ABSTRACT
In 1484, more than two decades aĞer Johann Gutenberg printed his 42line Bible in Mainz, the first known book came off a press in BriĴany: Le Trépassement de Notre Dame printed at Bréhan-Loudéac.1 Breton printing followed nearly 15 years aĞer the appearance of the first printed book in Paris (1470), about ten years aĞer Lyon (1473) and some years aĞer Angers (1477), Toulouse (1479), and Caen (1480). While about 150 buyers had formed a ready market for Gutenberg’s Bible, the small Breton press at BréhanLoudéac could not possibly hope for a comparably quick sale. Gutenberg and his German colleagues are fairly well documented in the literature; in contrast, Breton printers, whose professional biography might be known from a single copy of an imprint, receive infrequent mention in histories of the early book trade. Between 1484 and 1532, ten printers produced fewer than 50 titles, chiefly devotional, moral, and legal works, in the Breton towns of Bréhan-Loudéac, Lantenac, Nantes, Rennes, Tréguier, and Vannes. To that number, historical documents identify another four printers and several libraires acting in the capacity of publisher-booksellers.
