Bible, English, 1611 (A1r)

The King James Bible uses a complex typography to signal which words or phrases are not from the source material but have been added in translation (those in roman type), printed notes in roman type for cross referencing between different books, printed notes in italic for translation notes, and headnotes for each chapter providing summaries to help with quick navigation.

Bible, English, 1611 (πA1r)

The title page for the Authorized version of the Bible is completely engraved, including the title and imprint information, by Cornelius Boel, whose name appears in the bottom left of the image. (This version is more commonly known as the King James Bible, since James authorized it to be translated and placed in all churches.)

Bijns, Refereyn, 1611 (A1r)

This lengthy title page provides the author's name, imprint and privilege statements, and a description of the book's contents.

Bijns, Refereyn, 1611 (A4v-A5r)

In this densely printed opening, you can see printed marginal notes used as references to the Bible.

Collaert, Nova Reperta, 1600 (pl. 19)

In this depiction of copper engraving, you can see the full range of activities involved in printing an engraving. In the background a sheet of copper is being flattened and prepared for engraving; in the lower right, boys are being taught how to use a burin to draw on a plate; in the middle men are inking and preparing a plate for printing; on the left, a man is turning the wheel of a rolling press to print a plate; and in the background, finished prints are being hung to dry.

Collaert, Nova Reperta, 1600 (pl. 4)

In this illustration from the series The Inventions of Modern Times, you can see the full range of activities associated with common-press printing, from delivering blank paper to proofreading printed sheets.

Colloques ou dialogues, 1616 (A1r)

The title page for this multi-lingual phrasebook repeats the title three times, once in each of the languages predominant in Antwerp.

Colloques ou dialogues, 1616 (A4v-A5r)

The odd shape of this book (little and oblong) comes from its contents (seven columns of dialogues in different languages) and its use (a pocket-sized volume for travelers).

Dodoens, Cruydt boeck, 1618 (Y4v)

In this Dutch version of Dodoens herbal, the same woodblock from the first edition is again used to illustrate the corn-cockle. It looks smaller here because this edition is formatted as a folio rather than an octavo.

Donne, Juvenilia, 1633 (F1v, raking light)

Imaged under a raking light, this blank page reveals a great deal more texture than images usually do, including wrinkled (or cockled) paper, vertical wire lines, the bite of type as it pushes out the paper from the other side, and the bite into the paper from some uninked (or blind) type in the middle of the page ("These eleven Paradoxes"). Some copies of this edition have this imprimatur inked and legible; others, like this one, seem not to have included it, although the type was clearly left in the forme even if it didn't print. (Compare this image to the one under usual flat lighting to see how different lighting shapes what we see.)