Whence Italics

These two books were printed at the historic Aldine Press in Venice. Founded by Aldus Manutius in 1495, it was among the most prominent and successful printing houses of the time. These works date from the early 1500s and feature the iconic dolphin and anchor printer’s device. Manutius was also the first to use Italic type, which can be seen here on the title page of one of these works.

Images from:
Scenecae Tragoediae. Venetiis : in aedibvs Aldi et Andreae Soceri, 1517.

In hoc volvmine habentvr haec. Cornvcopiae, siue linguæ latinæ co[m]mentarij diligentissime recogniti atq[ue] ex archetypo emendati. Venetiis : in aedibus Aldi, et Andreae Soceri, 1513.

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2 Responses to Whence Italics

  1. Sherry Felix says:

    I love the dolphin and Anchor

  2. David Davis says:

    I never thought about the origin of italics. It was always something that was just there.

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