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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Willem Vorsterman

1500 - 1543

Hier beghinne[n] alle die epistolen en[de] euangelien mette[n] sermonen va[n]den gheheele[n] iare [Lectionarium missae] (c.1514), Erfgoedbibliotheek Hendrik Conscience, F 29623 (f. K6 verso)

  • 1514
  • double-headed eaglecoat of arms of Antwerp
  • bio

    Willem Vorsterman (died 1543) was an early printer of books, active in Antwerp between 1504 and 1543. He published about 400 books in Dutch, Spanish, English, Latin, French and Danish, making him the second most productive printer in the Netherlands in the first half of the 16th century, behind Hillenius. His earliest production, between 1500 and 1520, consisted mainly of works of fiction in Dutch often in chapbook format, while he later expanded into other languages and genres, with more luxurious, illustrated editions. He entered the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1512 and was its dean in 1527 and 1542. His shop was in the "Golden Unicorn", near the Kammerpoort in Antwerp. wikipedia

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Rutgeert Velpius

1540 - 1614

Placcaet ende ordinancie vande eertzhertoghen [...] waerby wort ordre ghestelt, tot [...] onderhoudinghe van zekere poincten ende articulen, ghesloten ende ghearresteert in het synode prouinciael van Mechelen [...] junius ende julius, sesthien hondert seuen [Ordonnantie] (31-08-1608), Stadsarchief Mechelen M.01574(a)/B (f. B4 verso).

  • 1608
  • double-headed eagle
  • bio

    Rutger Velpius (around 1540–1614/15) was a 16th- and 17th-century printer and bookseller. He was the first printer in the city of Mons, and later became printer to the court in Brussels. His career coincided closely with the first decades of the Dutch Revolt wikipedia

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Huybrecht I Anthoon

1561 - 1630

ANONYMOUS (1628). Ordonnantie ons heeren des conincx. Op het stuck vande munte, Universiteitsbibliotheek Gent - Boekentoren BIB.HIST.008677/5 (f. B4 verso).

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Catharina Velpius

1569 - 1642

Histoire dv bon chevalier, messire Iacqves de Lalain by George Chastelain (1634), Public Library Bruges 3307 (f. )-(1 recto).

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Huybrecht II Anthoon Velpius

1608 - 1670

Placcaeten ordonnantien landt-chartres privilegien by Johannes Baptista I Christyn (1664), Stadsarchief Mechelen A.03891/03 (f. 5H4 verso).

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Jan Theodore Anthoon Velpius

1653 - 1717

Ayant esté trouvé necessaire de regler en attendant la ratification de la paix by I. Ieghers (1678), Ghent University, Boekentoren Acc.Meul.1678/4 (f. A3 verso).

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Martinus II van Bossuyt

Breve apostolicum by Innocentius XII [Pope] (1697), Ghent University, Boekentoren 183.C261 (f. D2 recto).

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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.