Vassar College Digital Library

Hendrik van den Keere, 1549-1589 -- Printer's Mark

Image
Access Control
Date
1549-1589
Description
Main (Thompson) Library location: South wing -- Second window. Hendrik van den Keere (c.15-- – 1580) was born in Ghent at the beginning of the sixteenth century and succeeded the printing press of Jan Cauweel in 1556. Before becoming a printer, however, van den Keere was a professor of French, as well as a poet and playwright. In 1558, he entered a partnership with renowned printer Christopher Plantin; this only lasted until 1574, when Plantin reclaimed the rights to all his printing material and publications. During his relatively short career, van den Keere published more than forty works, including Chantz funebres sur la mort de Maximilien d'Egmont and Mortalité de guerre et de paix. Hendrik van den Keere the Younger continued his legacy following his death in 1580. Van den Keere's mark in the Vassar Library is a simplified version of the device he used in the colophons of his publications. Displayed is the circular face of a clock, marked with Roman numerals, with the printer's decorative monogram H.V.D.K. directly beneath. The Old Flemish phrase Anziet thende appears above this symbol, meaning, "behold the end." In his original devices, the center of the clock contains a skull; this detail was probably omitted from the Vassar window because of its intricacy. The mark evokes a traditionally Flemish sentiment of transience.
Note
Photograph by Amy Laughlin

This project was created by Katherine Durr (VC '15) as part of the Ford Scholar program under the supervision of Professor Ron Patkus in Summer 2013.

Subject (Corporate Body)
Subject (Topical)
Subject (Geographic)
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Details
Identifier
vassar:32713
Local Identifier
pmarks_photo_SE1_006
Extent
1 item
Type
Rights
These materials are made available for research and educational purposes. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine the copyright status of materials in the Vassar College Digital Library.
Additional Media
"The Mark of the Renaissance Printer" blog post by Katherine Durr, 2013 Vassar Ford Scholar: https://library.vassar.edu/blog/The-Mark-of-the-Renaissance-Printer