Printers' Marks: A Chapter in the History of TypographyRoberts, W. (William)
History
Printers' Marks: A Chapter in the History of Typography
Roberts, W. (William)
Printers' marks
Valencia (or Valentia Edetanorum) was the first place in Spain into
which the art of printing was introduced; the earliest printers being
Alfonso Fernandez de Cordova and Lambert Palomar (or Palmart) a German,
whose names however do not appear on any publication (according to
Cotton) antecedent to the year 1478. Although not the earliest of the
Seville printers the four “alemanes, y compañeros,” Paulo de Colonia,
Juan Pegnicer de Nuremberga, Magno y Thomas, their composite Mark is one
of the first which appears on books printed in Spain. It is of the cross
type, with two circles, one within another, the smaller divided into
four compartments, each of which encircles the initials of the four
printers, “P” (the lower part of which is continued so as to form an
“L”), “I M T.” Among other books which they printed is the “Vidas de los
Varones ilustres de Plutarco.” In 1495, Paulo de Colonia appears to have
left the partnership, for the Mark appeared with its inner circle
divided into three compartments in which the initials “I M” and “T” only
appear. This firm continued printing at Seville until the commencement
of the sixteenth century. Federico de Basilea (or, as his name appears
in the imprints of his books, Fadrique Aleman de Basilea) was busy
printing books at Burgos from the end of the fourteenth to the second
decade of the fifteenth century; his Mark, a cross resting on a V-shaped
ground, is a poor one, the motto being “sine causa nihil.” “En mushos
libros de los que imprimió puso su escudo,” observes Mendez; this
printer possesses an historic interest from the fact that he issued the
first edition the unabridged “Chronicle of the Cid,” 1512--“Cronica del
Famoso Cauallero Cid Ruy Diez Campeador,” a book of the greatest rarity.
One of the early printers of Barcelona, Pedro Miguel, had a Mark, also
of the cross type, the circle surrounding the bottom of which is divided
into three compartments, in two of which occur his initials “P M.”
[Illustration: JUAN ROSEMBACH.]
[Illustration: V. FERNANDEZ.]
One of the most noteworthy names in the early annals of Spanish printing
is that of Juan de Rosembach de Haydellerich, who printed books in
Barcelona, 1493-8, and again at the beginning of the sixteenth century;
in Perpignan, 1500; in Tarragona, 1490, and in Montserrat. In 1499 he
printed at Tarragona the famous “Missal de aquel Arzobispado,” which
Mendez declares to be “muy recomendable por varias circumstancias.” At
Barcelona he printed in 1526 an edition of the “Oficias de Cicero.” The
Marks of this printer vary considerably, but the example here reproduced
may be regarded as a representative one. Of the early Lisbon printers,
Valentin Fernandez “de la Provincia de Moravia” was probably the first
to use a Mark (here reproduced), one of his publications being the
“Glosa sobre las Coplas” of Jorge Manrique, 1501.
[Illustration:
1. ZACHARIAS KALLIERGOS.
2. J. A. DE LEGNANO.
3. J. DE VINGLE, OF PICARDY.
4. M. HUGUNT.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account