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Printing and Publishing in Library Special Collections

LSC has holdings of printed and manuscript collections supporting research in the history of printing, the graphic arts, bibliography, the book trade, fictitious imprints (1600-1900), and emblem books from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries.

Marteau Collection of Fictitious Imprints

The Marteau collection of fictitious imprints is considered by scholars to be the best collection of books bearing the false imprint of “Pierre Marteau, Cologne,” a completely fictitious imprint invented by Dutch publishers for use on seventeenth and eighteenth century clandestinely published texts which, because of their forbidden content—politically radical, anti-Catholic, pornographic—ran the risk of being censured. Although initially limited to imprints of Pierre Marteau, the collection now embraces all identified fictitious imprints from any period and place.

Search strategies

  • Fictitious imprints in the Marteau collection have call numbers beginning with Z233.M3; a list of these titles can be retrieved with a call number search of this prefix in the online catalog.

  • Also useful are keyword or subject searches for “Fictitious imprints” and/or “False imprints.”