Printer's marks

Printers' marks were identifying symbols used by early modern printers to sign their work. Often found on title pages, they combined imagery with initials or mottos. These marks served as a guarantee of quality and helped establish a printer's identity in a growing book market. Today, they offer valuable insights for book historical research.
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Joannes I Bellerus

1526 - 1595

Simon Stevin (1565). Problematvm geometricorvm [...] libri V., Openbare Bibliotheek Brugge 2/267 (f. A1 recto).

Petrus I Bellerus

1530 - 1600

Commentariorvm in svam concordiam by Cornelius Jansenius [Gandavensis] (1593), Katholic University Leuven, Mauritz Sabbe Library PN00164 (f. *1 recto).

Gerardus Rivius

Erycius Puteanus (1608). Comvs, sive Phagesiposia cimmeria. Somnivm, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - Bijzondere collecties, CaaA2135 (f. N8 verso).

  • 1608
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  • bio

    Gerard van Rivieren, Latinized Gerardus Rivius (active 1592–1625) was a printer in the Southern Netherlands. He was the publisher of Martin Delrio's famous witchcraft treatise Disquistiones Magicae and was at one time suspected of having printed Corona Regia, a satire on James I of England that caused diplomatic ructions. His printer's mark was a winged horse, and his motto "Totum sic irrigat orbem". wikipedia

Jan van Meurs

1583 - 1652

Diego Covarrubias de y Leyva (1638). Opera omnia, Openbare Bibliotheek Brugge 1050 (2# f. *1 recto).

Jacobus Zegers

- 1644

Cornelius Jansenius (1640). Avgvstinvs, Openbare Bibliotheek Brugge 1721 (1# f. a1 recto).

  • 1640
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  • bio

    Jacobus Zegers (died 14 January 1644) was an academic printer and bookseller in Leuven, with many clients among the faculty of Leuven University. He was the printer of Cornelius Jansen's Augustinus (1640). wikipedia

Petrus II Bellerus

Paratitla sive Svmmaria et methodica explicatio decretalivm D. Gregorii papæ IX. by André del Vaulx (1640), Katholic University Leuven, Special Collections CaaA1853 (f. 6A4 recto).

Franciscus Vivien

Matthias Faber (1646). Avctarivm operis concionvm tripartiti, Universiteit Antwerpen - Bibliotheek Stadscampus RG 3055 A 1 (1# f. +2 recto).

Jacobus van Meurs

1610 - 1679

Benedictus Haeften, Venatio sacra, sive De arte qværendi devm libri XII. (1650), Universiteit Antwerpen - Bibliotheek Ruusbroecgenootschap RG 3023 A 1 (f. 3F8 recto)

  • 1650
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  • bio

    Jacob van Meurs (1619/1620 - c. 1680) was a Dutch engraver and publisher from Amsterdam. His works are in the National Gallery of Art and the National Portrait Gallery. Active from 1651 to 1680, he specialized in works of geography, travelogues, and history. He published the first version of The New and Unknown World: or Description of America and the Southland which was printed in Dutch and included 125 copper engravings. wikipedia

Petrus III Bellerus

Cristobal Crespi de Valdaura (1667). Observationes illustratæ decisionibus, Stadsarchief Mechelen A.03787 (f. π2 recto).

Georgius Lipsius

1608 - 1682

Lovvain tres ancienne et capitalle ville du Brabant by Jean Nicolas de Parival (1669), M-Leuven OD/482 A (f. *1 recto): Typographical title page with printer's device.

The printers listed on this page come from the Short Title Catalogus Vlaanderen (STCV), a retrospective bibliography of books printed before 1801 in what is now Flanders, including Brussels. All other data comes from Wikidata and Wikipedia. This website is a project by the Flemish Heritage Libraries. There are 249 printers on this page. This page was last updated on 2026-08-04.