Guillaume Vandive was a Frenchprinter and bookseller. He was a master tradesman under the patronage of the Dauphin of France. Vandive's premises was on the rue Saint-Jacques, Paris. His trade mark was the "Crowned Dolphin". Vandive published books in French and Latin on the topics of Jansenist theology, trade and travel. After his death at age 26, Vandive's business was continued by Nicolas Simart who married Vandive's widow. Family discord and legal actions ensued.
Personal history
Vandive, was born into the Vandive family about 1680 and was baptized in the Church of St. Bartholomew, Paris, as "Vandivout" or "Van Dievoet". He was the eldest son of a Parisian goldsmith, Philippe Van Dievoet from Brussels, who traded as "Vandive". Vandive senior was a Counsellor to the King, and a Goldsmith to the King and the Dauphin. Vandive senior was the nephew of the sculptor Peter Van Dievoet of Brussels. In 1705, in Paris, Vandive married Eléonore Le Prieur. They had a daughter, Charlotte-Eléonore. Guillaume Vandive died in 1706 at age 26. After his death, on 15 June 1706, Eléonore married the printer, Nicolas Simart.
Vandive worked on the rue Saint-Jacques opposite the rue de la Parcheminerie. In 1701, 1704 and 1706, Vandive produced catalogues describing the books he had printed at his business. He also documented other books he had published in France or abroad. Vandive's typographical mark, made in homage to the Dauphin, consisted of three surmounted dolphins swimming over a fleur-de-lis styled closed crown. There are two cornucopia with a listel at the top. The listel contains the motto, "hoc duce tuta salus" inspired by the legend of the poet, Arion.
Coignard
Vandive published a series of works in collaboration with Louis Coignard. Coignard worked on the rue Saint-Jacques under the "Gold Eagle" mark. On 28 December 1737, Coignard was imprisoned at the Bastille on a charge of publishing Jansenist works. He was transferred to the convent of Meung-sur-Loire where he died a few months later. Coignard was the brother of Elie Jean-Baptiste Coignart who published the first edition of Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise dedié au Roy in 1694. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Ier Coignart printer-bookseller of the King and the French Academy. In 1703, a catalog of the books that Vandive published in collaboration with Coignard was produced. An example of one of the books catalogued is Jean-Pierre Camus' L'Aviosinement des protestants vers l'Eglise romaine. It was a newly corrected edition with an editorial supplement by the Oratorian, Richard Simon.
Published works
Vandive published recent and new books in French and sometimes in Latin. The books had various subjects but in particular, were about Jansenist theology, trade and travel. Vandive's catalogues also contain books intended for "new converts". For example, he published Instructions générales en forme de catéchisme by Charles-Joachim Colbert de Croissy, Bishop of Montpellier. Another example is Histoire abrégée de la Conversion de Monsieur Chanteau by Nicolas Feuillet. Vandive also published the works of Henry de Barillon, Jean-Pierre Camus, Vincent Houdry, and Etienne Lochon. Le Parfait Négociant by Jacques Savary was presented as a new edition, Traité des Lettres de Change. The special books section of the Royal Library of Brussels, has preserved one of Vandive's publications, Voyage du Sieur Paul Lucas au Levant. It is a work in two volumes dated 1704. It is bound in red morocco leather. The plates bear the arms of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1699, Paul Lucas was sent as the antiquaire du Roi, to the Levant and the East. His task was to collect objects for Louis XIV. According to Dirk Van der Cruysse, his books, published by Vandive, are among the most coloured journals of the period.
Nicolas Simart
Vandive's successor was Nicolas Simart. Simart married Vandive's widow and continued the business at the same address and under the same trade mark as a "printer and ordinary bookseller of Monseigneur the Dauphin". In 1727, Simart sued Philippe Vandive and Balthazar Philippe Vandive for the expense of the maintenance and education of his step daughter, Charlotte Eléonore. Simart published an account of the indictment of the Vandive family. This indictment is preserved at the National Library of Paris. In 1731, Simart published a "new re-examined and corrected edition" of the Voyage du Sieur Paul Lucas au Levant. However, it was an exact reproduction of Vandive's first edition. In 1748, Simart was imprisoned for debts at the Caretaker's Lodge prison of Paris. According to the inspector, Hémery in his "Historique of Booksellers", Simart remained in prison on 1 January 1749.
