A fresh reading of Aldus Manutius, preeminent in the history of the printed book.

Aldus Manutius is perhaps the greatest gure in the history of the printed book: in Venice, Europe's capital of printing, he invented the italic type and issued more rst editions of the classics than anyone before or since, as well as Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, the most beautiful and mysterious printed book of the Italian Renaissance.

This is the rst monograph in English on Aldus Manutius in over forty years. It shows how Aldus redened the role of a book printer, from mere manual laborer to a learned publisher. As a consequence, Aldus participated in the same debates as contemporaries such as Leonardo da Vinci and Erasmus of Rotterdam, making this book an insight into their world too.