1469 – Use of roman type. 1494 – Das Narrenschiff. 1499 – Aldus Manutius

1469 – Use of roman type

In their print shop in Venice John and Wendelin of Speier are probably the first printers to use pure roman type, which no longer looks like the handwritten characters that other printers have been trying to imitate until then. Another printer in Venice, Nicolas Jenson, produces a more distinguished roman font which still serves as a model for type designers today.

1494 – Das Narrenschiff

Das Narrenschiff (The Ship Of Fools) by Sebastian Brant is published in Basel, Switzerland. This satire about the state of the church is illustrated with woodcuts from the great Renaissance artist-engraver Albrecht Dü rer. It quickly becomes extremely popular, with six authorized and seven pirated editions published before 1521

Dü rer’s own ‘Apocalypse’ is another very popular book of that era, published simultaneously in Latin and German. Prints of the detailed woodcuts, such as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse shown below, are also sold separately.

1499 – Aldus Manutius

Aldus Manutius, who had helped found the Aldine Press in Venice in 1494, is the first printer to come up with smaller, more portable books. Until then books are large and heavy, meant to be read while standing at a lectern or reading stand. Manutius’s books are smaller and can be carried around and read anywhere. The book format is called an octavo (‘in eight’) because each press sheet is folded three times to create eight pages. Manutius is also the first to use Italic type, designed by Venetian punchcutter Francesco Griffo.

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