 | |  |
Notes
In 1966, H. G. Kaplan compiled A First Census of Incunabula in Australia and New Zealand (Library of New South Wales, Sydney), containing 503 entries. There have obviously been accessions since that date, but holdings of incunabula are still microscopic compared with those of libraries in Europe and America.
I have followed BMC V and VI and Haebler (in his Typenrepertorium in C. Dziatzko, Sammlung bibliothekswissen-schaftliche Arbeiten 19-40, Halle, 1905-24) in talking of a '15 x 15 mm.' set. In point of fact the width or height of some of the letters is a little smaller: e.g., the A is 14.5 x 14 mm., the B 15 x 14.5 mm., etc. The O used by B. di Libri is 17 x 17 mm. See further note 6.
This method of indicating the date is used to indicate that there is doubt whether the normal or the Florentine or Venetian mode of dating (in which the year commences with the Annunciation, March 25) is used.
BMC V uses a variety of terms to describe what I hope to establish as a set based on a common origin: these include "white Renaissance ornamentation" (415); "ordinary Venetian design" (453); "the usual style" (479). Haebler (op. cit.) uses a similarly varied nomenclature.
The O used by the Venetian printers is 15 x 15 mm. and not the 17 x 17 mm. one used by di Libri.
BMC V, intro. p. xxxviii, says of J. Rubeus, "the editions which he turned out on his own account are remarkable for not containing a single one of the many woodcut capitals found in his commissioned work and the close affinity of much of his material with that of Capcasa [my italics] suggests that Giunta was the regular employer of both."
It was only possible for me to examine about a quarter of the books printed before 1500 by Locatellus, but the sampling was spread evenly over the whole of this period of production. IB 22910 (Cicero, Epistulae ad familiares) appears to be the only book in which Locatellus uses the 15 x 15 mm. set—if indeed he was the printer: BMC V, intro. p. xi, notes that IB 22910 is one of a group of six books produced for Scotus but not containing the name of Locatellus: this group has other peculiarities too.
I was only able to examine one incunabulum printed by Emericus: later ones may well use more of the letters in the set.
IB 23666, C3—N272 (Nonius Marcellus, de proprietate sermonum) is a particularly good example of the use of the set (and, indeed, justification of the use of the term 'set'); for some sections, e.g. II, de honestis et noue ueterum dictis de dictionibus ab A etc. littera incipientibus, necessitate the use of all the capitals in alphabetical order.
BMC V 505 says of IB 23825, "As both type 81 R and the woodcut capitals used with it appear to be material of Capcasa, this printer perhaps collaborated with de Bonellis in the present book."
Dionysius Bertochus printed in a number of North Italian cities: he was in Venice in 1494. IB 34061 was printed in Reggio Emilia.
Franciscus de Mazalibus in his Scriptores rei rusticae (IB 34043) clearly uses printing material that Bertochus had used in his edition of the same work (IB 34061). See BMC VII 1088-89.
Jacobus Britannicus had numerous printing associations with Venice before moving to Brescia. See BMC VII 972.
The page which contains this plate is not, for some reason, to be found in the English-language edition of 1895 (Early Venetian Printing Illustrated), but examples of P and H can be found on pages 132 and 142 respectively. I am grateful to the British Library for the provision of the photographs from which the plates were made.
A good example is provided by two woodcuts. One measures 56 x 50 mm., is "a peculiar, simply drawn P with the figure of a monk writing and lettered FRA IACOMO DE VORAGINE" (BMC V 338), the other is an E with the figure of a monk writing, measures 32 x 32 mm. and is lettered DV[N] NICOLO MANERBI. (reproduced in O. Jennings, Early Woodcut Initials [1908], pp. 183 and 182 respectively). They can be found in IB 22758 (BMC V 485, C3—J180) Matteo Capcasa 3 May 1494; IB 22910 (BMC V 433, C3— C531) Bonetus Locatellus 22 September 1494; IB 21111 (BMC V 349, C3—A966); and IB 21135 (BMC V 350, C3—H160) published by Johannes and Gregorius de Gregoriis on 13 July 1496 and 25 August 1498 respectively.
It may prove to have some affinity with a 15 x 15 mm. set used by Locatellus: I noted in IB 22898 (BMC V 442, C3—I186) capital A M Q P E V very similar indeed to the 'Venetian' set; also that this same set was used in IB 22900 (BMC V 442, C3—P1089), IA 22883 (BMC V 442, C3—S802), IB 22906 (BMC V 443, C3—H456) and IB 22907 (BMC V 443, C3—C609). Unfortunately, though, I recorded an S on f. Z 3 r. in IB 22906. I have no further details of it.
| | |