Volume 12–4 (Low Res).pdf - U&lc

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Aldus' italic (Venice 1501) cut by Francesco Griffo.
interests, it is recorded that Aldus was
capable of extraordinary insensitivity
and malice.
Many historians tell us that
Aldus first invented the small book. He
didn't. Some say that his work with small
publications was out of an altruistic drive
to supply learned text to the masses.
These people are also wrong. Aldus was
not altruistic; he was a shrewd and creative
businessman driven by goals more
pragmatic than benevolent.
There were small books prior
to Aldus', but the majority of printed
material was large; the kind meant for
libraries, bookstands, and reading aloud.
When Aldus began his work, the printing-industry
was less than 50 years old
and still bound by the traditions of the
scribes and manuscripts. Small books, or
octavos (made from single sheets folded
three times, each sheet forming eight
leaves, or sixteen pages, of about 6x9
inches) were published prior to Aldus. As
early as 1470, over 30 years before Aldus'
first work, Jenson had printed some
small religious texts. There were others,
but one very important aspect separates
those earlier books from Aldus' small
texts: all the previous editions were of a
religious or devotional nature. It was felt
that prayer was the only occasion which
required an individual to carry a book
on one's person. The scholar was expected
to read from a large book sitting
on a lectern. Aldus' originality lay in
applying what had previously been a
specialized book form-to a new and
wider field. Aldus was a marketeer, not
a humanitarian.
The story has evolved that
Aldus created the small book for those
who could not previously afford literature.
The logic is that his smaller books
cost less to produce, and that these reduced
costs were passed along to the
consumer. Aldus never said that his
books were cheap. He said on many
occasions that they were beautiful, that
they were technically perfect, and that
they were convenient—but never that
they were inexpensive or meant for a
mass audience. It has been suggested
that Aldus would probably "writhe in his
grave" if he knew that many printing
scholars heralded him as the originator
of the paperback.
Aldus worked for the wealthy
and the successful. His octavos were
intended for busy people of affairs; the
kind who criss-crossed 15th and 16th
century Europe on the errands of nobility
and business of state. Aldus created his
small books for the secular intellectuals
of Renaissance Europe: the people who
filled the growing number of universities
to prepare for employment as government
officials and public servants. These
were the people of the "educational
revolution" in 16th century Europe.
Even though Aldus' small books
were not intended to expand the knowledge
of the masses, it still remains that
they were a vital development in the
emancipation of learning. The "fairy
tale" of books for everybody may not be
true, but the fact of his small books'
importance, worth, and influence certainly
is. For this alone Aldus could be
remembered and revered. He made
reading convenient and learning "user
friendly." He set the precedence for
personal books of high caliber. And he
created texts which were portable, yet
lacked none of the beauty, or quality, of
the larger library editions.
Directly tied to the typographic
fairy tale of the invention of the portable
book is the myth of Aldus' invention'of
italic type. The story is told that Aldus
paid Griffo to develop a cursive type that
would save space in his small books. It is
said that Aldus' goal was to cut paper
costs and thus make his publications
cheaper. Then, as now, paper was expensive;
but saving paper was not Aldus'
goal in creating italic type.
Early 16th century printers
spoke of "writing" a typeset page as if
it were a letter to a friend. As this somewhat
unusual terminology, by today's
standards, implies, the
typeface provided
a much closer link
between printer and
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