Printer's devices: The art of early European printers

Sometime in the late 1400s, after the advent of movable type and the creation of the printed book in Europe, printers—who at the time were usually also the publishers of their books—began to distinguish their work from the competition by using a printer's device: an identifying sign or symbol that was placed either on the title page or the last page in the book.

From the 1500s to about 1700 the printer's device evolved from a basic identifying signature into a complex image rich in messages and symbols. These added elements suggested higher realms of existence and emphasized that the book was itself a work of art. More pragmatically, printer's devices were also an early form of branding and trademarking. CHF's Neville collection houses books containing a wide variety of examples of such printer's devices.

History and symbolism, intertwined
The famous "Aldine" device, a dolphin entwining an anchor, beautifully illustrates the history and symbolism often found in a printer's device.

The dolphin and anchor had been in symbolic use for almost two thousand years when the printer Aldus Manutis appropriated it: rich in meaning to ancient Greek philosophers (the dolphin was considered a helper of mankind), the symbol was also used by the Roman Emperor Titus Vespasianus (81 CE) on coins minted in his reign. According to Erasmus, a Dutch humanist and friend of Aldus, the anchor represented the period of deliberation before a work is begun, and the dolphin represented the speed of completion.

Other devices contain larger messages about the life and times during which they were created. The "Sessa Cat" device, designed by the printer Johannes de Sessa, features a cat holding a mouse in its mouth, and bears the motto Dissimilium infida societas: "The fellowship of dissenters is not to be trusted." This motto may refer to the religious turmoil of the Protestant Reformation; the cat holding a mouse is possibly an allusion to the Catholic Inquisition and the persecution of authors that was happening at the time.

The printer Johann Froben's device cites the proverb "Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves." This may be a reference to the humanist ideas of the late Renaissance; Froben as a scholar was involved in humanism and perhaps saw printing as a way to communicate wisdom by peaceful means.

Christopher Plantin, one of the greatest printers of the 16th century, explained the meaning of his device, which showed a hand holding a compass: the outer, or movable, limb of the compass represents work, while the inner, or fixed, limb symbolizes constancy. Plantin, whose printing company was prolific, had at least 68 variations of his device!

The use of the Aldine device as a brand or trademark by a 21st-century publishing firm in the United States shows how powerful symbols can survive over time and across distances: the contemporary American publisher Doubleday's device is a dolphin wound around an anchor.

However, while the device looks much the same as Aldus's did in the 1500s, the methods of creation have evolved significantly. Aldus Manutis probably used a woodcut block to print his device. Christopher Plantin initially used woodcuts, but after 1570 he used engraved copperplates. Device construction and technology later evolved into steel plates, and today it is done digitally.

Yet while printing technology has certainly changed, the desire of publishers to set themselves apart through trademarking still exists. CHF's wonderful collection of books with devices from across the centuries is a testimony to the lasting power of the printed word and to the people who dedicate themselves to publishing.

Further reading

• Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. The Encyclopedia of the Book. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 1996. This superb reference work offers information about the devices discussed here, as well as information on many topics about books, printing, and book production. It is available in the Othmer Library.

Links to the books discussed above, available in the Othmer Library

• The Froben device: Augurelli, Giovanni Aurelio. Chrysopoeiae libri III. et Geronticon liber primus/ . . . Ioannis Aurelii Augurelli . . . Apud Inclytam Basileam. Basileae: Apud Ioannem Frobenium, [1518].
• The Aldine device: Capece, Scipione. De principiis rerum libre duo: eiusdem De vate maximo libri tres. Venetiis: Aldi Filii, 1546.
• The Sessa cat device: Ruscelli, Girolamo. Precetti della militia moderna, tanto per mare quanto per terra, trattati da diversi nobilissimi ingegni, & raccolti con molta diligenza / dal Signor Girolamo Ruscelli . . . Venetia: Appresso gli Heredi di Marchiò Sessa, 1595.
• The Plantin device: Gemma, Cornelius. De naturae divinis characterismis : seu, Raris et admirandis spectaculis, causis, indiciis, proprietatibus rerum in partibus singulis vniuersi, libri II / auctore D. Corn. Gemma, Louaniensi. Antverpiae: Ex officina Christophori Plantini . . . , 1575.

This online presentation has been adapted from an exhibit at CHF curated by Jackie Taddonio.