la conduite & gouuernement de Son Excellence, le prince Mavrice de Nassav Par I.I. Orlers & H. de Haestens, Leyden, 1612 • Jan Janszn ORLERS La genealogie des illustres comtes de Nassau [...] avec la description de toutes les victoires ... 1615 • Irene SCHRIER Nicolaes de Clerck | Boeckvercooper ende constdrucker. Boek en prent bij de Delftse uitgever Nicolaes de Clerck (ca. 1599-1623) Universiteit van Amsterdam, 2019 • Kees ZANDVLIET (ed.) Maurits, Prins van Oranje, uitgave bij tent. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 2000-2001, Amsterdam 2000 ADDENDA Misprints in the I vol., compared with 3 digitized copies: ij -iij 1 line missing; corrected in the dig. copies AijV (p. 4 to 5): lines repeated at the beginning of the next page; corrected in the dig. copies AiijV (p. 6 to 7): last 2 lines missing; corrected in the dig. copies CvV (p. 36 to 37): last line repeated on next page; corrected in the dig. copies QvijV (p. 244 to 245): erroneous catchword, text complete; the same in all copies AviijV (p. 374 to 375): erroneous catchword, text apparently complete; the same in all copies CvijR (p. 403V to 404R):, it is unclear if it is an erroneous catchword or something is missing in the text; the same in all copies GgiR (p. 455V to 456 R): erroneous catchword, text complete; the same in all copies HhijV (p. 472 to 473) the word “Duc” is present in the catchword but missing in the text; the same in all copies LliijV (p. 524 to 525): catchword and first word of the next page spelled differently; the same in all copies RrviijV (p. 630 to 631): last line repeated in the next page; the same in all copies AaaivV (p. 6 to 7): catchword apparently correct, but at least a word is missing in the text; the same in all copies. CccviV (p. 44 to 45): erroneous catchword, possibly a word missing in the text; the same in all copies. (Seller ref. MC0614)

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