Label Type
Object LabelLabel
Leaf from Scriptores astronomici veteres
1499
Venice, Italy
Aldus Manutius (Italian, 1449–1515), printer
Aldus Manutius established his famous Aldine Press in Venice in 1490. A great scholar as well as a great printer, Aldus published a large number of classical texts, including the first printed editions of works by Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles, and Euripides. One of his innovations was the printing of small books which could be carried in a pocket or saddlebag; another was the invention of Italic type. He is remembered as a master craftsman; one of his books, Colonna’s Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, has been called the most beautiful book ever printed. This leaf is from a collection of Greek and Roman astronomical texts.
The Printing Museum Collection
1982.143.01