Gilmont (Jean-François), born 1934

Two volumes (25 cm), lii, 288; 296 pp., illustrations. Uniform publisher’s bindings. - An exhaustive bibliography of the entire production of the Calvinist publisher Jean Crespin (257 known editions), together with editions falsely attributed to him. In addition to the usual details, locations of copies (nearly 200 libraries cited), and bibliographical references, there are “notes which often amount to a substantial essay on problems in the book in question… An astonishing amount of detailed research has gone into the preparation of the bibliographical entries. One can find details of cancels, of refreshed titles, of reimposition, of edition sizes” (from a review by David J. Shaw, in The Library, sixth series, 1985, pp.277-278). As proof of Gilmont’s thoroughness, another reviewer observed: “Of the Crespin editions in Les livres imprimés à Genève de 1550 à 1600 by P. Chaix, A. Dufour and G. Moeckli (Genève 1966), Gilmont has changed something over a third: thirty previously unknown editions have been added, as have ten works attributed to Crespin but published anonymously or with fictitious addresses; fifteen non-existent or wrongly attributed editions have been left out; 37 items proved to be duplicates of editions already listed (Elly Cockx-Indestege, in Quaerendo, volume 14, 1984, pp.151-156). The second volume contains photographic reproductions of the title-pages of most of the editions and issues described. ¶ Superior copy in almost new condition.