Simon de Colines
Encyclopedia
Simon de Colines a Parisian printer
, one of the first printer type of the French Renaissance
. He was active in Paris
between 1520 and 1546. Colines used elegant roman and italic types and a Greek type, with accents, that was superior to its predecessors. His books usually were small in format and superbly crafted.
Colines was associated with the elder Henri Estienne and continued his work after his death in 1520. Colines married widow of Estienne and was in charge of the press until Estienne’s son Robert I
entered the business in 1526, by which time Colines had set up his own shop nearby. In 1528 he began to use italic type
. Colines published many Greek and Latin classics. Although he was not a scholar himself, he extended the range of the Estienne firm’s learned and scientific works to include the natural sciences, cosmology, and astrology. He is credited with the design of italic and Greek fonts and of a roman face for St. Augustine’s Sylvius (1531), from which the Garamond
types were derived. In 1525 he published the notable Grandes Heures de Simon de Colines, with decorations by Geoffroy Tory
.
Printer (publisher)
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
, one of the first printer type of the French Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
. He was active in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
between 1520 and 1546. Colines used elegant roman and italic types and a Greek type, with accents, that was superior to its predecessors. His books usually were small in format and superbly crafted.
Colines was associated with the elder Henri Estienne and continued his work after his death in 1520. Colines married widow of Estienne and was in charge of the press until Estienne’s son Robert I
Robert Estienne
Robert I Estienne , known as Robertus Stephanus in Latin and also referred to as Robert Stephens by 18th and 19th-century English writers, was a 16th century printer and classical scholar in Paris...
entered the business in 1526, by which time Colines had set up his own shop nearby. In 1528 he began to use italic type
Italic type
In typography, italic type is a cursive typeface based on a stylized form of calligraphic handwriting. Owing to the influence from calligraphy, such typefaces often slant slightly to the right. Different glyph shapes from roman type are also usually used—another influence from calligraphy...
. Colines published many Greek and Latin classics. Although he was not a scholar himself, he extended the range of the Estienne firm’s learned and scientific works to include the natural sciences, cosmology, and astrology. He is credited with the design of italic and Greek fonts and of a roman face for St. Augustine’s Sylvius (1531), from which the Garamond
Garamond
Garamond is the name given to a group of old-style serif typefaces named after the punch-cutter Claude Garamond . Most of the Garamond faces are more closely related to the work of a later punch-cutter, Jean Jannon...
types were derived. In 1525 he published the notable Grandes Heures de Simon de Colines, with decorations by Geoffroy Tory
Geoffroy Tory
Geoffroy Tory, born in Bourges around 1480 and died in Paris before 14 October 1533, was a French humanist and an engraver, best known for adding written letters in French. His life's work has heavily influenced French publishing to this day.-Biography:...
.