Printers of the Special Collections

In early printed books and incunabula, the date and location of production were often not recorded in an item, and the printer’s device, essentially the trademark of a particular craftsman, was the only means of approximating this information. With items dating back to the mid C15th, the mottoes, motifs and pictorial embellishments that constitute the printers’ devices in our early printed books and incunabula are a collection in themselves. From Luca-Antonio Giunta (1457-1538) comes Luca Gaurico’s (1476-1558) treatise on astronomy Alfonsi Hispaniarum regis tabule & L. Gaurici artium doctoris egregij theoremata quorum hic est index.

Luca-Antonio was one of a family of printers working in Florence and Venice from 1480 to 1598, but he was considered typographically superior to the other Giuntas. His printer’s device appears in red in this item.

 

If you would like to view/ consult this item, please submit an online request or contact the staff of the Special Collections Reading Room in the Hardiman Research Building at specialcollections@nuigalway.ie.