main printed feature: privilege

Some texts were printed with the permission of an authority; such statements of a printer’s privileges usually indicate a monopoly over that work or sometimes a category of work, and were often indicated on title pages or elsewhere in the preliminaries.

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.

Erasmus, Novum Instrumentum, 1516 (3a1r)

The lengthy title provides the primary decorative element of this page. It's also notable that Froben's printer's device is used in place of his name in the imprint, rather than in addition to it.

Gadbury, Ephemeris, 1688 (A1r)

This ephemeris---a calendar of astronomical positions---for the year 1688 uses red ink on the title page to highlight the key words advertising this work.

Gučetić, Dialogo della bellezza, 1581 (a1r)

This title page showcases the Ziletti printer’s device, a comet and seven stars with their motto “inter omnes” (“among all”). Here Francesco Ziletti uses the device of his uncle, Giordano Ziletti, but with his own spin -- most noticeably, the inclusion of two upside-down topless women who were not present in Giordano's works.