book publishing and the circulation of information 653
saxon analytic studies of the book. the english historian martin lowry
was among the first of this new wave to make important contributions
to the history of Venetian printing between the 15th and 16th centuries
with two fundamental works. the first takes on the complex personality
of aldo manuzio, while the second treats aldo’s 15th-century predeces-
sors, particularly the french printer nicolas Jenson, active in Venice from
1470, whose story is essential for a proper understanding of the early years
of Venetian printing and its establishment in the city.6 though works on
manuzio’s fortuna were not lacking, lowry created a particularly vivid
picture of aldo’s activity and the complex relationship that developed
between the printer and his host city. the importance of manuzio went
far beyond the city of Venice, such that it would not be far-fetched to
accredit him as the true inventor of the early modern book. if gutenberg
had invented a technique without concerning himself with its implica-
tions and uses, aldo excogitated and put into practice a series of solutions
that marked a decisive rupture with the world of the manuscript, ren-
dering the printed book the most potent communication tool of the last
500 years, in certain ways still unsurpassed by even the most influential
technological advancements of recent years. our debts to aldo include
his attention to the design of textual characters and impagination, the
definition of methods of punctuation, and the adoption of smaller formats
to make books more manageable and accessible and end the formerly
almost-exclusive clerical monopoly of the book. he was also able to com-
bine text and image for the first time in print, and with a surprising aes-
thetic sensibility, in one of the most beautiful and mysterious editions of
all time, the 1499 Hipnerotomachia Poliphili.7
Yet, as is normally the case, influential innovations do not long remain
under the exclusive control of those responsible for them. all of manuzio’s
most important contributions were quickly imitated or copied, despite
his attempts to protect them. however, it was also by such means that
6 martin lowry, The World of Aldus Manutius: Business and Scholarship in Renaissance
Venice (oxford, 1979); and lowry, Nicholas Jenson and the Rise of Venetian Publishing in
Renaissance Venice (oxford, 1991).
7 the bibliography regarding aldo is enormous and dates back centuries. his editions
garnered him such fame within his own lifetime that his person became a cult figure
before the end of the 16th century. it became the custom of book collectors to give special
attention to his editions, separating them from the others. such prestige has guaranteed
an interest in his catalogue and biography unequalled among publishers in the 15th and
16th centuries. the first monographs dedicated to him date back to the 18th century. for
a first bibliographical study, see mario infelise, “manuzio, aldo il vecchio,” in Dizionario
Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 69 (rome, 2007), pp. 236–45.