Everything about Aldine Press totally explained
Aldine Press was the
printing office started by
Aldus Manutius in
1494 in
Venice, from which were issued the celebrated Aldine editions of the classics of that time. The Aldine Press is famous in the history of
typography, among other things, for the introduction of
italics. The press was the first to issue printed books in the small
octavo size, similar to that of a modern paperback, and like that intended for portability and ease of reading. The press was continued after Aldus’ death in
1515 by his wife and her father until his son Paolo (
1512-
1574) took over. His grandson Aldo then ran the firm until his death in
1597.
Initial Innovations
The press was started by Aldus based on his love of classics, and at first printed new copies of Plato, Aristotle, and other Greek and Latin classics. He also printed dictionaries and grammars to help people interpret the books. While scholars wanting to learn Greek used to employ learned Greeks to teach them directly, the Aldine editions, edited by Greek scholars, allowed many scholars across Europe to study Greek. Historian Elizabeth Eisenstein claimed that the fall of
Constantinople in 1453 had threatened the importance and survival of Greek scholarship, but publications such as those by the Aldine Press secured it.
Erasmus was one of the scholars learned in Greek that the Aldine Press employed.
When the press expanded to current titles, they wrote some books themselves and employed other writers, including
Erasmus. As this expansion into current languages (mainly Italian and French) and current topics continued, the press took on another role and made perhaps even more important contributions. Beyond the preservation of Hellenic studies, Aldus's contributions are also respected in the development of a smaller type than others in use. His contemporaries called it
Aldine Type; today we call it
italics. Their logo of the anchor and dolphin is represented today in the symbols and names used by some modern publishers such as
Doubleday.
Aldine editions
Further Information
Get more info on 'Aldine Press'.
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