#manutius

[anincitinginsight]

Make haste slowly

Printing/publishing was the ‘internet’ of the 15th century. What will the internet of 27th century be?

This book made me reflect on how much of history I have yet to learn and how much of history I will not be able to learn as it wasn’t recorded accurately. I think of all of the people of the past who were futuristic and their contributions. Is Mr. Penumbra the modern-day Aldus Manutius?

Festina lente

[outsiderlookinginward]

Colonoscopy

An examination of the colon. (more…)

View On WordPress

[uispeccoll]

February marks the 500th anniversary of Aldus Manutius' death, so we’ll be posting blogs about his works throughout the month.

This edition of The Iliad was printed in 1504 by Aldus Manutius. His goal was to print versions of classic works into languages more people could read, and into books people could actually carry around. 

This book is interesting because of all of the conservation efforts it has endured. The piece of paper on the inside of the front cover of the box details the different measures taken, including rebinding the book that was in a broken 19th century binding and pulling, washing and de-acidifying the paper. Conservation efforts today at the University of Iowa are usually less invasive and try to preserve the condition of the binding and paper without changing it, as long as it can still be used. While this book is much sturdier than others of the same age due to its gorgeous new binding, some of the signs of the age of the paper are lost on the reader because of the washing. 

If you’re looking for more information on Aldus Manutius, check out our blog!

-Kelly

Homer.  Homērou Ilias = Homeri Ilias.  [Venice : Aldus, 1504]

PA4018 A2 1504 

[whorevidal]

This style is called "italic" for historical reasons. Calligraphic typefaces started to be designed in Italy, for chancery purposes. Ludovico Arrighi and Aldus Manutius (both between the 15th and 16th centuries) were the main type designers involved in this process at the time. Italics are the print equivalent of underlining and typewriter users underlined words that would normally appear as italics in professionally printed works.

[historiacalamitatum]

The logo of the Manutius Press.