'Eusebius' — De Praeparatione evangelica

De Praeparatione evangelica

1470 was the date that ‘Eusebius' De Praeparatione evangelica’ was first printed, and with it came the establishment of the first true Roman typeface. The typography, which would later become known as ‘Venetian oldstyle’, was designed by the French engraver Nicolas Jenson. Jenson’s pioneering typeface was influenced by the humanistic hand developed in manuscripts by Italian intellectuals such as Poggio Bracciolini. ‘De Praeparatione evangelica’ saw the liberation of European printing, with Venice pushing printing away from the Gothic typefaces of the past. Jenson’s influence on the world of type continued long after his death in 1480, with William Morris, Doves Press, and Bruce Rogers all looking to emulate a type that was ‘so intelligently and carefully elaborated that the letters are neither smaller, larger nor thicker than reason or pleasure demand.’

Image: Eusebius' De Praeparatione evangelica, Nicolas Jenson, 1470.

http://www.brynmawr.edu/Library/exhibits/BooksPrinters/making.html#euseb
http://www.typofonderie.com/gazette/articles/typehistory
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/data/indiv/rare/type-exhibit/2rvi/eusebius.htm
http://www.linotype.com/731/nicolausjenson.html

Christopher Lacy