Catalogue of the Faculty of Advocates, 1742 (π1r)

The Advocates' Library kept a collection of books (law and otherwise) since the Faculty's inauguration in 1689. This series was the third such catalog of books in the library, and as can be seen in the interior pages, was used to record not only the acquisition of books, but their changing shelfmarks.

Cato, Moral distichs, 1735 (A1r)

Although it's placed where one might expect a printer's device, the design on this title page is a combination of printer's flowers, rather than a device intended to identify the printer.

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.

Dodoens, Florum, 1568 (A1r)

Christopher Plantin's printer's device illustrates his motto, "Constantia et Labore" ("Perseverance and Work") with a compass, the fixed point of which represents the constancy of perseverance and the outer point representing labor.

Dove, A new almanack, 1631 (A1r)

Since almanacs featured the location of astrological bodies, they were most accurate for specific geographical locations. This title page for Dove specifies that it is calculated for Cambridge. The use of red ink was typical for almanacs, both on the title page and in the content.

Dowland, Songes, 1597 (π1r)

A woodcut title page for John Dowland's collection of songs.

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.

Faithorne, A perpetuall ephemeris (1655)

Although engraved and etched plates in books tend to be primarily of images, intaglio techniques can also be used to write text, as in this perpetual calendar. For more on how this calendar works, see Erin Blake's post "Happy New Year's E" in The Collation.

Febrés, Arte lengua Chile, 1765 ([*]1r)

This title page comes from a book that documents the linguistic complexities of 18th-century Chile, including the language of the Mapuche, Chile’s indigenous inhabitants, combined with Spanish-speaking colonizers. Both red and black ink are used to add emphasis on areas of the book’s contents, such as advertising that in addition to its main contents, it also includes a “very curious ‘Chilean-Hispanic’ dialogue.” The somewhat misaligned nature of the lines indicates that the two-color inking friskets were not precisely lined up during printing.

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.