Main (Thompson) Library location: South wing -- Fourth window. Jean Crespin (1520 – 1572) was born in the city of Arras in 1520, and attended university in Louvain, where he studied both civil and canon law. By 1542 Crespin had come in contact with French figures in the Reformation, including Claude le Painctre and Charles du Moulin; these affiliations ultimately led to his banishment from Arras. Before immigrating to Switzerland, he spent three years traveling, and in Strasbourg he married Madeleine le Cambier, through whom he inherited a large sum of money. In 1548, he settled in Geneva where he maintained close relationships with Pierre Brully and John Calvin. Crespin began printing with Conrad Badius and Théodore de Bèze, and in 1550 he published John Calvin's Des scandales. He continued to print for Calvin, and ultimately developed relationships and commissions with other theological figures, including Martin Luther. In 1554, he began publishing a series of books entitled Livre des Martyrs. In addition to printing a number of Bibles and books of religious commentary, Crespin was involved in the printing of legal and political documents for the city of Geneva. The mark of Jean Crespin displayed in the Vassar Library represents his earliest version: a serpent wrapped around the upper portion of an anchor. This device is based in Christian symbolism. The serpent signifies the scriptural narrative in which Moses transforms his staff into a serpent before Pharaoh; the cross forming part of the anchor is a visual allusion to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. His later devices employed the image of a seven-armed lamp.