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Guillaume Le Bé

1525 – 1598

Printer and engraver

Type designerPublisher Flexographer
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About Guillaume Le Bé

Lived 1525 – 1598 (aged 72–73). Guillaume Le Bé was a French type designer, publisher, flexographer, printer, type founder and book printer.

Guillaume Le Bé (; 1525–1598) was a French punchcutter and engraver who specialised in Hebrew typefaces.

He was born in Troyes to a family of paper merchants and apprenticed to Robert Estienne in Paris. After completing his apprenticeship, he was active in Venice from c. 1540 to 1550, where he produced Hebrew, Latin and Greek types for various printer/publishers, including Marc'Antonio Giustiniani, Carlo Querini and Meir di Parenzo.

On his return to France, he established a type foundry which lasted through two generations until the 18th century. Le Bé supplied type to Christophe Plantin in Antwerp and left two annotated scrapbooks of his and other typefaces, which are in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. He also supplied music type to the publishing house of Robert Ballard (his son-in-law) and Adrien Le Roy in the 1550s. This type was used well into the 18th century, when Christophe Ballard ran the publishing house.

The typographical symbol guillemet is named after him.

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Important facts

Born
1525, Troyes
Birth century
Died
1598, Paris
Occupation
Type designer, publisher, flexographer, printer, type founder, book printer
Nationality
Also known as
Guillaume Le Be

People in Guillaume Le Bé's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Guillaume Le Bé's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Guillaume Le Bé?

Printer and engraver

When was Guillaume Le Bé born?

Guillaume Le Bé was born in 1525 in Troyes.

When did Guillaume Le Bé die?

Guillaume Le Bé died in 1598 in Paris.

What was Guillaume Le Bé's occupation?

Guillaume Le Bé was a type designer, publisher, flexographer, printer, type founder and book printer.

What nationality was Guillaume Le Bé?

Guillaume Le Bé was French.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Guillaume Le Bé

· Wikidata: Q1553888

· DBpedia: Guillaume Le Bé

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Guillaume Le Bé. https://biography.guide/guillaume-le-be/

MLA: "Guillaume Le Bé." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/guillaume-le-be/.

Chicago: "Guillaume Le Bé." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/guillaume-le-be/.

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