Jean Grolier de Servières, viscount d'Aguisy (1479 in Lyon – October 22, 1565, in Paris) was Treasurer-General of France and a famous bibliophile. As a book collector, Grolier is known in particular for his patronage of the Aldine Press, and his love of richly decorated bookbindings.
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Grolier's family was of Italian origin, but was based in Lyon where Grolier's father held a government post as a tax collector. Grolier's aristocratic title was the result of the family effectively buying their way into the French nobility.
Both Grolier and his father spent time in Italy working in the Duchy of Milan when it was under French occupation. Grolier was also represented the French monarchy in Rome.[1] Grolier's Italian connections were important to him in obtaining books for his library. Grolier commissioned distinctive bindings for his books. The colour of the leather varied according to the book's subject-matter, and the designs were works of art. The designs show Italian influence, and less directly Islamic influence, but they were mainly executed in France. Analysis of the surviving bindings shows that Grolier patonised several workshops over the years. While only a limited amount of information is known about the bookbinders involved, documentary evidence allows the identification of a couple of them, for example, a French binder called Jean Picard, who was active in the 1540s and who combined his bookbinding with managing an agency of the Aldine Press.[2]
He became treasurer for Francis I in 1537. He died in Paris and was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.[1]
During his retirement he invented the “Turtle Clock”. This is a mysterious contraption consisting of a hidden clockwork oriented face up, like a 16th century table clock, beneath a non-ferrous plate whose rim shows the twelve numbers of the hours. The hour hand rotating underneath the plate has a magnet which causes a man-made floating turtle (that has a longitudinal iron bar in its body) to point its head towards the appropriate hour.
Grolier's books bore the inscription, Io. Grolieri et Amicorum (Latin for "the property of Jean Grolier and his friends").[3] There is some debate about how he shared books with his friends, but there is evidence that his generosity in lending to friends resulted in some items going missing. His library finally numbered about 3000 volumes. It was kept in his family until toward the last of the eighteenth century, when it was sold and scattered.[1] Some 500 books can still be identified as having formed part of the library, and for centuries Grolier's reputation as a collector has increased the value of any book associated with him.[4] Some of the books are in public collections such as the British Library and the National Library in Paris, the latter institution having the largest number of Grolier bindings.[1]
He gave his name to a style of bookbinding ornamented with geometric patterns.[3] He is also the namesake of the Grolier Club of New York City.