Grolier

Grolier, JEAN, a famous French bibliophile, was born in 1479 at Lyons. He was attached to the court of Francis I., went to Italy as intendant-general of the army, and was long employed in diplomacy at Milan and at Rome. After his return to France he became Trésorier général, and died at Paris in October 1565. It is his library that has made Grolier famous. He acquired choice copies of the best works then existing, and had them magnificently and tastefully bound, with the generous inscription, Io. Grolicrui et Amicorum. He had no less than 3000 books, and of these about 350 have come to light, bound elegantly in brown calf, both sides ornamented with floral arabesques. The library was dispersed in 1675, and Groliers are now precious prizes to the bibliophile, their prices at auctions varying from 600 to 1200 francs. See the study by Le Roux de Liney (1866), and Clément de Ris, Les Amateurs d'Autrefois (1876).