The reign of Henri Deux is of great importance in the annals of
bibliography. An ordinance was made in 1558, through the influence, as it
is supposed, of Diane de Poitiers, by which every publisher was compelled
to present copies of his books, printed on vellum and suitably bound, to
the libraries at Blois and Fontainebleau, and such others as the King
should appoint. About eight hundred volumes in the national collection
represent the immediate results of this copy-tax; they are all marked
with the ambiguous cypher, which might either represent the initials of
the King and Queen or might indicate the names of Henri and Diane. Queen
Catherine de Medici was an enthusiastic collector. When she arrived in
France as a girl she brought with her from Urbino a number of MSS. that
had belonged to the Eastern Emperors, and had been purchased by Cosmo de'
Medici. She afterwards seized the whole library of Marshal Strozzi on the
ground that they must be regarded as 'Medici books,' having been
inherited at one time by a nephew of Leo X. On her death in 1589 she was
found to have been possessed of about eight hundred Greek manuscripts,
all of the highest rarity and value. There was some danger that they
would be seized by her creditors; but the King was advised that such an
assemblage could not be got together again in any country or at any cost.
The library was made an heir-loom of the Crown: and at De Thou's
suggestion the books were stripped of their rich coverings and disguised
in an official costume.
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