‘A Woman of Great Courage’: Women in the Printing Trades in Early Modern Europe

Anne Sauvage (The widow of Matthieu Guillemot)

The work depicted here was printed by "viduam Matthaei Gvillemot" (the widow of Matthieu Guillemot). This most likely refers to Anne Sauvage, who, through marriage, became a member of one of the major 16th century printing dynasties in Paris. Sauvage was married to Parisian printer Matthieu Guillemot and after his death in 1610, she ran the business under her own name. Between 1610 and 1614, she published a number of editions jointly with other printers, including Samuel Thiboust, who was either her son-in-law or her stepdaughter's husband. After 1614, she published using her own name. Her son, Matthieu II, began working with her during this period, and in fact between 1625 and 1635, most of the works she published were produced jointly with Matthieu II. Given that Sauvage was working in partnership with her son when this work was printed, it is entirely possible that she identified herself as the widow in order to emphasize the location of her shop at the Palais ("in Palatio" or "au Palais, en la gallerie des prisonniers"), as opposed to her son's shop in the Rue St. Jacques (identified here as "via Iacobaea"). Interestingly, Matthieu II's shop had originally belonged to his father-in-law, providing evidence of the intermarrying amongst printing families.

For information on the book shown here, see the List of books.

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