Bijns, Refereyn, 1611 (A4v-A5r)

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

Boethius, Arithmetica, 1492 (2a1r)

This edition of Boethius uses a title label on the first page of the book to provide a quick identification of the text.

Boethius, Arithmetica, 1492 (2a1v)

The text of this edition begins "Incipiunt duo libri de Arthimetica" but the title of the book is taken not from this phrase, but from the title label on the previous page. The space for the initial letter, like others in this volume, has been left unfilled.

Boethius, Arithmetica, 1492 (2l8r)

On this last leaf of text, the printer has included both a colophon identifying who printed the book and a register of the last words printed on the first four leaves in each gathering of the two-volume set.

Boethius, Consolatione, 1497 (d1r)

Boethius's De consolatione philosophiae, a popular medieval text, was often circulated with commentary. Here, Boethius's text is printed in a larger size, with the commentary surrounding it.

Caxton, Aesop, 1484 (fol. 38r)

This version of Aesop’s Fables is the first ever to have been printed in English. Caxton translated from Julien Macho's 1482 French edition and replicated Jehan Rousset's woodcuts from that edition as well.

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.

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.

Dove, A new almanack, 1631 (A2v-A3r)

This almanac shows a typical combination of information: dates of the month, the dominical number, saints days and other festivals, the positions of various astrological features, and space for the user to write their own notes. But this almanac is atypical in that it survived---huge numbers of almanacs were printed, particularly in the 17th century, but most were discarded at the end of the year and lost to posterity.