Aesop, 1750 (E1v)

Although it looks as if it would have been printed earlier, this style of Gothic type and simple woodcuts is characteristic of cheap Dutch printing throughout the 18th century.

Beaumont and Fletcher, Philaster, 1661 (A2v)

An advertisement for the publisher's books takes advantage of what would otherwise be blank space on the page.

Bible, Massachuset, 1663 (A1r)

Though not credited, several Indigenous people were involved in the translation and production of the book, including James Printer, the first Indigenous American to work in a print shop. Eliot believed the Masschusett people would be more receptive to conversion if it was presented in their own language. In this way, the Eliot Bible was a physical tool of colonialism: a way to overcome the language barrier so that Indigenous people could receive the colonizer’s values, but not vice versa. On this page, one of the fleurons in the lower right section of the headpiece is upside-down, perhaps an error made in haste.

Bijns, Refereyn, 1611 (A4v-A5r)

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

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).

Comenius, Orbis, 1685 (O1v-O2r)

This opening from a popular Latin textbook uses different typefaces to set apart the English and Latin phrases and to call attention to the vocabulary words that are illustrated on the facing page.

Febrés, Arte de lengua de Chile, 1765 (2A4r)

This page is from a textbook teaching Spanish speakers the Mapuche language, spoken by the Mapuche people of present-day Chile and Argentina. It showcases how type works to transliterate phonemes from a non-Romance language into a Latin alphabet. It is interesting to compare the tildes on the Ñs in the text to the contemporary variety. The book seems to be tightly bound, based on the close cropping on the left side of the image.

Hobart, Reports, 1724 (K4v)

There's a lot going on here: reports of Judge Hobart's cases, printed marginal notes referring to other cases, different typefaces, running titles in the headlines noting the cases discussed on each page, and a press figure at the very bottom.

Kats, Ma’aseh Toviyah, 1708 (8.4r)

This decorative chapter title showcases several sizes and weights of Hebrew type. The use of both elongated and regular forms of several letters, including ה (he), ת (tav), and ם (final mem), is particularly visible in the triangle of text at the top of the page. Stretching letters with horizontal lines was a common convention in Hebrew printing used to justify lines.

Ogilby, Aesop, 1668 (pg. 47)

Ogilby's version of Aesop's Fables uses the margins for extensive annotations.