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).

Coronelle Romaine, matrices

These are matrices---the pieces of copper that are the molds used to produce pieces of type---used for the typeface Coronelle Romaine. If you zoom in, you can see the nicks at the bottom of the matrices used to orient them in the mold and the individual letter forms, as well as ligatures (joined letters), numbers, and assorted other characters. Stamps made to illustrate this typeface can be seen here.

Coronelle Romaine, stamps

These stamps illustrate the forms of individual sorts of the typeface Coronelle Romaine, designed by Hendrik van den Keere in the early 1570s. You can see the matrices for casting these sorts here.

Coronelle Romaine, unjustified matrices

These matrices have not yet been justified: they've been struck with the various letterforms and glyphs, but the resulting pieces of copper haven't been made uniform and ready to use. If you compare these matrices with the finished ones, you can easily see the difference.

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.