'Champ fleury' appeared at last in 1529. We have seen that this book was conceived on 'the day of the feast of Kings, which was reckoned M. D. XXIII,' that is to say, January 6, 1524, new style. The printing was not completed until 'the XXVIII day of the month of April one thousand five hundred XXIX,'[107] as we learn from the subscription at the end; that is to say, it cost nearly six years of toil. The following is an exact copy of the title-page as it appears in the first edition:--
CHAMP FLEVRY. Au quel est contenu Lart & Science de la deue & vraye Proportiõ des Lettres Attiques, quõ dit autremēt Lettres Antiques, & vulgairement Lettres Romaines, proportionnees selon le Corps & Visage humain.--Ce Liure est Priuilegie pour Dix Ans Par Le Roy nostre Sire, & est a vendre a Paris sus Petit Pont a Lenseigne du Pot Casse par Maistre Geofroy Tory de Bourges/Libraire, & Autheur du dict Liure. Et par Giles Gourmont aussi Libraire demourant en la Rue sainct Iaques a Lenseigne des Trois Coronnes.
It is gratifying to see here the name of the first printer in Greek type in Paris. It was Gourmont himself who printed this learned book, wherein we find some very interesting details concerning the Hebrew, Greek and Latin letters, of which he exhibits models which have not changed since that time.[108] The workshop of Gilles de Gourmont was on rue Saint-Jean-de-Latran; but we see that in 1529 he had a bookshop on rue Saint-Jacques, at the sign of the Trois Couronnes,--an allusion doubtless to the three roses which adorned the chief, or top, of his shield. This shop adjoined the church of Saint-Benoît on the north.[109] As for Tory, he seems to have lived at this time on the Petit-Pont, 'next to Hostel-Dieu.' It was there that he wrote his book, for he dates his epistle to the reader thus: 'En Paris ce. XXVIII. Jour Dapvril sus Petit Pont, a Lenseigne du Pot Casse.' He had, however, another abode on rue Saint-Jacques, opposite the 'Écu de Bâle,' the sign of Chrétien Wechel.
At the beginning of 'Champ fleury' is printed the license of September 5, 1526, already published in the two editions of the Hours of 1527, which granted to Tory a ten years' right, not only for the Hours, but also for 'Champ fleury,' which was then being printed, but, as I have already said, had not then received that graceful title. This license makes it clear that as early as 1526 Tory was thinking of joining the brotherhood of printers. He became a printer in fact soon after the publication of his book, and proceeded to print several works of his own composition. I give here a list of these various publications, in the order of their dates.